Is the Airbus A330 safe?

The A330 has a strong overall safety record across more than 1,500 aircraft delivered since 1993. Air France 447 (2009, 228 fatalities) was the most significant accident and prompted major industry-wide changes to stall recovery and pitot tube replacement programmes. Since those changes the A330 has had no further fatal stall-related accidents.

How many fatal Airbus A330 accidents have there been?

The A330 has been involved in a small number of fatal accidents since entering service in 1993. The deadliest were Air France 447 (228 fatalities, 2009) and Yemenia 626 (152 fatalities, 2009). A 1994 certification test crash killed 7, but this was not a revenue flight.

Which airline has the largest A330 fleet?

China Eastern, China Southern, and Turkish Airlines each operate among the largest A330 fleets globally, each with 50-80 aircraft. TAP Air Portugal was the A330neo launch customer. Cathay Pacific remains one of the largest Western operators of the A330-300.

What's the difference between the A330-900neo and A330-800neo?

The A330-900neo is the longer variant, seating 260-460 passengers with a range of 7,200 nm — comparable to the 787-9. The A330-800neo is shorter, seating 220-406 with greater range (8,150 nm), targeting thinner ultra-long-haul routes. Both use Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and share the same neo-standard Airspace cabin.

How many seats does an Airbus A330 have?

The A330-300 typically seats 277-440 passengers; most airlines configure it for around 290-335 in two or three classes. The A330-200 seats 246-406. The A330-900neo in a typical two-class layout seats around 287-300 passengers, while TAP Air Portugal operates it with 298 seats.

When was the Airbus A330 introduced?

The A330-300 entered service with Air Inter (France) on 17 January 1994. The shorter A330-200 entered service with Monarch Airlines in April 1998. The A330-900neo entered commercial service with TAP Air Portugal on 26 November 2018.

Airbus A330 (all variants) — flights, routes and airlines

Every city pair operated by the Airbus A330 (all variants) worldwide. Live schedule data, recent safety events, and operator details.

The Airbus A330 (all variants) is operated by 127 airlines across 2429 city pairs in our observed-flights dataset (last 14 days).

Top routes: AMS-BOS, BOS-AMS, BOS-FCO, CMB-DXB, DPS-KUL.

Variants and specifications

Variant	First flight	Typical seats	Range (nm)	Status
A330-200	1997	246-406	7250	in service
A330-200F	2009	0	4000	in service
A330-300	1992	277-440	5925	in service
A330-800neo	2018	220-406	8150	in service
A330-900neo	2017	260-460	7200	in service

Notable accidents and incidents

2009-06-01 Air France 447 Air France A330-203 228 fatalities

Stalled into the Atlantic Ocean after pitot tube icing caused unreliable airspeed indications and the crew failed to recover from an upset; all 228 occupants perished and the wreckage was not recovered until 2011.
2009-06-30 Yemenia 626 Yemenia A330-243 152 fatalities

Crashed into the Indian Ocean near Comoros on approach to Moroni; the sole survivor, a 12-year-old girl, was found floating in the sea. Investigation cited poor crew resource management and approach in unstable conditions.
2010-05-12 Afriqiyah Airways 771 Afriqiyah Airways A330-202 103 fatalities

Crashed short of runway 09 at Tripoli International Airport on final approach; one child survived. Investigation cited controlled flight into terrain due to crew failure to maintain approach procedures.
1994-06-30 Airbus A330 certification test (A'Zaire) Interavia / Airbus A330-300 7 fatalities

A pre-delivery test flight at Toulouse-Blagnac crashed during a simulated engine-out go-around at low speed and altitude; all 7 crew members perished. This was a test aircraft, not a revenue service flight.

About the Airbus A330neo

The Airbus A330neo ("new engine option") entered service with TAP Air Portugal in November 2018, offering around 14% better fuel efficiency per seat than the A330ceo (current engine option) variants it supplements. The A330neo uses Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines paired with new Airspace cabin features and sharklet wingtips.

Two neo variants exist: the A330-900neo (stretched, seating 260-460) and the smaller A330-800neo (seating 220-406, range 8,150 nm), which targets routes where the 787-8 or A350-900 may be oversized. Demand for the -800neo has been limited — fewer than 20 orders as of 2025 — while the -900neo has over 200 orders. The A330ceo family remains in wide service with carriers including Cathay Pacific, China Eastern, and Turkish Airlines. Air France 447 (2009) was the type's deadliest accident and led to major changes in upset recovery training requirements globally.

