Corsair celebrates its first A330-300
New levels of efficiency and comfort on Corsair routes
Corsair has taken delivery of the first of two A330-300s ordered from Airbus. The aircraft was delivered at a special ceremony in Toulouse today attended by Corsair Chairman, Pascal de Izaguirre.
This new A330-300 is part of TUI’s commitment to invest in today’s greenest aircraft and to strengthen services from Paris across the Atlantic Ocean, to the French West Indies, Canada and West Africa and to the Indian Ocean destinations The aircraft is the first to be delivered from the two A330-300s ordered in December 2010. It will enter in commercial service by end of this month .
“We are delighted with this decision by TUI Travel to buy Airbus A330 aircraft”, says Pascal de Izaguirre, CEO, Corsair. “We already benefit from an excellent performance of an A330-200s and these new A330 with a track record of unmatched efficiency, reliability and low operating costs will allow us to enforce our new strategy of operating the most eco-efficient and reliable aircraft for our network,” he added.
“TUI Travel is pleased to be acquiring the A330-300 aircraft which, particularly with its recently enhanced capability, is clearly the ideal aircraft type to be introduced to the Corsair fleet to complement the existing A330-200 operations. Airbus has worked closely with Corsair and TUI Travel management to ensure the success of this renewal of the Corsair fleet and has been proactive in recognising and addressing our requirements and developing the business relationship.” Says Tom Chandler, Director of Aircraft Acquisition and Finance at TUI Travel PLC.
“The A330-300 is the aircraft which best fulfils airline’s needs in terms of range and capacity. It offers airlines unparalleled productivity, why passengers love the comfort,” said John Leahy, Airbus COO Customers. “TUI travel’s decision to acquire our mid-size long-haul star is a further proof that the A330 delivers exactly what the market needs.”
With a true wide-body fuselage allowing very high comfort standards, the A330-300 is able to accommodate seat and class configurations to suit diverse customer requirements. It has a range of up to 5,600 nm / 10,400 km with a typical 300 passenger load. Highly efficient and optimised for the medium – to long range market, the A330-300 offers the best balance between range and cost. The A330-300 remains the most economic means of flying 300 or so passengers on medium range routes in true long haul comfort.
The A330 Family, which spans 200 to 400 seats for the passenger variants and also includes Freighter, VIP, and Military Transport/Tanker variants, has now attracted more than 1,200 orders.