PPRuNe Forums - Typical A330-200 cruise speeds and altitudes

Hi!

For my work as aersopace engineer at the university I need to assess the flight performance of an A330-200 with constant payload on different routes, cruise altitudes and speeds.

In this context I am looking for some information concerning the typical cruise conditions that are usually flown.
And pilots or controllers know theese things way better than engineers... :)

I would appriciate some answers on the following questions:

1.) What are the typically flown initial cruise altitudes and Mach numbers supposing 25t payload, average cost index and flight distances of 500nm, 2500nm and 5000nm?

2.) Do the cruise conditions on short flights (<500nm, same payload) differ very much from long range flights?

The highest optimal Mach number (for higher cost indexes and FL>350) is indicated in the A330 FCOM as 0.84.
Are Mach numbers of 0.85 on FL 390-410 realistic? And how often are such high speeds flown (rel. to usual conditions)?

Any information on these questions would help me a lot!
Thanks in advance!
Cheers