The Airbus A330-200F, the new dedicated-freighter variant of the popular A330-200, took to the skies for the first time on November 5 in a four-hour maiden flight over Toulouse.
Its first flight represents the start of a 180-hour flight-test and certification campaign for the A330-200F and paves the way for first delivery of the type to launch operator, Etihad Crystal Cargo, in the summer of 2010. This means that Hyderabad, India-based Flyington Freighters, the first company to order the A330-200F, will not be the first to receive one.
Airbus claims the new A330-200F will offer freight customers greater range and a higher maximum payload with much lower unit costs than its closest competitor, which is the Boeing 767-300ERF. To date, nine customers have ordered 67 A330-200Fs. In addition to these orders, the aircraft has been selected by a tenth customer, Turkish Airlines , which earlier thios week signed a memorandum of understanding for two A330-200Fs as well as three more A330-300s. Airbus says other airlines are also showing serious interest in the aircraft, the third major variant of the A330 family.
“The efficient A330-200F is very well adapted to today’s market dynamics of rising fuel prices and increased pressure on yields,” says John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer – customers. “We are at the eve of a market recovery, and now is the time for airlines to prepare for future freight growth.”
The first A330-200F completes a touch-and-go maneuver as part of its 4-hour first flight, performed from Toulouse, France on November 5, 2009
Airbus sees the need for more than 3,400 freighters in the next 20 years to cater for a 5.2-per-cent average annual growth rate. In turn, this will require around 1,600 mid-sized freighters, among which Airbus expects the A330-200F to play an important role.
The A330-200F has a greater payload than initially anticipated, according to Airbus. It offers two operational configurations depending on the planned mission. The aircraft can carry more than 64 metric tonnes nonstop for 4,000 nautical miles (7,400km), or more than 69 metric tonnes up to 3,200 nautical miles (5,930km).
Airbus says the aircraft’s optimized fuselage cross-section gives the A330-200F the interior flexibility to carry a wide variety of pallet and container sizes for maximum interlining capability, offering 30 per cent more volume than any freighter in its class.
The new purpose-designed freighter’s maximum zero fuel weight (MZFW) is 8 tonnes higher than that of the passenger A330-200 to allow for a high-density cargo configuration of 10lb per cubic foot. In addition, the aircraft features a reinforced fuselage, as well as a new strengthened floor with a specially designed floor-grid to handle higher running loads.
Related to this story:
- MASkargo Takes Delivery of Its First Airbus A330-200F
- Turkish Airlines Receives Its First A330-300 and First A330-200F
- Malaysia Airlines Orders two More Airbus A330-200Fs
- Hong Kong Airlines Becomes East Asia’s First Operator of the A330-200F
- Airbus Hands Over Etihad’s First A330-200F Freighter at Farnborough
