Hey guys,
Has it been confirmed what colour scheme these initial A330s will operate in? I may have missed it…
Thanks in advance,
Bunumuring

JerseyFlyer wrote:

Reading some of these posts one wonders why so many countries outside the US have gone for the Airbus solution rather than Boeing's. I think the answer is in its Multi-Role Tanker plus Transport capabilities. One frame does the work of two, that must be a huge cost advantage over a dedicated fleet for each role.

How many of those countries have fleets of C-130's, C-5's and C-17's, and if they do, how many are we talking about, 5, 10 or hundreds? Or to ask it another way, how large in terms of numbers are their Air Forces, do they have multi-role fighters or air superiority fighters, do they have global aspirations, bases far flung around the globe,transcon bombers?
I never get why such was never considered during the tanker debates, as if the US Air Force has a fleet size and operates in the same manner as say Singapore, Australia and anyone who has already purchased the A330-MRTT.
Is the client's mission and capabilities enough to determine the product used or the product determine the clients mission?

bunumuring wrote:

Hey guys,
Has it been confirmed what colour scheme these initial A330s will operate in? I may have missed it…
Thanks in advance,
Bunumuring

Not that I have seen, but if the government wants to avoid any more bad press about the Prime Minister's travel costs, they would be wise to keep these two A332s in the military grey scheme. From what I heard, the first two A332 will be configured in VIP and passenger configuration. But I don't know if they'll get an actual VIP kit with meeting rooms, bedroom etc, or just business class seats like the RAF did.

From what I've read, the maintenance provider the first A332 was delivered to specializes in freighter and VIP conversions.




KrisYYZ

Hey KrisYYZ,
Thanks for the reply.
I believe Australia’s VIP-configured KC-30s are in military grey, identical to the others, for the same reason. I wish they were painted in a VIP scheme, a more interesting one than the RAAF BBJs but not as garish as the RAF VIP fleet…
Take care
Bunumuring

bunumuring wrote:

Hey guys,
Has it been confirmed what colour scheme these initial A330s will operate in? I may have missed it…
Thanks in advance,
Bunumuring

Here is your answer, the first one will get the current 15001 colour scheme - red, white and blue. Sounds like the first one will have no modifications, just maintenance checks and repainting. Second one will be in the standard grey paint scheme.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/airbus ... -1.6845477

KrisYYZ

Hey krisyyz,
Thanks for that link. I like the VIP scheme and I think it will better on the A330 than it does on the A310.
Take care,
Bunumuring

These two ex-Kuwait A330s will retain their interior cabin, for now. So essentially, they'll be commercial A330s with military colours until they get reconfigured.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/airbus ... -1.6858381

Here are some shots of the interiors. As the article mentions, still a major upgrade from the CC-150s.

https://www.kuwaitairways.com/en/inform ... craft.aspx

KrisYYZ

First 332 has been painted in the VIP livery: https://twitter.com/CanadianForces/stat ... 5742094337

Hey guys,
I think that the VIP livery looks better on the A330 than the A310 due to the formers’s longer fuselage…
Take care
Bunumuring

bennett123 wrote:

krisyyz wrote:

These two ex-Kuwait A330s will retain their interior cabin, for now. So essentially, they'll be commercial A330s with military colours until they get reconfigured.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/airbus ... -1.6858381

Here are some shots of the interiors. As the article mentions, still a major upgrade from the CC-150s.

https://www.kuwaitairways.com/en/inform ... craft.aspx

KrisYYZ

What are they doing with the CC-150's?.

As the new CC-330s come, they're being retired. I've read that as many as 9 CC-330s could be in the fleet by the end of the decade. I doubt anyone, not even a cargo operator will want these A310s, they're over 35 years of age, and while I'm not sure about the cycles they have, the fact they had 12-14 years of airline service first, probably means they don't have much life left in them.

At first this colour schemed seemed a bit off to me, but probably because the A310 is shorter and it fit the entire frame there. Looks pretty good!

