Aircraft Asset Assessment – A330-300

Market Presence. The A330-300 at last served to throw off the adverse perceptions that sometimes plague Airbus widebody values. In terms of residual values, for the short to medium term the A330-300 initially proved to be among the top smaller widebody performers though these have fallen in recent years as there has been increased emphasis on newer types. The operation of the larger A350 represents a major challenge to the A330-300 as does the A330neo. The emphasis on the A330-300 has also played a role in overshadowing the -200. The market for the -300 was fragile even before Covid and lease rentals were already falling by a significantly amount. The fall in rentals compared to last year is still nudging 35 percent however. A third of the fleet is still in storage which makes it difficult to see how normal service will be resumed any time soon, particularly if delivery rates of new aircraft are maintained. The market is therefore essentially awash with the -300 as was to be expected given the transition to the -900. The lease rentals are expected to see a more modest recovery going forward than for some newer types.