This Wednesday, the brand new Airbus A330-900neo received Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), thus authorizing the start of commercial flights of the aircraft by European airlines.
During the low-key g ceremony, Airbus said it expects to obtain Federal Aviation istration (FAA) certification soon.
The company also disclosed that the flight test campaign has accumulated more than 1400 hours since it started at the end of 2017. Airbus had a significant delay in delivering the first A330neo, after several obstacles in the development of Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines Officially the A330neo was launched in 2014, as a replacement for the old A330ceo and competitor to the Boeing 787.
The delay was so significant that Airbus had to incorporate a series aircraft into the test fleet, the future CS-TUA which was responsible for world tour held in June this year, simulating trade routes.
The A330neo is offered to airlines in two versions. With standard accommodation for 257 engers (A330-800neo) and 287 engers (A330-900neo). Its interior has also been completely redesigned by the Airbus team, with a new design.
The first company responsible for receiving an Airbus A330-900neo will be TAP Portugal, which will probably take up to three aircraft of this model later this year, the first of which should be delivered within a month and a half.
Earlier Rolls-Royce said it is confident that an ETOPS certification for the Trent 7000 engine, which powers the Airbus A330neo, will be issued by October this year. In this way, the A330neo would be able to carry out flights between Europe and the American continent.
Azul is expected to receive the first A330neo in its fleet this year as well.
Airbus has already booked 215 firm orders for the A330neo. In Brazil, Azul ordered 5 units of the A330-900neo.
Improvements
In order to obtain lower fuel consumption and greater enger comfort, Airbus had to make several changes to the A330 to transform it into the A330neo, even with the age of the project denouncing the limitations imposed, for example, the manufacturer was unable to fully achieve the same level of versatility and performance of the Boeing 787.
The cockpit now comes with a mandatory HUD for both pilots, and a system that assists with runway departures, based on the airfield charts. The similarity with the previous generation is notorious, despite this, all controls are Full-Fly-By-Wire, as in the A350.
This is advantageous, as in the training part Airbus guarantees that 95% of commonality in the entire aircraft system compared to the current model, facilitating the training and transfer of crew from one aircraft to another.
The two wings were updated, and are now composed of a new type of structure, and the computational test was carried out on a model completely based on 3D projections, together with the new sharklets, Airbus achieved a significant improvement in the aerodynamic part of the plane.
Detail, the nacelles and sharklets are produced with composite material.
The new Trent 7000 engines bring the A330neo to the times of high by- and also composite materials, providing a consumption improvement of around 10%, compared to the old Trent 700.
The aircraft's maintenance system has been updated, and is now similar to the A350, Skywise helps mechanics by reporting any problems that are about to happen, so the maintenance team can schedule an aircraft stop in order to resolve these issues.
The interior, called Air Space, has been completely refurbished, with LED lighting, following the trends in the same market. Airbus took the opportunity to incorporate a pre-installation for the Wi-Fi system, which can offer internet or in-flight entertainment, together with the possibility of easily installing USB sockets in the seats.
