Twenty-one years after the Airbus A330 entered service, the manufacturer is preparing to introduce the Neo (“New Engine Option”) variant, for which it plans to freeze the design by next month. After the Series 200 and 300 and regional and cargo versions, the re-engined Series 800 and 900 add a further generation to the successful twin-aisle twinjet. Earlier this year, the A330neo reached “concept freeze” allowing Airbus to proceed with detailed component and parts design.

“We are preparing the transition to A330neo. There is a lot of work to do, but it is already going well and the team, led by Odile Jubecourt, is on track with all the milestones and preliminary design reviews,” said A330-family program head Eric Zanin.

The A330neo was launched at the UK Farnborough Airshow in July 2014 with a 42-month timetable for development that envisions entry into service at the end of 2017. In addition to exclusive new 68,000- to 72,000-pound-thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 powerplants, the variant also benefits from aerodynamic enhancements and an updated cabin that will “have the same look and feel as that of the A350,” according to Zanin.

A major contribution to reducing A330neo operating costs will come from adding 10 more passenger seats than the present A330ceo (“Current Engine Option”). This will provide two-class configuration for 256 passengers in the A330-800 and 310 in the -900 (which retain the fuselage dimensions of the A330-200 and -300, respectively).

In September, Airbus announced that manufacture of the first A330neo was under way in France with the first metal cut at production facilities in Toulouse and Nantes. Machining of the first engine pylon began in mid-year in Saint-Eloi (Toulouse), while the factory in Nantes started to produce the first A330neo center wing box.

The titanium pylon will be fitted with an “A350-inspired” fairing made from composite materials and titanium, said Airbus. The center wing box Rib 1 uses an “Isogrid” design incorporating 330 triangular pockets that provide necessary component rigidity and strength, while also meeting weight requirements.

The manufacturer “projects” that the A330neo will have 14-percent lower fuel consumption per seat, with operators also benefitting from an additional 400 nm of range, as well as commonality with other Airbus aircraft.

Trent 7000 Engine

Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce began to package kits of completed Trent 7000 parts in June, to support assembly plans aimed to see the first engine beginning tests in the latter part of this year. RR said the 7000 combines experience from the Trent 700 (available to power the A330), architecture from the Trent 1000-TEN (latest version of the Trent 1000, RR’s offering for the Boeing 787), and technology from the Trent XWB (powerplant for the Airbus A350). Compared with the current Trent 700, the new 7000 will “improve specific fuel consumption by 10 percent, have twice the bypass ratio, and will halve noise,” claimed the manufacturer.

Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza (Safran) have formed Aero Gearbox International, a joint company to develop and support accessory drive trains (or gearboxes) for Rolls-Royce’s future civil engines, including the Trent 7000 as one of the first applications. The equipment drives systems and accessories such as fuel and hydraulic pumps and electrical generators.