KrisYYZ

Hey KrisYYZ,
Any chance that one of the A310s could be preserved and displayed somewhere in Canada?
Take care,
Bunumuring

Here is a project update released today/25-Jul-23.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/07/government-of-canada-awards-contract-for-the-strategic-tanker-transport-capability-project.html
https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/D4E22AQE4Qb_kTls4wg/feedshare-shrink_1280/0/1690306231479?e=1693440000&v=beta&t=gXONhoW0kNDHczLcBLSbY0MNp5cuty4BnNyKwNWm4Hk

jalarner wrote:

Here is a project update released today/25-Jul-23.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/07/government-of-canada-awards-contract-for-the-strategic-tanker-transport-capability-project.html
https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/D4E22AQE4Qb_kTls4wg/feedshare-shrink_1280/0/1690306231479?e=1693440000&v=beta&t=gXONhoW0kNDHczLcBLSbY0MNp5cuty4BnNyKwNWm4Hk

Quite the fleet expansion! These CC-330s seems to be fitted out with all of the options, should bring some well needed capabilities. Wonder if the refueling capable Hercs will be replaced due to the expanded fleet. The fact that all of the CC-330s will get the MRTT functionality should quell some of the political backlash regarding new VIP transportation for the PM.

KrisYYZ

The first to conversions are MSN 1653 and 1678. Any idea what the other three are?

Canada is buying 4 new-builds (first delivery 2027) as well as five converted frames:

"Airbus has been awarded a contract by the Canadian government for four newly-built Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft (MRTT) and for the conversion of five used A330-200s."

https://simpleflying.com/canadian-air-f ... july-2023/

PM wrote:

The first to conversions are MSN 1653 and 1678. Any idea what the other three are?

Just a guess, but I would imagine they'll be the other Kuwait Airways A332s, as they're being replaced with A338/9s.

The other two mentioned in the post above are pretty much ready for delivery from what I've heard.

KrisYYZ

PM wrote:

The first to conversions are MSN 1653 and 1678. Any idea what the other three are?

Only 3 other aircraft are still available, as far as I know: MSNs 1626, 1643, and 1681

There would be an obvious logic to acquiring the other ex-Kuwait frames but there are another ten or so A330-200s (with RR) looking for new homes.

Something caught my eye in the CBC article about the purchase. They mention the CC-330s will be operated out of three bases,. One in the east which I assume is 8 Wing Trenton. One in the west which could be 19 Wing Comox. And one in the north, which I guess could be 4 Wing Cold Lake. Currently the CC-150s are all based in Trenton, Ontario.


https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa ... -1.6917680

KrisYYZ

krisyyz wrote:

PM wrote:

The first to conversions are MSN 1653 and 1678. Any idea what the other three are?

Just a guess, but I would imagine they'll be the other Kuwait Airways A332s, as they're being replaced with A338/9s.

The other two mentioned in the post above are pretty much ready for delivery from what I've heard.

KrisYYZ

Do you know if the 4 new built MRTT will be A338 or A332s?

Have not seen much information on the new builts. Looks like RCAF will be utilizing all 9 aircraft from 2027?

MoreMiles wrote:

krisyyz wrote:

PM wrote:

The first to conversions are MSN 1653 and 1678. Any idea what the other three are?

Just a guess, but I would imagine they'll be the other Kuwait Airways A332s, as they're being replaced with A338/9s.

The other two mentioned in the post above are pretty much ready for delivery from what I've heard.

KrisYYZ

Do you know if the 4 new built MRTT will be A338 or A332s?

Have not seen much information on the new builts. Looks like RCAF will be utilizing all 9 aircraft from 2027?

Definitely A332s, Airbus does not offer MRTTs on the A338 platform, at least not yet.

KrisYYZ

Apparently you're right, I find that surprising. So they still make A332 for that purpose only.

ex 9K-APC / new 33002 is in the air with possible destination Ottawa
https://www.flightradar24.com/KAC8801/31d36356

ThePointblank wrote:

Skies Magazine has photos and a write up about the first delivery:
https://skiesmag.com/news/canada-takes- ... -aircraft/

First one, 33002 is slated to be a VIP transport after some more acceptance and retrofit activities in Canada, and will be stationed in Ottawa. All will operated with 437 Transport Squadron out of 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, but the final base locations is still to be determined.

It seems that this aircraft came in a bit too late...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... reaks-down