CHICAGO -- Airbus says it's gunning for Boeing's 767 and 777-200ER aircraft, and the popular 787 Dreamliner, with its new A330neo, the first
of which is currently going through proving tests with TAP Air Portugal.
The aircraft delivers improved fuel efficiency over older-generation A330s, which are Airbus' smallest widebodies. And the aerospace giant
is also touting improvements the A330neo will provide in terms of the passenger
experience.
"We are here to compete with the 787 and improve our own
aircraft," Silvia Utupske, an A330neo product
marketer told a gathering of journalists in Chicago.
Utupske spoke as she passed through the U.S. from her base
in the Airbus headquarters city of Toulouse as part of the proving test tour
for the aircraft.
TAP hopes to put the A330neo into operation this fall, but
the aircraft must first obtain certification from the FAA and the European
Aviation Safety Agency. Airbus and TAP demonstrated the new aircraft to
reporters during a proving run Friday between Chicago and Atlanta, part of a
16-city testing tour that is taking place over 18 days.
Airbus says the A330neo will be 25% more fuel efficient per
seat than older-generation A330s. Efficiency increases will come through a
larger Rolls Royce Trent engine and through improvements in the wing length and
wing aerodynamics. With a standard three-class configuration of 287 seats, the
A330neo-900 variant, which is the first to take to the sky, is also 10 seats
larger than the A330-300 it is replacing.
TAP introduces the Airbus A330neo
Thus far, 14 airlines have ordered a total of 214 A330neos,
among them Delta, which expects to take delivery of the first of the 25
A330neos it has ordered next year. Delta will use those aircraft to replace aging
Boeing 767s.
Aside from efficiency, Airbus says the A330neo was designed
to provide a consistent quality experience to passengers. Airlines, of course,
will choose how they configure the planes. But they'll all be able to take
advantage of deeper passenger bins, which will fit five full-size
carry-ons in a space where only three can be placed on older-generation A330s, said Roser Roca-Toha, Airbus
aircraft interiors marketing director for the Americas.
Another passenger-friendly feature, Roca-Toha said, is
sophisticated LED lighting that can produce 17 million different colors,
allowing airlines the ability to tone lighting to improve atmosphere for
various times of the flight. The aircraft often have new interior window
features designed to stream light into the aircraft.