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Airbus A330-300

(wikipedia.org)
Updated: 2010-09-02 14:52

A China Eastern Airlines Airbus A330-300 [sina.com.cn]

The A330-300, which entered service in 1993, was developed as replacement for the A300. It is based on a stretched A300-600 fuselage but with new wings, stabilisers and fly-by-wire systems.

The A330-300 carries 295 passengers in a three-class cabin layout (335 in 2 class and 440 in single class layout) over a range of 10,500 km (5,650 nautical miles). It has a large cargo capacity, comparable to early Boeing 747s.

It is powered by two General Electric CF6-80E, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, all of which are ETOPS-180 min rated. French domestic airline Air Inter was the launch customer for the aircraft.

The closest Boeing competitors are the Boeing 777-200 and, formerly, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, which is no longer in production.

Timeline Roll-out: October 14, 1992 (GE CF6-80E1A2 powered aircraft).

First Flight: November 2, 1992 (msn 012).

Certification (JAA): October 21, 1993 (GE CF6-80E1A2 powered aircraft).

Certification (FAA):October 21, 1993 (GE CF6-80E1A2 powered aircraft).

First Delivery: December 30, 1993 Air Inter (msn 037).

Entry into service: January 17, 1994 Air Inter on Paris (Orly) and Marseille in a 412 seat