A number of UK airlines received the A330 in the late 1990s early 2000s without any exposure to the type before. Off we went to Florida with very few hours on type but we did have a background on Airbus aircraft , both conventional and FBW.
I mentioned in a previous post the situation whereby a pilot was disconnecting the autopilot by putting pressure on the side stick with his foot. This incident does not seem a lot different except that I am surprised that the FBW protections took longer then I thought to activate. The RAF seemed to have discovered very early on in their operation of an Airbus FBW the problem with having sidesticks that are not linked. It is a major failing in the basic Airbus design. Hopefully it may be addressed in the future.
I think that blaming it as a MK 1 version is incorrect. There are over 1000 330s in operation worldwide and Airbus through their CPIP are always tweaking the design.