First A330neo aircraft completes maiden flight: Airbus China

BEIJING - The first aircraft of the A330neo family has completed its maiden flight, and the new A330 Completion and Delivery Center in Tianjin will be able to deliver the new model in China, Airbus China confirmed on Friday.

The first jet in the A330neo family, an A330-900 variant, successfully landed at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in France on Thursday afternoon after its maiden flight, said a press release from Airbus.

The A330-900 is expected to be delivered before it conducts 1,100 hours of test flights. Airbus plans for the A330-900 to obtain EASA and FAA Type Certification around mid-2018.

The wide-body A330neo family is composed of two models of A330-900 and A330-800 aircraft, with 287 and 257 seats respectively in a three-class configuration. To date, 12 customers worldwide have placed orders for a total of 212 A330neos.

On September 20, Airbus opened its A330 Completion and Delivery Center (CDC) in North China's port city of Tianjin, marking the first such center for its wide-body aircraft outside Europe.

The CDC is capable of completing and delivering the A330neo aircraft, according to Airbus China

As of this August, the Airbus fleet in China had exceeded 1,480 aircraft, including 202 from the A330 family.