Airbus Updates No.4665

 

Airbus confirms Azul as undisclosed buyer of four additional A330neos

Airbus has confirmed Brazil’s Azul Linhas Aéreas as the previously undisclosed buyer of four additional A330-900s, or A330neos.

On June 1, 2026, Airbus said that news of the expanded order brings the airline’s backlog of A330neo to 11 aircraft.

Azul initially placed a firm order for three Airbus A330neos in November 2022 and then in December 2023 increased this by another four to seven A330-900s in total.

At the time Azul’s CFO, Alexandre Malfitani, said: “We are proud to announce this order, as it confirms Azul as the airline with the most fuel- efficient fleet in the region, with over 80% of our capacity coming from next-generation aircraft. With the five A330neos we currently operate and the seven we now have on order, we will standardize our international fleet, allowing us to further enhance Azul’s renowned customer experience and on-time performance.”

Azul / GuiMilhas

On May 29, 2026, Azul took delivery of its first A330neo directly ordered from Airbus. The aircraft, registered as PR-ANU, flew from Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS), and arrived at Belo Horizonte Tancredo Neves Airport (CNF) around 10 hours later.

In a statement Azul said the A330neo had been named ‘The Sky of Brazil is Blue’ and was the first of 11 to join the fleet – the first acknowledgement that the airline had increased its order.

“The first unit starts operating in June, the second arrives in the second half of 2026, and the others arrive gradually in the coming years, following our growth with responsibility and vision of the future,” a spokesperson for Azul said.

Azul’s A330neos are configured with 298 seats and will be used on long haul flights, connecting Brazil to Europe, the United States and other international destinations.

In 2019, Azul received the Americas’ first A330neo which allowed them to leverage commonality with their existing A330ceo fleet.

Earlier this year, Azul emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after completing a court-supervised restructuring that reduced its debt and lease obligations by approximately $2.5 billion and brought in $850 million in new equity investment.

Airbus Updates No.3802

 

Denmark's Sunclass Airlines takes first A330-900

Airbus A330-900N© Airbus

23.09.2022 - 14:04 UTC

Sunclass Airlines (DK, Copenhagen Kastrup) has taken delivery of its first A330-900, although the aircraft has yet to be inducted into service.

OY-VKO (msn 1981) was registered by the Danish leisure specialist in September and ferried in an all-white livery from Toulouse Blagnac to Shannon on September 16, 2022, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The 1.7-year-old aircraft is on lease from Air Lease Corporation, and has yet to operate a single commercial flight. It was previously assigned to but not taken up by XL Airways France (Paris CDG) and Starlux Airlines (JX, Taipei Taoyuan).

Sunclass Airlines was rebranded from Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia following its acquisition by Norwegian and Swedish investors in 2019. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows it operates nine A321-200s, one A330-200, and one A330-300 (which has been in maintenance at Abu Dhabi Int'l since mid-August 2022). The carrier previously told ch-aviation that the A330-900 was for fleet growth rather than the replacement of any of the A330ceo. During the summer seasons, it will use all three widebodies on high-density short- and medium-haul European routes, while during the winters, the -200 and the -900 will also be used for long-haul flights to intercontinental destinations. The shorter-range -300 will serve as a backup for long-haul flights and be used on European routes.

Airbus Upates No.3857

 

Delta Air Lines Takes Delivery Of 15th Airbus A330-900

Major US carrier Delta Air Lines took delivery of another brand new A330-900 from Airbus at the end of the week. The April 29th delivery marks the 15th A330neo to join the Delta fleet from a total order of 35. Let's look at the delivery and what else Delta is expecting in the months to come.

Delivery details

On April 29th, Delta's 15th Airbus A330-900 departed France for Atlanta. The aircraft, registered N418DX, took off from Airbus' assembly facilities in Toulouse at 12:24 local time and made the nine-hour flight to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International. The jet touched down at 15:33 local time.

The delivery was conducted after the aircraft had completed a total of six hours and 55 minutes of test flying across just four test flights. The plane's very first test flight took place on April 1st, with subsequent tests occurring on April 13th, 15th, and 22nd.

