The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approved certification for Airbus A330-900 enhancement which enables a longer range. With the new variant of A300neo Family aircraft, operators are enabled either to boost an additional 650 nautical miles in range or to add extra weight to the payload.

Airbus achieved new EASA certification, which increased the maximum allowance of the A330-900 take-off weight from the previous 242 tonnes to 251 tonnes, the European manufacturer announced in a statement on October 8, 2020. The just-approved upgrade of the Maximum-Take-Off-Weight (MTOW) would improve the jet range and economics.

„With the new 251-tonne weight variant the A330neo is more flexible than ever to meet their current and future requirements,“  said Francois Kubica, the Chief Engineer of A330, in the statement.

Airbus outlined that the weight increase was a response to the current aviation market needs. The upgrade should help air carriers to cut operating costs as well as allow them to fly longer routes. The new MTOW option burns 25% less fuel and makes the A330-900 appropriate to operate long trans-Pacific or Europe-Asia routes. This would lead the operators to capitalize on longer routes while rationalizing their fleets.

While having a 95% spares commonality and the same type rating retraining as other A330 Family jets, the freshly certificated A330-900 could fit into “any existing” A330 fleet, announced Airbus.