Company special: Wide-body Airbus to help end flight delays

The Airbus A330, the most popular wide-body aircraft in China, will play a key part in relieving flight delays caused by a growing number of air traffic jams, according to airlines that use the model.

A total of 103 aircraft from the Airbus A330 family are currently being operated by six carriers on the Chinese mainland, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.

"Efficiency, reliability and cabin comfort have made the A330 the wide-body aircraft of choice in the world today," said John Leahy, Airbus' chief operating officer customers.

As the most efficient twin-aisle aircraft, the A330 has become the first choice for Chinese airlines, which are experiencing surging market demand.

In 2011, there were 21 airports in China that transported more than 10 million passengers.

The number of Chinese air passengers will grow to 450 million by 2015, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent compared to 2010, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The increasing number of passengers will put more pressure on airports, where delays are already commonplace.

The authority is encouraging more airlines to use wide-body aircraft between busy airports.

Since the first A330 aircraft went into operation with China Southern Airlines in February 2005, the A330 has demonstrated excellent performance on domestic, regional and international routes, including high-altitude routes to Tibet.

For Chinese carriers, the A330s have also been used for some major events, such as the torch relay of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the evacuation of overseas Chinese during natural disasters and social turmoil in other places of the world.

With a range capability of 13,412 km and a seating capacity of 253, the A330-200 has the versatility to cover all ranges, making it ideal for point-to-point operations.

The A330-300 has a range capability of 11,192 km and a capacity to seat 295 passengers.

It is unmatched in terms of per-seat costs in its category, maintaining its position as the most economical twin-aisle regional airliner.

Further, Airbus aircrafts share a unique cockpit and operational commonality, allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, bringing operational flexibility and significant cost savings.

For passengers, the A330 supports the latest in-flight entertainment including video-on-demand, mobile phones and e-mail services.

The cabin offers a bright, spacious atmosphere, making flying less tiring and more pleasurable, the company said.

The A330 has been certified by European Aviation Safety Agency for extended ETOPS from 180 to 240 minutes.

This will help operators further lower fuel consumption and emissions while realizing higher payloads and achieving greater schedule reliability.

Airbus is also incorporating other technical improvements to improve eco-efficiency and reduce operating costs.

A good example includes navigation upgrades, such as Airborne Traffic Situational Awareness, which has led to shortened routings at optimum flight levels.

The A330 is now qualified to operate routes and precision approaches with "required navigational performance" as part of its next-generation suite of navigational aids.

The company has taken more than 1,200 orders for various versions of the aircraft, and so far, more than 900 have been delivered to 120 customers and operators worldwide.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn