- Airbus’ worst-selling A330-800neo is expanding to more routes.
- The jet is unpopular due to its higher seat cost and smaller capacity compared to the A330-900neo.
- Only three global are scheduled to fly the plane on a few dozen routes in 2025.
Airbus has a strong aircraft portfolio, and its deliveries consistently outpace Boeing’s. But one of its planes has proven to be a commercial flop: the Airbus A330-800neo.
The jet flies further than its A330-900neo sister, but it has a higher per-seat fuel burn while carrying fewer people — tanking potential profits.
Only three airlines operate the plane: Air Greenland, Kuwait Airways, and Uganda Airlines. This year, it will go to one new city.
Beginning May 18, Uganda Airlines will launch four-times-weekly A330-800neo flights between Entebbe and London Gatwick Airport, bridging the two countries nonstop for the first time since 2015.
It’s the first time London has welcomed the jet since September 2023. People who hope to experience the ultra-rare plane can board in about three dozen cities worldwide this year.
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium shows only about 4,600 A330-800neo flights are scheduled for 2025, up about 450 from 2024.
Here is every route the A330-800neo is scheduled to fly this year, per Cirium data. Kuwait, the plane’s launch customer in 2020, is the largest operator.
Nuuk is a new A330-800neo city as of November 2024. Air Greenland — the plane’s smaller operator — inaugurated widebody flights from the country’s capital after the airport built a bigger runway.
The airline’s A330-800neo route to Reyjavik is also new in 2025 but will only fly two roundtrips, one in June and one in August. The route will otherwise use Boeing 737-800s and De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops.
Kuala Lumpur is a returning route for Kuwait, which last flew to the city in October 2023. Kuwait won’t fly its A330-800neo to Bangkok in 2025 like it did last year, swapping the route for the larger Boeing 777-300ER.
A handful of Kuwait’s routes will only fly a few roundtrips in April, including to Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan and to Tbilisi, Georgia. Munich will run twice in June.
Kuwait’s service to Ahmedabad, India, and Mashhad, Iran, were omitted from the map because they were single roundtrips that already operated in February and March.
One major market absent from the global A330-800neo network is the US.
Kuwait last flew the aircraft nonstop to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in October 2023 but has since swapped the jet for the Boeing 777-300ER.
Why the A330-800neo is so unpopular
The A330-800neo was built as a longer-range version of the A330-900neo, flying about 1,000 miles further than its sister aircraft. The range was supposed to be the main selling point, but it hasn’t been enough to offset its less favorable size and costs.
The A330-800neo can carry up to 406 people, compared to up to 465 passengers on the A330-900neo. Both are powered by next-generation Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engines that burn 25% less fuel than older A330s.
The A330-800neo’s shrunken size and complementary efficiency may seem like a sweet spot on lower-demand, far-away routes, but the per-seat cost is greater because the plane holds fewer people while still carrying the same structural components and engines as the A330-900neo.
The A330-900neo’s capacity allows for more revenue potential, especially since the larger cabin can accommodate more high-dollar business or first-class seats. Plus, the A330-900neo’s 8,300-mile range is already suitable for airlines’ needs.
The A330-800neo’s unfavorable economics have made it Airbus’ worst-selling plane. Air Greenland has one, Kuwait Airways has four, and Uganda Airlines has two. One unnamed private operator bought a single unit in 2023.
However, Garuda Indonesia canceled its purchase agreement for four A330-800neos in October, bringing the plane’s net orders to just eight over 11 years.
The A330-900neo has garnered nearly 400 orders during the same time and Cirium data shows it will fly about 82,000 scheduled flights in 2025.
No one has ordered the A330-800neo in nearly two years, though the plane’s cheaper $260 million price tag could help recoup the higher operating costs. The sister plane is nearly $300 million.
Still, it’s unclear whether Airbus will eventually abandon the project or keep it as an option, considering it invested in the plane and possibly doesn’t want those efforts wasted.
Read the full article here
