IAG signs firm order for eight wide-body Airbus A330-300s

IAG has today confirmed the firm order of eight of Airbus’ eco-efficient A330 Family aircraft for Iberia’s fleet following the preliminary Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year. The A330 will be Iberia’s only twin engine wide body aircraft, and will fit perfectly into its existing Airbus fleet, given the unique commonality between the Airbus’ short haul and long haul family of aircraft. General Electric (GE CF6-80E1) engines have been selected to power the A330

Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said: “The A330s will be more cost effective and fuel efficient than the aircraft that they replace with improved environmental performance. Another advantage is they can be easily assimilated into Iberia’s existing long haul fleet, reducing the need for additional crew training and maintenance costs”.

“This order for Iberia further consolidates the position of the A330 Family as the preferred choice for wide-body aircraft among airlines and grows to 118 the number of customers and operators worldwide”, said John Leahy, Airbus COO Customers. The A330-300 offers an extraordinarily comfortable cabin and provides operators with great flexibility and the lowest operating cost in its class”.

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 aircraft stand at more than 480.

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 1,140 orders.

IAG was created following the merger of Iberia and British Airways in January 2011. It is one of the world’s largest airline groups by revenue.