KUALA LUMPUR: Airbus is ramping up the production of its A330neo given the increasing demand for the twin-aisle jet, Airbus executive vice president international Wouter van Wersch said.
"The A330neo is a great success. We're even ramping up the production of it and you'll see it yourself as soon as it arrives in Malaysia. It's an amazing aircraft and it's very successful," he told Business Times on the sidelines of Airbus' media briefing last Thursday.
Van Wersch also said Airbus is having a lot of engagements on the A330neo with many airlines and announcements on new sales to be made.
It was previously reported that the manufacturer is working towards producing four A330neos per year.
Malaysia Aviation Group's (MAG) airline subsidiary, Malaysia Airlines Bhd is expecting to receive its first A330neo next month.
The group has made an order for 20 new A330neo in 2022 with an option for another 20 of the same aircraft type. Airbus Asia Pacific president Anand Stanley said last week's announcement made by Cathay Pacific on the A330neo order speaks for itself.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific grabbed the headlines last week for its major firm order of 30 A330-900 for its mid-size widebody fleet replacement and growth programme.
As at end-July, the A330 family aircraft had won 1805 firm orders for over 130 customers globally.
Some of the new orders for the A330neo this year are from Virgin Atlantic, which placed seven firm orders of the aircraft type, Vietnam's Vietjet Air with 20 A330-900s and Taiwan's STARLUX Airlines' with three additional A330neo.
Airbus is also looking forward to strengthen its presence in Malaysia as the country is one of the top three largest market for the company in Asia Pacific after China and India.
Van Wouter said he is meeting all of Airbus' stakeholders to discuss on how the company could collaborate with them on the commercial aircraft as well as civil and military aircraft markets, and sustainability.
He said Malaysia could become one of the key source of feedstock in the region for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
"I'm looking forward to see where we stand in Malaysia and how we can continue the great partnership. Airbus is not new to Malaysia. We've been here for more than 40 years."
"During these 40 years, we've been building a very strong partnership with the country. I think we can say we are now definitely the main partner in aerospace for Malaysia," van Wouter said.
Airbus has over 280 commercial aircraft in service with Malaysian carriers, nearly 100 civil and military helicopters, four military transport aircraft, and two satellites supporting national defence and development./ends