Airbus · Widebody · In Service
Airbus A330-300
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The Airbus A330-300 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner that forms the baseline variant of Airbus's highly successful A330 family. Developed alongside the four-engine A340, it shares a common wing design, fuselage cross-section, and fly-by-wire flight deck architecture, providing unprecedented operational commonality across the manufacturer's catalog.
Entering commercial service in January 1994 with launch operator Air Inter, the A330-300 proved the economic viability of high-capacity twin-jets on medium-to-long-haul intercontinental routes. Over decades of production, successive maximum takeoff weight upgrades transformed it from a regional high-density transport into a transoceanic workhorse capable of bridging heavy trunk routes globally.
By The Numbers
The Airbus A330 family has achieved substantial commercial longevity, with total firm orders surpassing 2,000 aircraft and overall deliveries exceeding 1,600 units across both current-engine-option (ceo) and new-engine-option (neo) variants. As the foundational high-capacity member of the widebody twinjet program, the A330-300 has played a pivotal role in medium- to long-haul networks since entering commercial service in January 1994.
Today, the type remains a core asset for major network carriers spanning North America, Europe, and Asia. Legacy operators such as Delta Air Lines and Turkish Airlines, alongside prominent Asia-Pacific carriers like Cathay Pacific, have historically positioned the region—alongside transatlantic corridors—as heavy operational strongholds for the -300 variant.
Comparison
Airbus A330-300 vs Airbus A330-900
| Spec | Airbus A330-300 | Airbus A330-900 |
|---|---|---|
| Entered Service | 1994 | 2018 |
| Engines | 2x General Electric CF6-80E1, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 | 2x Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-72 |
| Range | 11,750 km (6,350 nmi) | 13,330 km (7,200 nmi) |
| Cruise Speed | Mach 0.82 (871 km/h) | Mach 0.82 - 0.83 (~871 - 880 km/h) |
| Typical Seating | 277 - 293 (three class) | 287 - 310 (three-class / two-class configuration) |
| Max Takeoff Weight | 242,000 kg (533,500 lb) | 251,000 kg (553,000 lb) |
What Changed
The Airbus A330-900 replaces the classic A330-300's powerplants with exclusive Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines featuring a larger 112-inch fan and a 10:1 bypass ratio. Aerodynamically, the aircraft features a redesigned composite outer wing with a span increased to 64 meters, incorporating curved sharklet wingtips instead of traditional fences to reduce induced drag. These updates deliver an overall fuel-burn improvement of approximately 14% per seat compared to the baseline A330ceo generation.
Manufacturing
Where It's Built
Final assembly of the Airbus A330 family takes place at the Jean-Luc Lagardère Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France. Major structural assemblies and airframe sections are distributed across partner facilities within Europe: the outer wings are manufactured in Broughton, United Kingdom; the nose and center fuselage sections, center wing box, and keel beam are produced by Airbus Atlantic in France; rear fuselage sections are manufactured in Hamburg, Germany; and horizontal tailplanes are produced in Spain. Specific development expenditures for the A330 program were integrated as part of the broader dual A330/A340 development project initiated by Airbus in the late 1980s, and an exact standalone cost figure for the A330 program alone is not officially and publicly itemized in historical corporate disclosures.
Notable Operators
Watch
Airbus A330-300 In Action
4K Turkish Airlines A330-300 Take Off Istanbul Airport
BEAUTIFUL HIFLY Airbus A330-300 arriving at Lisbon Airport
Latest
Airbus A330-300 in the News
Sources & Further Reading