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#Airbus
#A330neo
💰unbeatable economics
🌍excellent range versatility
💺superior comfort
Toulouse, France | THE INDEPENDENT & AGENCIES | The second new Uganda Airlines plane, another Airbus A330neo, has just taken off on an 11-hour journey from Southern France, heading to Entebbe Airport.
It is fully loaded with medical supplies, a timely donation from Airbus Foundation to Uganda through UNICEF.
The plane left Toulouse at 2am Uganda time, and on board is the Ministry of Works Permanent Secretary Bageya Waiswa who traveled to receive it.
Proud to partner with @UG_Airlines and @logcluster to support @UNICEF to bring 5T of medical goods on the airline’s latest #A330neo ✈delivery from Toulouse 🇫🇷. The items will be used to support neonatal intensive care units in Uganda 🇺🇬 pic.twitter.com/3eHd9pxE5u
— Airbus Foundation (@AirbusFdn) February 2, 2021
The A330neo is the latest version of the most popular widebody airliner and will be the second Airbus aircraft delivered to Uganda Airlines, which was re-established in 2019.
The first, ‘Mt Elgon’ was received by President Yoweri Museveni on December 22, while the second, ‘Mt Rwenzori’ will be received by Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda at 9.30am at Entebbe Airport.
On board are Ugandan pilots led by Uganda Airlines Chief Pilot Capt Michael Etiang.
Airbus praises Uganda
In a statement in December, Airbus had said the country’s flag-carrier had made the perfect choice of aircraft needed to operate in the new normal of post-COVID-19 recovery. The A330neo will enable the newly re-launched airline to launch its long-range operations with non-stop intercontinental flights to the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
“Thanks to its tailored, mid-sized capacity and its excellent range versatility, the A330neo is considered the ideal aircraft to operate as part of the post-COVID-19 recoverym,” Airbus said in its statement.
The A330neo is a true new-generation aircraft, building on the features of the popular A330 and using technology developed for the A350. (CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATE ON THE PLANE’S FLIGHT PATH INTO AFRICAN AIR SPACE)
The aircraft burns 25% less fuel per seat than previous generation competitors. The A330neo cabin offers a unique passenger experience with more personal space and the latest generation in-flight entertainment system and connectivity.
Featuring Airbus’ Airspace cabin, passengers can enjoy a unique experience which includes 20 full-flat, business-class beds, 28 premium-economy seats and 210 economy-class seats, totalling 258 seats.
“In line with the Company’s strategy to keep offering its customers unbeatable economics, increased operational efficiency and superior passenger comfort, the A330-800 is the latest addition to Airbus’ commercial aircraft product line,” Airbus said.
In a recent interview, Cornwell Muleya, the company acting CEO said, “We’re targeting mainly three connections to overseas markets, which is Dubai, London as well as the Chinese market in Guangzhou.”
Uganda currently has four bombardiers – CRJ 900 series, plying up to eight regional routes since August 2019.
Humanitarian Aid from the #Airbus Foundation through #UNICEF being loaded onto Uganda’s second airbus A330neo at the Airbus delivery center before take off for Uganda. @MoWT_Uganda @SoftPowerNews @UG_Airlines @newvisionwire @KigeziNews @nbstv @ubctvuganda @ntvuganda pic.twitter.com/wjCTfpztyR
— SUSAN KATAIKE (@sussiekats) February 1, 2021
The A330neo
Launched in July 2014, the A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality.
The plane, according to Airbus, 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 competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500 nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation.
Powered by the latest Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and featuring a new wing with increased span and A350-inspired Sharklets, the A330neo provides an unprecedented level of efficiency.
The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wifi connectivity systems, amongst others.
Airbus has only sold 14 of the -800 version of the A330neo compared to 318 of the A330-900, making news of its deliveries a rarity indeed. The shorter version of the A330neo was first delivered to launch customer Kuwait Airways in October.
