Aircraft
Airbus To Raise A330 Rate to 10 a Month
Airbus has decided to raise the production rate for its A330 family to 10 aircraft a month starting in the second quarter of 2013, the company announced to

Airbus has decided to raise the production rate for its A330 family to 10 aircraft a month starting in the second quarter of 2013, the company announced today. The company now builds eight A330s a month and plans to first increase the rate to nine early next year before reaching double digits in 2013.

Increased demand for the Airbus widebody corresponded with the more than three years of delivery delays suffered by Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Airbus also hopes to win a competition to supply aerial refueling tankers based on the A330 to the U.S. Meanwhile, last year Airbus delivered five of the new A330 freighter variant to three customers as a first step toward satisfying a projected market of some 400 new-build midsize freighters over the next 20 years.