The A330-200 is the newest member of Airbus' widebody twinjet family.
A330-200 is a long range, shortened development of the standard A330.
A330-200 was developed in part as a replacement for the A300-600R and a competitor to the 767-300ER.
Airbus launched development of the A330-200 in November 1995.
First flight was on August 13 1997, with certification and first customer deliveries,to ILFC/Canada 3000, in April 1998.
The A330-200 is based on the A330-300 and shares near identical systems, airframe, flightdeck and wings, the only major difference being the fuselage length.
Compared with the 300 the A330-200 is 10 frames shorter, and has an overall length of 193 feet, 7 inches compared with 209 feet for the standard length aircraft.
This allows the A330-200 to seat 256 passengers in a three class configuration, or alternatively 293 in two classes.
Because of its decreased length, the A330-200 features enlarged horizontal and vertical tail services (to compensate for the loss of moment arm with the shorter fuselage).
Another important change is the addition of a center fuel tank, which increases the A330-200's fuel capacity over the 300's, and results in the 200's 6400 nautical mile range.
Like the A330, engine options are the GE CF6-80, Pratt & Whitney 4000 series and the RollsRoyce Trent 700.
Source: Airliners.net — Airbus 330-200
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