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By Bjorn Fehrm

August 10, 2025, © Leeham News: Airbus’ A330neo, as the A330-900, entered the market in 2018. It’s a major improvement of the A330ceo that entered the market in 1994 as a 270-seat 3,900nm mid-range aircraft.

The present A330-900 has gradually improved its sales, prompting Airbus to increase the production rate from the planned four per month to five from 2029.

With a typical 290-seat cabin, Airbus advertises a 7,300nm range for the 251t Maximum TakeOff Weight (MTOW) version, quite a development from the original 212t A330-300. And now this is going to improve further from 2028, with a rise in the MTOW from 251t to 253t, together with other improvements.

Does this make the A330-900 into a trans-Ocean aircraft, and how does the improved version stack up against the Boeing 787-9? We use our Aircraft Performance and Cost Model (APCM) to find out.

Figure 1. The A330-900, a model that is selling better and better, 31 years after its introduction. Source: Airbus..

Summary:

• The Airbus A330 is like the proverbial cat; it has many lives. Just when the experts predicted it would slowly go away, it started selling again.
• In the version where it gets another MTOW hike, it can successfully cover transoceanic trunk routes.