Images have emerged of one of the two Airbus A330 Neo aircraft that were ordered by Uganda Airlines.
The now fully assembled and painted aircraft was pictured rolling out of the Paint Shop at the assembly plant in Toulouse, France
The two Airbus A330s were ordered by the national carrier which relaunched late last year, having been defunct for 2 decades.
According to the Ministry of Works and Transport, delivery of the two Airbuses is still on schedule at the end of this year, despite the Covid19 disruptions which forced the European plane making company Airbus to significantly reduce its production rates
The company announced in April that it was cutting production by up to a third, in order to protect workers from contracting the virus.
Once delivered as expected in December this year, Uganda Airliner will be one of just three airlines in the world, (others are Kuwait Airlines and another undisclosed one) and the only one in Africa operating the new variant.
The Airbus A330-800Neo is one of the two versions of the A330Neo (the other is the A330-900Neo), which were launched simultaneously as an improvement on the hugely successful Airbus A330 Series. Neo stands for new engine option.
The A330-800Neo which Uganda is embracing, is slightly smaller than the A330-900Neo, carrying about 30 fewer passengers (under the 2 class configuration), but is said to be more fuel and cost efficient than its sister.
Airbus A330-800Neo is a sleek and beautiful airplane, and with its low fuel consumption, operational versatility, cabin comfort, longer range and capital costs, it is one of the most efficient airliners on the market.
Uganda Airlines hopes to place its two airliners on long haul routes including Dubai, for which it has already secured clearance, as well as Mumbai, and Guangzhou in China.