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By Vincent Valery

Introduction  

June 18, 2020, © Leeham News: The Airbus A330-200 has been a commercial success, with  642 deliveries since 1998. The Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-300 are the only twin-aisle variants with more deliveries than the A330-200.

Despite the A330-200 commercial success, its successor, the A330-800, isn’t selling well. The variant officially has 14 orders: eight from Kuwait Airways, two from Uganda Airlines, and four unidentified. Air Greenland did not firm its commitment for a single unit yet. The A330-900 has 319 firm orders.

Airbus did not deliver a single A330neo since February due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Once passenger demand recovers, airlines will have the option to receive delivery of A330neos on relatively short notice. Carriers will weigh the benefits of taking delivery of new A330neos, keep their older A330ceos flying, or source the latter from lessors.

We will compare the Economic performance of both A330ceo and A330neo variants with our aircraft evaluation model. We will start with the A330-200 and A330-800.

Summary

• A330-200 impact on market after entry into service;
• Capitalizing on Dreamliner delays;
• Twin-aisle market slowdown before COVID-19 outbreak;
• A330-800 suitability for a route network.