Air Belgium’s first Airbus A330neo wearing the carrier’s white, red, yellow, and black livery has been spotted at Airbus’ Toulouse headquarters. The aircraft is expected to be delivered to the Brussels-based carrier later this month and is one of two white tail Airbus A330neos procured by the airline.
Last week Air Belgium teased us with little snippets of its first Airbus A330neo in the paint shop. Now, the waiting to see the aircraft in its full glory is over, with Airbus publishing pictures of the shiny ‘new’ aircraft on its official Twitter page.
Showing off OO-ABG
Having hinted at the majestic nature of OO-ABG’s paint scheme last week, it was time to show it off to the world today. This morning, Airbus shared four images of the jet emerging from the paint shop. Previously the aircraft had only been seen in the open in primer, with only its engines fully painted.
Interestingly, unlike most new planes, this isn’t the first livery worn by this particular aircraft. The aircraft ended up as a white tail after Rwandair pulled the plug on its A330neo ambitions. The aircraft had already received the Rwandair livery at this point, so it had to be stripped before the new livery was applied. Air Belgium’s purchase contributed to Airbus having no white tail aircraft left on its books.
According to data from ch-avition.com, the aircraft is only 0.06 years old, having first flown on July 21st. Its confirmed delivery date is listed as August 2021, meaning that it should be delivered in the next 20 days. Once the aircraft arrives at the carrier, pilots will likely undergo training before it is scheduled to enter service flying to Mauritius from October 15th.
The second aircraft due to be delivered is OO-ABF. This plane is 2.44 years old as it first flew in March 2019. According to ch-aviation.com, it isn’t scheduled to be delivered until December 2021, meaning the airline has a fair few months to get to grips with the type before this plane’s delivery.
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Not the carrier’s most fun livery
While the livery worn by the Airbus A330neos is more fun than the plain white seen on at least one of the carrier’s A340s, it is far from the most fun livery worn by the airline. The award for that goes to an Airbus A340 painted in a special ‘Martinique-Guadaloupe’ livery.
Commenting on the first Airbus A330neo set to join the fleet, Niky Terzakis, CEO of Air Belgium, said,
“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… With the A330neos customers will directly benefit from even greater comfort and superior service on board, while reducing our environmental impact by 25%.”
What do you think of OO-ABG’s paint scheme? Let us know what you think and why in the comments down below!
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