Air Belgium’s first Airbus A330-900neo has made its first flight, registered as F-WWKQ. The 3 hour test flight comes just months before its delivery to the Belgian airline. The carrier is hoping to renew and expand its fleet and therefore announced an order for a pair of A330neos on 1 July – first reported by AeroNewsX on June 15.
The two Airbus A330-900s were originally destined for the now-defunct Air Berlin. At the hands of Air Lease Corporation, Rwandair revealed interest in leasing the two and the aircraft were painted in the carrier’s livery. Eventually, the agreement fell through and the planes were left without an operator.
The carrier intends to introduce the first aircraft into commercial service on 15 October, 2021, on Air Belgium’s brand new route connecting Brussels Zaventem Airport with Mauritius. The service to Mauritius is due to operate twice weekly and will be, as of yet, Air Belgium’s only commercial service from Brussels-Zaventem Airport. All other destinations, comprising Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre and Curaçao, are served from Brussels Charleroi Airport. The second Airbus A330neo is due to be delivered by the end of November. The two planes will allow Air Belgium to “gradually replace” two of its Airbus A340s.
Wednesday’s test flight lasted a total of 3 hours and 17 minutes and saw the aircraft fly over the Mediterranean Sea and pass briefly over Corsica before returning back to Toulouse following some time in the air for tests, according to FlightRadar24 data.
“Air Belgium is very happy and proud to present these new aircraft in Belgium. They are the most modern aircraft that will operate under the Belgian flag. We are very pleased by our experience operating the Airbus A340s, demonstrating reliability, comfort and performance. With the A330neos customers will directly benefit from even greater comfort and superior service on board, while reducing our environmental impact by 25%” explained Niky Terzakis, CEO of Air Belgium, at the start of the month.
Per AIB Family Flights information, the aircraft performed a taxi check, as well as an aborted takeoff as part of its ground tests on Tuesday.
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