A330neo arrives in Atlanta on route-proving flight with TAP

Airbus is continuing its route-proving program toward A330neo certification, completing a 2-hr. leg from Chicago O’Hare to Atlanta Hartsfield July 7. This part of the testing is using an A330-900neo that will be delivered to TAP Air Portugal, which has ordered 21 of the type. The joint route proving flights are part of the work required by civil aviation authorities and must include short, and long flights as well as flights in different environmental conditions. For the -900neo, these have included flights in Kazakhstan for cold weather, Mexico for hot weather, Bolivia for high altitude, and Ireland for strong wind conditions. Airbus has two more -900s participating in the certification program and anticipates completion this summer. TAP is configuring its -900neos with 298 seats in a three-class cabin comprising 34 business-class seats 96 economy Xtra seats with a 34-in. seat pitch and 68 regular economy with a 31-in. pitch. The lie-flat business seats and slim-line economy seats are supplied by Recaro, while the IFE systems are Pansonic’s EX3. TAP intends to first operate the -900neo on premium routes such as Lisbon-Sao Paulo and Lisbon-New York, but with seven scheduled for delivery by the end of 2018, expects to see the aircraft widely deployed soon to its Americas’ destinations.<br/>