The past 12 months have been significant in the life of the A330 programme. Twenty years on from its entry into service, Airbus confirmed the launch of the A330neo at Farnborough last year and now, just weeks after its 21st birthday, the widebody has hit the milestone of 1,500 firm orders.
While this is by no means an achievement to be sniffed at, the A330 hasn’t been able to match its rival the 777 which, despite launching 18 months later, has received 1,834 orders.