Airbus A330-200
Shorter body, longer legs — the long-range A330 · First flight 1997 · In service 1998
The A330-200 is a shortened, longer-range version of the original. Its fuselage is ten frames — 4.85 m — shorter than the A330-300's, and it carries a centre-section fuel tank that the first -300s lacked, lifting range to around 13,450 km. To make up for the shorter tail arm its fin is 104 cm taller, so it actually stands higher on the ramp than the longer -300.
It first flew on 13 August 1997 and entered service with the Canadian charter airline Canada 3000 in April 1998. Typically seating around 246 passengers in two classes, it went on to become one of the most popular wide-bodies of its era, flown by carriers such as KLM, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad and ITA Airways.
The -200 airframe became the starting point for a whole family of spin-offs: the A330-200F freighter, the A330 MRTT military tanker and, via the freighter, Airbus's own BelugaXL outsize transport.
