UAE A330 MRTT will Feature Passenger Cabin

Etihad Airways A330-243 (823) A6-EYN.

(Photo by Robbie Shaw)

                           

The United Arab Emirates air force is to equip its three Airbus Military A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports (MRTT) with the standard passenger cabin used by the country's national airline, Etihad Airways.

The aircraft will be converted by Airbus Military for an air-to-air refuelling role from "green" A330-200s at the company's Getafe facility near Madrid, and will feature Etihad's two-class, 262-seat layout and full galley and in-flight entertainment system fit. Service entry of the first UAE A330 MRTT is scheduled for 2011.

"They like an interior prepared not for troops, but for real passengers," says Miguel Morell, Airbus Military head of derivative programmes. "If you go inside the aircraft, you are going to see an Etihad aircraft."

(Andrew Doyle - FlightGlobal.com)