Airbus A330 Gets Second Wind as Boeing 787 Delay Riles Airlines

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS is churning out its A330 wide-body aircraft in record numbers and has rival Boeing Co. to thank for the 17-year-old jet’s second wind.

Production of the twin-aisle jet will rise to 10 a month by mid-2013, from eight now, to satisfy “unprecedented” demand, the Toulouse, France-based manufacturer said yesterday. The jet, which sells for about $200 million at list price, is a favorite in the fleets of carriers including Delta Air Lines Inc. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

“There’s frustrated demand out there for the plane,” Airbus Sales Chief John Leahy said in an interview. “I wish I could get my hands on another 15 or 20 even for 2012.”

Airbus is revving up production as Boeing grapples with more than three years of delays on its 787 Dreamliner, announced in 2003 as an alternative to the A330 after Airbus quashed demand for the Boeing 767 model that’s almost twice the age of the A330. Boeing’s Dreamliner woes have left dozens of airlines with holes in their fleets, driving some to other aircraft.

The A330 twin-engine aircraft that seats 250 to 330 passengers and entered service in 1994 flies as far as 6,450 nautical miles, servicing routes across the U.S. or the North Atlantic, as well as many intra-Asian connections. The larger A330-300 can cover about 5,500 nautical miles. .............(more)

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