All of Delta's A330-900s have just one type of seating configuration. Comprised of four classes, the breakdown is as follows:

• 29 Delta One Suites
• 28 seats in Delta Premium Select (premium economy)
• 56 Comfort Plus seats*
• 168 seats in Delta's "Main Cabin" (standard economy)

Almost halfway there...

As Delta's 15th A330-900, the recent delivery from Airbus means that the airline has 20 more of the type yet to be delivered.

This order originally goes back to November 20th, 2014, when Delta placed a massive order for 50 Airbus widebody aircraft. This was divided equally, with 25 A350-900s and 25 A330-900s. The order itself marked a significant shift for Delta, which had previously been a majority-Boeing airline. For those unaware, Delta's older A330-200s and -300s come from its merger with Northwest Airlines, which took place in 2008.

Almost exactly four years later, Delta boosted its commitment to the A330-900, adding another 10 of the type to the order book for a total of 35. Commenting on this adjustment, Gil West, Delta’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said at the time:

“Expanding our A330 order book not only ensures that Delta’s near-to-medium-term widebody needs are taken care of, but also drives our strategic, measured international growth.”

Other new types incoming to Delta

It's not just A330-900s that continue to be delivered to the US carrier. Indeed, Delta is expecting another 10 A350-900s to join the fleet over the course of this year as well as from 2023 through 2025. On the narrowbody side, Delta is expecting over 150 Airbus A321neos as well as about 40 more A220-300s.

All of these upcoming deliveries show Delta's trust in Airbus' products - having a much higher proportion of the European planemaker's aircraft in its fleet than its US rivals. American had adopted an order for A350s due to its merger with US Airways, but this was eventually canceled. Meanwhile, United Airlines still has an outstanding order for A350s, which has been adjusted and deferred for multiple years.

Airbus Updates No.3363

 

Airbus A350s back on SriLankan Airlines' radar post-COVID

SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330-200© Tis Meyer / PlanePics.org

03.05.2021 - 05:24 UTC

SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) is planning to take advantage of depressed lease rates to renew its ageing widebody fleet and has again warmed up to the idea of adding A350 aircraft, Chief Executive Vipula Gunatilleka said during the online Routes Reconnected conference.

"Six or seven aircraft will go out of service in the next two years or so. So we are looking for a replacement. The advantage is that now I can get aircraft at much cheaper prices. We want to keep an all-Airbus fleet, so we will be looking at A330-900s or even A350s. The A350s are now affordable, and with the cargo demand, this might be a handy aircraft for the long-haul," he said.

The carrier still has a firm order for four A350-900s from Airbus as a leftover from its ill-fated 2013 order for a total of eight aircraft, including four from the manufacturer, three from ILFC, and one from AerCap (the two lessors later merged). The type was quickly deemed unsuitable for the airline. SriLankan Airlines has been trying to extricate itself from the deal since 2015. It cancelled the four lease commitments between 2015 and 2017, agreeing to pay a USD98 million penalty and leasing in an A330-200 in an unsuitable configuration instead. The settlement reportedly also included increases in other lease rates. It has also been trying to convert the four remaining orders from Airbus to A330neo aircraft.

In March 2021, SriLankan Airlines filed a lawsuit against Airbus for alleged corruption during the procurement of the A350-900s, seeking USD1 billion in damages and compensation, the cancellation of the outstanding order for four aircraft, and the return of USD19 million in pre-delivery payments for these aircraft. According to the Deferred Prosecution Agreement between the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Airbus, the manufacturer failed to prevent graft and bribery during the sale of its aircraft to SriLankan Airlines.

The airline's current widebody fleet comprises five A330-200s (18.7 years old on average) and seven A330-300s (6 years). All twelve aircraft are dry-leased, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

Gunatilleka also reaffirmed that the airline is in the process of looking for its first two dedicated freighters.

He said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the carrier had reoriented its network to focus on cargo services, including flights to destinations not served previously on a scheduled basis. This also entailed a radical downsizing of its Indian network, previously its most important market for connecting passengers. SriLankan Airlines plans to continue its reliance on cargo as its main revenue driver and rebuild its passenger network around routes with significant freight demand.

"[In the near term,] we will focus on the long-haul mainly, and we will have to reduce our reliance on the Indian market," Gunatilleka said.

