Airbus A330-300 Regional launch customer Saudi Arabian Airlines has taken delivery of the first of the latest member of the A330 family of widebodies, Airbus announced Thursday. The first of twenty A330-300 Regionals ordered at the 2015 Paris Airshow, the airplane joins Saudi Arabian Airlines’ existing Airbus fleet of 12 A330-300s and 50 A320-family narrowbodies. The Saudi flag carrier has arranged to lease its A330-300 Regional fleet from International Airfinance Corporation (IAFC), whose office in Dubai specializes in Sharia-compliant aircraft financing.
Saudia plans to place the A330-300 Regional on some of its densest regional and domestic routes, wher the flag carrier already operates standard A330-300s. While the current A330-300 variants most efficiently fly longer-range missions of up to 6,100 nm, the new A330-300 Regional flies up to around 400 passengers on missions up to some 3,000 nm. Designed to operate most optimally on routes of 2,700 nm, the A330-300 Regional also weighs about 200 metric tons less.
According to Airbus, the reduction in fuel burn per seat and maintenance costs will result in an overall cost reduction of about 20 percent compared with today’s long-range A330-300.
Airbus announced plans for the new lower weight variant of its A330-300 at the 2013 Aviation Expo China airshow in Beijing, wher Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier promoted the aircraft for use in high-growth markets with large populations and concentrated traffic flows. “Operators of the new A330-300 variant will benefit from a proven, mature and reliable aircraft that brings relief to limited airspace, airport congestion and pilot shortage,” said Bregier at the show. “We are announcing the new A330-300 lower weight variant today in China because here we see strong pent-up demand for efficient and reliable widebody aircraft connecting mega cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou.”
Three years later, however, Chinese airlines appear unconvinced, as Saudi Arabian remains the only customer for the A330 Regional.
