Airline Operators
On 12 March 1987, Airbus received the first orders for the twinjet. The domestic French airline Air Inter (then Air France Europe) placed five firm orders and 15 options while Thai Airways International requested eight aircraft, split evenly between firm orders and options. The following day, Airbus announced that it planned to formally launch the A330/A340 programme by mid-April 1987, and was on track to deliver the first A340 by May 1992 and the A330 the following year. On 31 March, Northwest Airlines followed Air Inter and Thai by signing a letter of intent for 20 A340s and 10 A330s.
Air Inter became the first operator of the A330 after accepting delivery on 30 December 1993 and placing the aircraft into service on 17 January 1994 between Orly Airport and Marseille. Deliveries to Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Thai Airways International were postponed due to delamination of the composite materials in the engine thrust reverser assembly. Thai Airways received its first A330 during the second half of the year, operating it on routes to Taipei and Seoul from Bangkok on 19 December 1994. MAS received its A330 on 1 February 1995 then rescheduled deliveries of the 10 other aircraft on order. Cathay Pacific received Trent 700s days after MAS following the certification of the engine on 22 December 1994.
A list of operators of the Airbus A330, as of 31 October 2012:
| Flag | Airline | A330-200 | A330-200F | A330-300 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union ! | Airbus Executive and Private Aviation | 24 | 24 | ||
| Ireland ! | Aer Lingus | 3 | 4 | 7 | |
| Russia ! | Aeroflot | 5 | 16 | 21 | |
| Libya ! | Afriqiyah Airways | 2 | 2 | ||
| Algeria ! | Air Algérie | 5 | 5 | ||
| Germany ! | Air Berlin | 13 | 2 | 15 | |
| Canada ! | Air Canada | 8 | 8 | ||
| Guadeloupe ! | Air Caraïbes | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| China ! | Air China | 25 | 8 | 33 | |
| Spain ! | Air Europa | 10 | 10 | ||
| France ! | Air France | 15 | 15 | ||
| Czech Republic ! | Czech Airlines | 1 | 1 | ||
| Greenland ! | Air Greenland | 1 | 1 | ||
| India ! | Air India Limited | 2 | 2 | ||
| Mauritius ! | Air Mauritius | 2 | 2 | ||
| Canada ! | Air Transat | 8 | 4 | 12 | |
| Malaysia ! | AirAsia X | 9 | 9 | ||
| New Caledonia ! | Aircalin | 2 | 2 | ||
| Italy ! | Alitalia | 12 | 12 | ||
| Nigeria ! | Arik Air | 2 | 2 | ||
| South Korea ! | Asiana Airlines | 12 | 12 | ||
| Colombia ! | Avianca | 9 | 9 | ||
| Indonesia ! | Batavia Air | 2 | 2 | ||
| Kazakhstan ! | Berkut Air | 1 | 1 | ||
| United Kingdom ! | bmi - British Midland | 2 | 2 | ||
| Belgium ! | Brussels Airlines | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
| Hong Kong ! | Cathay Pacific | 35 | 35 | ||
| Republic of China ! | China Airlines | 22 | 22 | ||
| China ! | China Eastern Airlines | 12 | 15 | 27 | |
| China ! | China Southern Airlines | 16 | 8 | 24 | |
| France ! | Corsair International | 3 | 3 | ||
| United States ! | Delta Air Lines | 11 | 21 | 32 | |
| Hong Kong ! | Dragonair | 17 | 17 | ||
| Switzerland ! | Edelweiss Air | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Egypt ! | EgyptAir | 7 | 4 | 11 | |
| United Arab Emirates ! | Emirates Airline | 26 | 26 | ||
| United Arab Emirates ! | Etihad Airways | 17 | 2 | 6 | 25 |
| Republic of China ! | EVA Air | 11 | 3 | 14 | |
| Finland ! | Finnair | 8 | 8 | ||
| Indonesia ! | Garuda Indonesia | 8 | 6 | 14 | |
| Bahrain ! | Gulf Air | 10 | 10 | ||
| China ! | Hainan Airlines | 6 | 5 | 11 | |
| United States ! | Hawaiian Airlines | 9 | 9 | ||
| Portugal ! | Hifly | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Hong Kong ! | Hong Kong Airlines | 9 | 4 | 13 | |
| Russia ! | I-Fly | 1 | 1 | ||
| India ! | Jet Airways | 11 | 11 | ||
| Australia ! | Jetstar Airways | 11 | 11 | ||
| Jordan ! | Jordan Aviation | 1 | 1 | ||
| Netherlands ! | KLM | 11 | 3 | 14 | |
| South Korea ! | Korean Air | 7 | 16 | 23 | |
| Germany ! | Lufthansa | 18 | 18 | ||
| Malaysia ! | Malaysia Airlines | 3 | 4 | 19 | 26 |
| Italy ! | Meridiana Fly | 2 | 2 | ||
| Lebanon ! | Middle East Airlines | 4 | 4 | ||
| Turkey ! | MNG Airlines | 1 | 1 | ||
| United Kingdom ! | Monarch Airlines | 2 | 2 | ||
| Oman ! | Oman Air | 4 | 3 | 7 | |
| Turkey ! | Onur Air | 4 | 4 | ||
| Portugal ! | Orbest | 1 | 1 | ||
| Spain ! | Orbest Orizonia Airlines | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Philippines ! | Philippine Airlines | 8 | 8 | ||
| Australia ! | Qantas | 8 | 10 | 18 | |
| Qatar ! | Qatar Airways | 16 | 13 | 29 | |
| Jordan ! | Royal Jordanian | 3 | 3 | ||
| United States ! | Ryan International Airlines | 1 | 1 | ||
| Saudi Arabia ! | Saudia | 8 | 8 | ||
| Denmark ! | Scandinavian Airlines System | 4 | 4 | ||
| Pakistan ! | Shaheen Air | 2 | 2 | ||
| China ! | Sichuan Airlines | 4 | 4 | ||
| Singapore ! | Singapore Airlines | 19 | 19 | ||
| South Africa ! | South African Airways | 6 | 6 | ||
| Sri Lanka ! | SriLankan Airlines | 7 | 7 | ||
| Switzerland ! | Swiss International Airlines | 13 | 13 | ||
| Brazil ! | TAM Linhas Aéreas | 20 | 20 | ||
| Portugal ! | TAP Portugal | 12 | 12 | ||
| Thailand ! | Thai Airways International | 25 | 25 | ||
| Denmark ! | Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| United Kingdom ! | Thomas Cook Airlines U.K. | 3 | 3 | ||
| Turkey ! | Turkish Airlines | 8 | 3 | 10 | 21 |
| United States ! | US Airways | 7 | 9 | 16 | |
| Vietnam ! | Vietnam Airlines | 9 | 9 | ||
| United Kingdom ! | Virgin Atlantic | 8 | 8 | ||
| Australia ! | Virgin Australia | 5 | 5 | ||
| Russia ! | Vladivostok Avia | 1 | 1 | ||
| France ! | XL Airways France | 2 | 2 | ||
| China ! | Yangtze River Express Airlines | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yemen ! | Yemenia | 2 | 2 | ||
| undisclosed | 4 | 4 | |||
| Totals | Σ 87 | 472 | 15 | 424 | 911 |
Read more about this topic: List Of Airbus A330 Operators
Famous quotes containing the word airline:
“My job as a reservationist was very routine, computerized ... I had no free will. I was just part of that stupid computer.”
—Beryl Simpson, U.S. employment counselor; former airline reservationist. As quoted in Working, book 2, by Studs Terkel (1973)