Airbus appears to have secured regulatory approval for an intermediate maximum take-off weight increase on the A330-900.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has listed two weight variants of a 245t version – designated WV910 and WV911 – on the aircraft’s type certificate.
Airbus has been developing higher-weight versions of the A330neo family, up to 251t for both the A330-900 and -800.
It flew the first 251t A330-900 on 28 February. The aircraft, like all A330neos, is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines.
Airbus had originally indicated it would enhance the A330neo’s capability through a modest increase in maximum take-off weight from 242t to 245t.
But it subsequently revealed in 2017 that it was aiming to hike the MTOW by a much larger margin, and offer a 650nm range increase – to 7,200nm – for the A330-900.
Airbus lists five basic weight variants of the A330-900 in airport planning documentation, plus three higher-weight variants including two 251t versions – WV920 and WV921 – but has yet to include the 245t airframes.