He underlined that Sri Lanka hoped to reopen more widely for tourism during the current summer season. While many markets are likely to remain closed, Gunatilleka said he was hopeful that Russian tourists would come in the next few months. While traditionally arrivals from Russia had been concentrated during the winter season, the current restrictions have changed those patterns. Going forward, the recovery will rely heavily on the integration of border protocols, including through digital tools.

"India will recover fast, we would expect the same from China, and the Middle East as well, where there is a lot of Sri Lankan expatriate workers... If India reopens, we will also have more connecting traffic from Australia," he said.

SriLankan is also optimistic about the demand from and to Europe, including the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka's primary destination market. Gunatilleka said the carrier was also considering the relaunch of services to Frankfurt Int'l and Paris CDG.

Airbus Updates No.2803

Delta Is Bringing The Airbus A330-900neo To New York-JFK

Delta Air Lines is bringing the Airbus A330-900neo to New York-JFK. The latest generation of the Airbus A330 series has traditionally flown out of Delta’s transpacific hub in Seattle. This winter, however, Delta will be bringing the A330neo to its key East Coast gateway in New York – JFK on two routes.

Delta Air Lines is bringing the Airbus A330-900neo to New York. Photo: Airbus

Where is the Airbus A330-900neo flying out of New York – JFK?

Delta Air Lines will be flying the Airbus A330-900neo on a daily flight to Amsterdam (AMS) and on one of two daily flights from JFK to Tel Aviv (TLV), according to scheduling data from Routesonline. Traditionally, Delta flew an Airbus A330-300 with a lie-flat Delta One cabin but no premium economy product. While one of two daily flights from JFK to TLV is moving to an A330-900neo, Delta will maintain a second daily flight on the route with an A330-300.

The A330neo will fly to Amsterdam starting on December 1st. The introduction of the aircraft on services to Tel Aviv will be on January 15th, 2021. These routes are part of Delta’s international long-haul buildup of operations.

Delta traditionally flies the Airbus A330-300s on these routes, especially to Amsterdam, where partner KLM has a major hub. Photo: Getty Images

Why Amsterdam and Tel Aviv?

Amsterdam is a very important international gateway for Delta. Fellow SkyTeam carrier and transatlantic joint venture partner KLM operates its largest hub out of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (AMS). In Amsterdam, passengers can connect onwards across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia on KLM’s iconic blue aircraft.

Tel Aviv is also an important destination for Delta. While the airline does not have a lot of onward connecting traffic out of Tel Aviv, there is a lot of demand to fly between the US and Israel.

With El Al’s future currently in limbo, US airlines are seeing an opportunity to connect the two countries. There is, traditionally, a fair bit of travel demand between the US and Israel. Given the uncertainty around El Al, US airlines are jumping on the opportunity to launch flights and tap into that customer base.

Putting the Airbus A330-900neo on either route is not necessarily a capacity increase. But, instead, it is putting two new great products in service on key long-haul routes that will help drive Delta’s return to profitability on international routes.

The Airbus A330-900neo

Delta took its first Airbus A330-900neo last year. In fact, Delta was the launch customer of the A330-900neo and has a plan to operate a total of 37 of the type. Delta traditionally uses this aircraft on flights to Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai, among others, out of its transpacific hub in Seattle.

Airbus Updates No.2519

TAP Air Portugal takes delivery of two Airbus A330-900 on the same day

Lisbon, Portugal - Portuguese flag carrier continues its fleet expansion with new deliveries. The airline has taken delivery of two new Airbus A330neo on the same day.

With the new additions, TAP now has 19 Airbus A330neo in its long-haul fleet and the type accounts the airline's 70 percent of total flight time.

The A330neo is a new generation widebody jet from Airbus, which comes in two variants, -800 and -900. Although the A330-900 is in high-demand by Airbus customers, the shorter variant A330-800 still suffers a lack of demand. The A330-900 has so far accumulated 285 orders from the airlines around the globe against the 18 of its little sister A330-800.

The A330-900s of TAP Air Portugal are equipped with the latest-generation, highly efficient Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. New larger wings and new winglets help to increase the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft while reducing fuel consumption. TAP Air Portugal is the launch customer of the Airbus A330-900. The aircraft is configured to accommodate 298 passengers in a two-class layout. All passengers can send unlimited free text messages via wi-fi on transatlantic flights.

