One of four Airbus A330-300 aircraft in the Air Transat fleet, C-GTSD started life far, far away from Canada in 2001. The A333 was originally delivered to Cathay Dragon (DragonAir at the time) and spent time in Turkey, along the way, before coming to Air Transat in 2011.
We photographed C-GTSD on February 17, 2018 while plane spotting at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). The photos were taken with a Canon Rebel T6i, which fought the gloomy skies admirably to get the shots.
For full-size, high resolution versions for any of the photos in the image gallery, simply click on the individual pictures. See below for more detailed information on C-GTSD, the Airbus A330-300 model in general and the airline.
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C-GTSD
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C-GTSD Air Transat Airbus A330-300 Image Gallery
C-GTSD
C-GTSD took its maiden flight on May 21, 2001 and was delivered to DragonAir on June 11, 2001 as B-HYH. DragonAir has since been renamed Cathay Dragon and is a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific. On July 31, 2009, the Airbus A330-343 moved to Turkey to fly for Saga Airlines as TC-SGJ. Saga was founded in 2004 and ceased operations in 2013. The airline was headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey and C-GTSD was its only A333.
During its time with Saga, the aircraft had stints with MIAT Mongolian Airlines and THY Turkish Airlines before being stored in February, 2011. On May 22, 2011, the airliner became a member of the Air Transat fleet. For the winter of 2015/2016, the Airbus A330-300 was leased out to XL Airways France.
C-GTSD is configured for a maximum total of 375 passengers with 12 seats in business class and 363 more seats in economy class. As mentioned, this is one of four A333 aircraft flying for Air Transat and is the largest in the fleet.
On April 5, 2010, while flying for Turkish Airlines as TC-SGJ, the Airbus A330 was to fly from Istanbul, Turkey to Casablanca, Morocco. The takeoff was rejected at high speed because the right side engine failed, accompanied by a loud bang. A replacement Airbus A330-200 was brought in to take the passengers to their destination.
More recently, on September 29, 2017, C-GTSD was flying from Paris, France to Montreal, Quebec. On their descent to YUL, a smoke smell was detected in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely ten minutes later. An electrical problem in one of the galleys was found to be the culprit and was repaired.
Airbus A330-300
The initial variant of Airbus A330, the Airbus A330-300 was introduced with Air Inter in January, 1994. Air Inter has since ceased operations after merging with Air France. The aircraft is in direct competition with the Boeing 777-200.
The Airbus A330-300 is 64 metres or 209 feet in length with a wingspan of 60 metres or 198 feet. At the tail, the A333 stands 17 metres or 55 feet in height. The flight range for this type of aircraft is 11,750 kilometres.
Air Transat
Air Transat began service in 1987 and is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. With a fleet of nearly 50 aircraft, the airline travels to more than 60 destinations in 30 countries. The fleet is led in size by the Airbus A330-300. Also in the fleet are Airbus A330-200, Airbus A310-300, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-700 models. The classic A313 aircraft are to be replaced in 2019 by Airbus A321LR variants.
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