Cathay Pacific Airways takes A330-300 order tally to 500

Airbus’ monthly orders and deliveries report reveals that total orders for the A330-300, the larger version of the world’s most popular mid-sized widebody, soared past the 500 order mark following an order from Cathay Pacific Airways that was announced on March 9^th 2011. In the past three years alone, the A330 has attracted 27 new operators proving that the aircraft’s versatility, reliability and efficiency remain unequalled and continue to be the winning combination in the medium to long-haul market.

Cathay Pacific Airways placed its ninth order for A330-300s in March for 15 more aircraft, which together with its subsidiary Dragonair brings the company’s total orders for the type up to 54. Cathay Pacific is Airbus’ largest A330 customer and operator with a fleet of 46 in service and a further 21 to be delivered.

The wide market appeal of the A330 is demonstrated daily by over 90 operators, including network carriers, low cost, charter and flag carriers, who fly A330s on all missions from 30 minutes to over 14 hours, with one taking off every minute of every day. More than 860 million passengers have enjoyed travelling on board the light, bright and spacious A330 cabin to and from the 300 airports it serves today.

With a true wide-body fuselage allowing very high comfort standards, the A330-300 is able to accommodate seat and class configurations to suit diverse customer requirements. It has a range of up to 5,600 nm / 10,400 km with a typical 300 passenger load. Highly efficient and optimised for the medium – to long range market, the A330-300 offers the best balance between range and cost. The A330-300 remains the most economic means of flying 300 or so passengers on medium range routes in true long haul comfort. Orders for the A330-300 stand at 511.

The A330 Family, which spans 200 to 400 seats for the passenger variants, also includes Freighter, VIP, and Military Transport/Tanker variants, has now attracted more than 1,100 orders.

Source: Airbus