In 2015, the Portuguese operator planned to have 17 long-haul Airbus jets at the end of 2019, including eight NEO and nine CEO variants. However, the company opted for more new-generation NEOs because of the attractive opportunities offered by the North American and South American markets.

TAP's current long-haul fleet consists of 19 Airbus A330neo and seven Airbus A330ceo while its medium-haul fleet comprises 56 aircraft, including 19 A320neo family jets and 41 A320ceo family jets.

Airbus Updates No.2151

Brazil's Azul adds first A330neo

Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras Airbus A330-900 © Airbus

13.05.2019 - 07:54 UTC

Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, Sao Paulo Viracopos) has taken delivery of its first A330neo following the arrival of A330-900 PR-ANZ (msn 1876) in Belo Horizonte Tancredo Neves from Toulouse Blagnac on May 10. The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered widebody features 298 seats; 34 seats in business class, 108 in Economy Extra, and 156 in Economy.

Azul is expecting a total of five such aircraft from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) to be used in replacing its current fleet of seven A330-200s which collectively average 17 years of age. Given delays in deliveries from Airbus, Azul said in a 1Q19 earnings call that the second jet, that was originally due in June/July, would now only likely arrive during the latter part of the second half of 2019.

The Brazilian hybrid carrier uses its A330s to run flights from Sao Paulo Viracopos, Belo Horizonte Tancredo Neves, and Recife to Florida and Portugal. For its part, the A330neo is due to make its commercial debut on June 10 on the Campinas-Lisbon route.

Azul's other fleet includes thirty A320neo, thirty-three ATR72-600s, seven E190s, and fifty-one E195s. It has also expressed an interest in taking over around ten A320neo that were recently in service with Avianca Brasil (O6, Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont) but has yet to finalise a deal.

Airbus Updates No.2102

Air Sénégal takes delivery of maiden widebody, an A330-900

Air Sénégal Airbus A330-900N © Airbus

11.03.2019 - 19:09 UTC

Air Sénégal (HC, Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l) has taken delivery of its first widebody jet, A330-900 9H-SZN (msn 1910). One of two on order from Airbus, the aircraft was positioned to Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l on Friday, March 8, and has since been deployed into service on the carrier's Dakar-Paris CDG, France route.

As previously reported, Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int'l) is operating the jet on Air Sénégal's behalf given it does not currently possess the IOSA or European TCO authorizations needed to serve the European Union. As part of plans to develop Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l into an intercontinental connecting hub, the Senegalese carrier also plans to open up service to Brazil and the United States.

Aside from the A330neo, Air Sénégal also operates two A319-100s (of which one is leased from Air Côte d'Ivoire) and two ATR72-600s. It had also wet-leased an A340-300 from Hi Fly Malta prior to the A330neo's arrival.

Airbus Updates No.2000

TAP Air Portugal takes delivery of maiden A330-900neo

TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330-900 © Airbus

27.11.2018 - 15:53 UTC

TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon) has taken delivery of its first and the world's first A330-900N from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) on November 26.

The first of twenty aircraft of the type scheduled to deliver until the end of next year, CS-TUB (msn 1836) is leased from Avolon and will be flown to Lisbon in the coming days. Ten of the aircraft have been ordered directly from Airbus while the others will be sourced from the order books of lessors including Air Lease Corporation.

TAP has chosen a three-class configuration for the type seating 298 passengers with thirty-four in Business Class, ninety-six in Economy Plus, and 168 in Economy.

According to ch-aviation fleets data, the Portuguese carrier currently operates a fleet consisting exclusively of Airbus aircraft which includes twenty-one A319-100s, twenty A320-200s, four A321-200s, thirteen A330-200s, four A330-300s, and four A340-300s. Its neo narrowbody fleet is composed of a single A320-200neo and two A321-200neo aircraft at present.

TAP is also taking over two ex-Primera Air Scandinavia (PF, Billund) aircraft on lease from GECAS, according to a Skyliner Aviation report.

The A330-900s will be deployed on TAP's long-haul network from Lisbon and Porto to destinations in Angola, Brazil, Canada, Mozambique, the UK, the US, and Venezuela replacing its existing widebody fleet. As reported by ch-aviation earlier this year, the A330-300 fleet will be taken over by Star Alliance partner Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau) starting next year.