Afriqiyah Airways has taken delivery of their first Airbus A330-200 aircraft, becoming a new operator of this aircraft type. The new A330 will seat 230 passengers in a two-class cabin and will serve long-haul operations on routes from Tripoli to Africa and Europe.

The new A330-200, the first of three ordered in 2006, will join Afriqiyah's existing all Airbus fleet of two A319s and five A320s. This brings the unique benefits of Airbus aircraft commonality to Afriqiyah, who can use the same pool of pilots, cabin crew and maintenance engineers across its entire Airbus fleet.

The airline will take delivery of a further 10 A320 family aircraft in the coming years, and has also selected the A350 XWB, with six A350-800s ordered in 2007.

"We are looking forward to introducing the A330 on our rapidly expanding network," said Ramah Ettir, CEO of Afriqiyah Airways. "Its outstanding economics and commonality with our existing fleet, will enable Afriqiyah to continue to expand our affordable and reliable services and further strengthen our market position."

"Afriqiyah Airways has achieved impressive growth since it first entered the market in 2001, and we are very proud to have been their partner during this time," said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. "The A330 has unbeatable economic efficiency and will enable Afriqiyah's continued expansion. We look forward to continuing our partnership."

With a true wide-body fuselage allowing very high comfort standards, the A330-200 is able to accommodate seat and class configurations to suit the diverse customer requirements. It has a range of up to 6,750 nm / 12,500 km with a full passenger load. Its large under-floor cargo holds can also carry standard pallets and containers side-by-side.

It also has the excellent operational flexibility necessary to serve a wide range of route structures, providing operators with very low operating cost per seat. Its proven record of economy and superior passenger comfort provides operators with a significant competitive advantage in the market today.

The twin engine A330 is one of the most widely used widebody aircraft in service today. Airbus has won more than 1,000 orders for the aircraft and more than 600 A330s are in operation worldwide with more than 70 operators. The combined fleet has achieved more than 13 million flight hours and serves around 300 destinations worldwide.

Source: Airbus