TAP Air Portugal has taken delivery of the
world’s first new-generation widebody A330neo, the A330-900.
TAP Air Portugal’s first A330-900, leased
from Avolon, features 298 seats in a three-class
layout with 34 full-flat business class, 96 economy plus and 168
economy class seats.
The aircraft will be deployed on routes from
Portugal to the Americas and Africa.
“I am delighted to welcome
the first Airbus A330-900 into our expanding fleet. Its unbeatable
economics and efficiency will power our business forward,“ said Antonoaldo Neves, TAP Air Portugal CEO. “The A330neo will give us
a lot of operational flexibility thanks to its commonality with
the other Airbus aircraft in our fleet. This aircraft will be the
first equipped with the new Airspace cabin, which is a new concept
shaped to meet TAP’s ambition to offer the best product in the
industry to our passengers,“ he added.
“Handing over the first
ever A330neo to a long-standing Airbus customer, TAP Air Portugal,
is a very important milestone for Airbus,” said Guillaume Faury,
President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft. “Through continuous
innovations, the A330neo, our newest widebody aircraft, will offer
maximum value and efficiency to our customers and superior comfort
to their passengers. This occasion marks another step forward to
meeting our industry’s goal for sustainable aviation,” he added.
The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent
7000 engines and incorporates a new higher span 3D optimised wing with new Sharklets fully optimised for the best aerodynamic performance.
Together these advances bring a significant reduction in fuel
consumption of 25% compared with older-generation
aircraft of a similar size. Moreover, new composite
nacelles, a fully faired titanium pylon and zero-splice air inlet
technology provide the A330-900 with state-of-the-art aerodynamics
and acoustics.
Today, TAP Air Portugal operates an Airbus fleet
of 72 aircraft (18 A330s, 4 A340s,and 50 A320 Family aircraft).
The single-aisle fleet includes 22 A319ceo, 21 A320ceo and four
A321ceo, one A320neo and two recently delivered A321neo.
The
Portuguese carrier will take delivery of a further 20 A330-900s in
the coming years.
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