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See how a new aircraft comes together.
Airbus has released video, filmed at the plane manufacturer’s plant in Toulouse, France, showing the assembly of an A330-900 plane — from delivery of components, to the final assembly line, to livery painting, and finally to flight — and it’s pretty mesmerizing.
The aircraft has been delivered to Air Mauritius, which is leasing the aircraft.
The national carrier of the Republic of Mauritius is the first A330neo operator based in the southern hemisphere, and the first airline in the world to operate a combination of both the A330neo and A350 XWB, Airbus said a press release.
The video starts with the parts being unloaded from Airbus Beluga 3, one of the company’s original fleet of five whale-shaped cargo planes which fly its aircraft components between European production sites and its final assembly lines in Toulouse, Hamburg and Tianjin, according to CNN.
The plane is Air Mauritius’ first A330-900. (Photo Credit: Airbus)
The aircraft will feature a two-class cabin with 28 business class seats and 260 economy class seats. The carrier will deploy the aircraft on routes connecting Mauritius to Europe (mainly London and Geneva), India and South East Asian routes and on regional destinations including Johannesburg, Antananarivo and Reunion Island.
The A330neo Family is the new generation A330, the most popular widebody family, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family, while reducing fuel consumption by about 25 percent per seat versus previous generation competitor aircraft.
Infographic Credit: Airbus
The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets.
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