Airbus A330-800 Operates First Commercial Flight

The Airbus A330-800 has operated a commercial flight for the first time. The brand-new type was deployed by Kuwait Airways on Friday on the scheduled Kuwait-Dubai service, a flight of more than an hour. Kuwait Airways was the first airline to receive the A330-800 at the end of October.

The A330-800 is the smallest version of the A330neo. This is a modernised version of the very successful A330, with new engines and wings. The aircraft is therefore considerably more economical than its predecessor.

The A330-800 is based on the A330-200 and combines a relatively low passenger capacity (235 seats) with an enormous flight range of 15,000 kilometers.

The A330-800 is not very popular: the aircraft has only been ordered by Kuwait Airways (8), Uganda Airlines (2) and anonymous customers (4), one of which is probably going to Air Greenland.

The larger A330-900 is a lot more popular. It can fly less far, but offers lower costs per passenger. The -900 already flies for several airlines worldwide.