Editing Airbus A330 (section)

====A330-300====<!-- This section is linked from [[Lufthansa]] -->
{{Redirect|A333|the road in England|A333 road}}
[[File:B-5919@PEK (20190520160133).jpg|alt=|thumb|The initial variant, a 63.7 m (209 ft) long A330-300 of [[Air China]]]]
Powered by two [[General Electric CF6#CF6-80E1|General Electric CF6-80E1]], [[Pratt & Whitney PW4000]], or [[Rolls-Royce Trent 700]] engines, the {{cvt|63.69|m|ftin|sigfig=3}} long −300 has a range of {{cvt|11,750|km|nmi mi}}, typically carries 277 passengers with a 440 exit limit and 32 [[Unit load device|LD3]] containers.<ref name=Airbus_A330-300_specs /> It received European and American certification on 21 October 1993 after 420 test flights over 1,100 hours.<ref>{{cite press release |url= http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/a330-300-certification/ |title= A330-300 certification |date= 21 October 1993 |publisher= Airbus |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170224051709/http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/a330-300-certification/ |archive-date= 24 February 2017}}</ref> The −300 entered service on 16 January 1994.{{sfn|Norris|Wagner|2001|p=85}} The A330-300 is based on a stretched A300 fuselage but with new wings, stabilisers and fly-by-wire systems.

In 2010, Airbus offered a new version of the −300 with the maximum gross weight increased by two tonnes to 235 t. This enabled {{cvt|120|nmi}} extension of the range as well as 1.2 t increase in payload.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-poised-to-launch-higher-weight-a330-300-350165/ |access-date=7 October 2013 |title=Airbus poised to launch higher-weight A330-300 |date=25 November 2010 |first=Olivier |last=Bonnassies |work=Flightglobal}}</ref> In mid 2012, Airbus proposed another increase of the maximum gross weight to 240 t. It is planned to be implemented by mid 2015. This −300 version will have the range extended by {{cvt|400|nmi}} and will carry 5 t more payload. It will include engine and aerodynamic improvements reducing its fuel burn by about 2%.<ref name="aspireaviation2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.aspireaviation.com/2012/07/10/airbus-is-right-on-a330-improvement-strategy/ |title=Airbus is right on A330 improvement strategy |date=10 July 2012 |access-date=5 November 2012 |work=aspireaviatio |author=Daniel Tsang}}</ref> In November 2012, it was further announced that the gross weight will increase from 235 t to 242 t, and the range will increase by {{cvt|500|nmi|sigfig=3}} to {{cvt|6100|nmi|sigfig=3}}. Airbus is also planning to activate the central fuel tank for the first time for the −300 model.<ref name="flightglobal2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-to-raise-a330-take-off-weight-and-fuel-capacity-379583/ |title=Airbus to raise A330 take-off weight and fuel capacity |date=29 November 2012 |work=Flightglobal |author=David Kaminski-Morrow |access-date=4 January 2012}}</ref>

As of December 2020, a total of 779 of the -300 had been ordered, 771 of which had been delivered, with 742 in operation.<ref name="Airbus_O_D" /> The 2015 list price is $264&nbsp;million.<ref name=Airbus_prices /> The closest competitors have been the [[Boeing 777-200]], [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner|787-9]], and the now out-of-production [[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Learmount |first=David |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1990/1990%20-%202625.html |magazine=Flight International |issue=4232 |volume=138 |date=5–11 September 1990 |access-date=1 September 2015 |page=115 |title=Mass Market |issn=0161-7370}}</ref>