Summary
- Only 3 airlines operate the Airbus A330-800, making it an unpopular choice in comparison to other variants of the A330neo family.
- Air Greenland, Uganda Airlines, and Kuwait Airways utilize the A330-800 on various routes globally.
- The A330-800 offers an enhanced range but sacrifices seating capacity for efficiency, with only five customers ordering the aircraft.
The Airbus A330-800 is a rare variant of the Airbus A330neo and is operated by Kuwait Airways, Uganda Airlines, and Air Greenland. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, three airlines are flying Airbus’s unpopular A330-800 as of July 2024. While the success of the Airbus A330neo family has made it one of the world’s most popular aircraft, the same is not true for the -800 variant. Only seven A330-800s are in service with three airlines (although more have been ordered).
Air Greenland
Air Greenland operates a single Airbus A330-800. According to a 2023 report, Air Greenland retired its only A330-200. The route is operated from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Kangerlussuaq Airport in Greenland (the international hub for Air Greenland). Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Origin: |
Destination: |
Miles: |
Seats: |
---|---|---|---|
Copenhagen Airport, Denmark |
Kangerlussuaq Airport, Greenland |
2,138 |
9,150 |
Kangerlussaqu Airport is one of only two airports in Greenland that can handle large aircraft. However, after the new runway and terminal are opened in 2024, most traffic is expected to move to Nuuk Airport near the main settlement of Nuuk. After that, Kangeerlussaq Airport will be closed to major commercial aircraft. The Kangeerlussaq Airport’s runway is experiencing problems caused by the permafrost melting underneath it.
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Uganda Airlines
Uganda Airlines operates two Airbus A330-800 jets delivered in 2020 and 2021. The country is on the equator in the heart of Africa, once called the “Pearl of Africa” for its beauty by Winston Churchill in his 1908 book My African Journey. Uganda Airlines has a small fleet and flies its new A330-800s to Dubai and Mumbai.
Origin: |
Destination: |
Miles: |
Seats: |
---|---|---|---|
Entebbe, Uganda: |
Mumbai, India |
3,038 |
12,432 |
Entebbe, Uganda: |
Dubai, UAE |
2,313 |
19,536 |
Photo: Airbus
Uganda is also reported to be operating the world’s second-oldest active Airbus A320. The aircraft is leased. In general, sub-Saharan carriers have only limited choice of what they can lease and pay higher rates as wet lease operators partly on account of the high risk for the region.
Kuwait Airways
Kuwait operates a fleet of four A330-800s – making it the largest operator of the variant. Kuwait Airways uses the jets on routes across the greater Middle East, South Asia, and some destinations in Europe and North Africa. The longest-haul flight is from Kuwait to Guangzhou in southern China. Kuwait Airways’ shortest routes, the A330-800, are to Dubai, Amman, Jedda, Beirut, and Cairo, respectively.
Origin: |
Destination: |
Miles: |
Seats: |
---|---|---|---|
Cario, Egypt: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
998 |
4,700 |
Delhi, India: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
1,761 |
3,995 |
Guangzhou, China: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
4,022 |
3,290 |
Barcelona, Spain: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
2,691 |
3,055 |
Casablanca, Morocco: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
3,261 |
3,055 |
Kochi, India: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
2,258 |
2,820 |
Istanbul, Turkey (Istanbul Airport): |
Kuwait International Airport: |
1,362 |
2,820 |
Milan, Italy: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
2,404 |
2,820 |
Amman, Jordan: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
734 |
1,645 |
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
757 |
1,410 |
Islamabad, Pakistan: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
1,495 |
1,175 |
Beirut, Lebanon: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
801 |
470 |
Istanbul, Turkey (Sabiha Gökçen International Airport): |
Kuwait International Airport: |
1,324 |
470 |
Dubai, UAE: |
Kuwait International Airport: |
530 |
235 |
Photo: Airbus
According to Airfleets.net, Kuwait Airways also operates an A330-200 with a second aircraft parked. Kuwait Airways’s most numerous airliner is the Airbus A320, which is made up of 16 aircraft (including 9x A320neos and 7x A320-200s). It also has a fleet of 10 Boeing 777-300s, giving it a total fleet of 32 aircraft.
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The poor-selling Airbus A330-800
The A330-800 is a version of the Airbus A330neo family of airliners and normally seats 220 to 260 passengers in three classes. In an all-economy layout, it has a capacity for up to 406 travelers. It has the same fuselage length (193 feet) as the more popular Airbus A330-200, however, it has an expanded and re-optimized wing (its wingspan is 64 meters or 210 feet).
The A330-800 is also powered by the latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. The airliner also sports other new technologies and various aerodynamic improvements that reduce the aircraft’s drag and increase its lift. The increased range was the main selling point of the A330-800 over the A330-900, but this comes at the cost of extra seats.
Airbus claims the A330neo is “designed to be efficient on any sector length” and reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 25% compared to previous generation aircraft. It offers “double-digit cost advantages per seat.”
Photo: Airbus
The A330-800 first flew in 2018, was certified in 2020, and the first two were delivered to Kuwait Airways at the end of 2020. In December 2023, Business Insider called the A330-800neo a “commercial flop so far” as only three airlines are flying the type in the world (Airbus only secured one order for the jet in 2023). Only five customers have ordered it: Uganda Airways, Kuwait Airways, Garuda Indonesia (none received yet), Air Greenland, and a mystery buyer. Hawaiian Airlines previously dropped its order of A330-800s in favor of the Boeing 787-9 in 2018.