Article from BTNews 9 JULY 2018
TAP's new baby on tour
The new Airbus A330-900neo that will be delivered to launch customer TAP Air Portugal later this summer completed a world tour at the weekend after visiting 15 major airports on five continents to conduct 150 hours of flight tests.
The odyssey began on 19 June in Lisbon with a presentation at TAP’s maintenance hangar at Toulouse attended by Airbus president Guillaume Faury and TAP CEO Antonoaldo Neves.
The aircraft, configured to carry up to 34 Business Class passengers and 264 Economy, and with the new Airspace by Airbus cabin, then set off on the first stage of its journey with stops at Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Recife, and Miami.
Other destinations included Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, and Mauritius, then New Delhi, Reykjavik, Chicago, and Atlanta, concluding with a return to the Airbus plant in Toulouse on Saturday.
Neves said: “This marks another important step in the plan to transform TAP with one of the most modern fleets in the world and to continue to affirm Portugal as the Atlantic hub of air transport and TAP a relevant player between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.”
TAP is due to receive 21 A330neos, 19 A320neos, 17 A321neos and 14 A321LRs between now and 2025.
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