Airbus says close to delivering first A330-900 to TAP Portugal

Airbus plans to deliver its delayed A330-900 aircraft to launch customer TAP Portugal "imminently", an executive with the planemaker said Tuesday. The 290-seat aircraft is part of the A330neo series - an upgrade of the A330 wide-body jet with new engines designed to blunt sales of the lightweight Boeing 787. A smaller 250-seat sister plane, the A330-800, is close to staging its first flight, Mark Pearman-Wright, head of leasing and investor marketing at Airbus, added. Rolls-Royce said last week that it faced production delays with engines for the A330neo. Airbus and Boeing have been locked in a fierce battle for sales of relatively small wide-body jets like the A330neo, which has been struggling to win orders against the 787 Dreamliner. <br/>