Airbus A330 (all variants) — safety & facts

Safety record

Recorded occurrences: 242
Hull losses: 0
Fatal accidents: 10
Total fatalities: 782
Records span: 1994–2026

Based on 242 occurrences across NTSB, ASN, MAK, ATSB & Wikidata records. See full safety record →

Key facts

Manufacturer: Airbus
Typical seats: 247-440 pax
Range: 15,090 km
First flight: 1992-11

Last fatal hull loss: 2024 View full safety record →

Color reflects time since the last recorded fatal hull-loss involving this type, drawn from public datasets (NTSB, Aviation Safety Network, Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, Wikidata). It is not a commercial safety rating and does not normalise for flights flown, hours, or fleet size — for those, see the manufacturer or IATA Safety Report.

Notable events

2009-06-01 — Air France — 228 fatalities. Source.
2010-05-12 — Afriqiyah Airways — 103 fatalities. Source.
1994-06-30 — Airbus Industrie — 7 fatalities. Source.
2024-10-29 — Flynas, opb Lion Air — 1 fatalities. Source.
2005-10-16 — SriLankan Airlines — 1 fatalities. Source.

Variants

A330-200 — Shorter, longer-range variant of the A330.
A330-300 — Larger of the two original A330 variants.

Recent airline activity

Observed 2809 active routes flown by 117 airlines in the last 30 days.

Operators: Turkish Airlines (238), Delta Air Lines (139), China Eastern Airlines (72), Cathay Pacific (71), Air Canada (69)

Top routes: JFK–HNL, FRA–PUJ, KUL–DPS, DPS–KUL, LIS–FOR

Based on live ADS-B observations collected by FlightFinder, as of 2026-06-04.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Airbus A330 safe?: The A330 has a strong overall safety record across more than 1,500 aircraft delivered since 1993. Air France 447 (2009, 228 fatalities) was the most significant accident and prompted major industry-wide changes to stall recovery and pitot tube replacement programmes. Since those changes the A330 has had no further fatal stall-related accidents.
How many fatal Airbus A330 accidents have there been?: The A330 has been involved in a small number of fatal accidents since entering service in 1993. The deadliest were Air France 447 (228 fatalities, 2009) and Yemenia 626 (152 fatalities, 2009). A 1994 certification test crash killed 7, but this was not a revenue flight.
Which airline has the largest A330 fleet?: China Eastern, China Southern, and Turkish Airlines each operate among the largest A330 fleets globally, each with 50-80 aircraft. TAP Air Portugal was the A330neo launch customer. Cathay Pacific remains one of the largest Western operators of the A330-300.
What's the difference between the A330-900neo and A330-800neo?: The A330-900neo is the longer variant, seating 260-460 passengers with a range of 7,200 nm — comparable to the 787-9. The A330-800neo is shorter, seating 220-406 with greater range (8,150 nm), targeting thinner ultra-long-haul routes. Both use Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and share the same neo-standard Airspace cabin.
How many seats does an Airbus A330 have?: The A330-300 typically seats 277-440 passengers; most airlines configure it for around 290-335 in two or three classes. The A330-200 seats 246-406. The A330-900neo in a typical two-class layout seats around 287-300 passengers, while TAP Air Portugal operates it with 298 seats.
When was the Airbus A330 introduced?: The A330-300 entered service with Air Inter (France) on 17 January 1994. The shorter A330-200 entered service with Monarch Airlines in April 1998. The A330-900neo entered commercial service with TAP Air Portugal on 26 November 2018.

Where the Airbus A330 (all variants) flies — and what it costs

Route	Median fare	Sample size
Toronto → London	€419	941 quotes
Hong Kong → Shanghai	€130	732 quotes
Amsterdam → Istanbul	€200	629 quotes
Istanbul → London	€153	489 quotes
Frankfurt → Istanbul	€153	479 quotes
Paris → Istanbul	€194	448 quotes
London → Istanbul	€220	344 quotes
Newark → Paris	€433	320 quotes
New York → Frankfurt	€477	301 quotes
London → Toronto	€518	224 quotes

Top routes by sample size from the last ~30 days.

Fly on the Airbus A330

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