New A330-300 Aircraft Off to Hong Kong
Sydney, 10 August 2004
Qantas today began operating its new Airbus A330-300 aircraft on international routes. The aircraft will initially operate from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Hong Kong.
Executive General Manager Qantas Airlines, John Borghetti, said this marked an important step in a fleet strategy which will see A330-300s replacing Boeing 767 aircraft on international routes.
Qantas recently took delivery of three new two-class A330-300s fully configured for international flying and featuring:
* 30 Business Class and 267 Economy Class seats;
* Qantas' new International Business Class product which includes the award winning Skybed sleeper seat and specially trained, dedicated flight attendants;
* Qantas' Inflight Entertainment System offering individual inseat video screens and 18 video and 16 audio channels for customers in Business and Economy Class;
* two self-service Business Class bars; and
* mood lighting throughout the Business Class cabin.
"The A330-300 fleet will become an integral part of our international operations," Mr Borghetti said.
"The aircraft will allow us to offer our new Skybed International Business Class product and inflight entertainment system on important routes such as Hong Kong."
The Airbus A330-300s will fly on other medium haul routes in coming months, including Tokyo Narita, Singapore and from Sydney to Shanghai when Qantas resumes services to China on 2 December later this year.
A further three A330-300s will be delivered for international flying from November 2004, bringing the total A330-300 fleet to nine.
A330-300 statistics include:
* Length 63.7 metres
* Width 5.38 metres
* Wing Span 60.3 metres
* Average Cruise Speed 880 km/h
* Cruise Altitude 28,000-39,000 feet
* Maximum Range 9,445 km
* Engines General Electric CF6-80E1A3