In a bit of a surprise move without a whole lot of hype, Aerosoft have officially released the first part of their A330 airliner for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The aircraft was expected to launch after MSFS 2024, however, it looks like the timelines have been moved up and the aircraft, or at least one of the variants of it, is available today. Here’s what we know!

What’s available today, and in the future

Aerosoft have had an Airbus A330 in the works for quite some time now. The product has taken a long time to come to fruition and things had gone relatively quiet in recent weeks only for it to make the surprise announcement of a launch today.

Two years ago Aerosoft announced that the product would eventually come with not just one but four engine options covering the three engines of the “CEO” series as well as the A330neo configuration as well. As it has turned out, the aircraft available for purchase today is a base package with the P&W 4000 engine.

The Rolls Royce Trent 700 and GE CF6 engines are planned as separate expansions coming later as is the A330neo. Pricing is laid out below in a graphic with €25.20 for the base package, €5.03 for each engine option, a 3-engine bundle at €31.92, €25.20 for the A330neo and €37.80 for the. complete bundle – about $41.50 USD.

Aerosoft have also stated that they will be offering a free upgrade to MSFS 2024. Nice to know as we move into the twilight period of MSFS 2020 and await the new 2024 edition of the sim.

Mixed opinions on the aircraft emerge quickly

Since the aircraft has launched today, I’ve heard mixed opinions coming in from live streamers and YouTube content creators. Aerosoft have had a long standing reputation for solid aircraft, however, in the MSFS era they’ve struggled to deliver with the DHC-6 and CRJ both having some great points and also struggling with niggling bugs.

It seems clear from Aerosoft’s product page that the aircraft does not have certain features. They aren’t hiding it listing some of the pieces that are missing. That includes RNAV approach, LOC approach, holds, waypoint overfly, step climbs, and entry of ETOPS waypoints. Most of this seems centered around the MCDU functionality while most of the rest of the aircraft appears to be quite functional. A few have also mentioned that the aircraft uses an older style of importing Simbrief files via download rather than syncing with the site.

None of this is fatal and some functionality may be added later, however, its clear that the aircraft is arriving at a medium fidelity level with some features that may not behave they way they do on the real aircraft or on some of the higher fidelity examples. For some, that’s a deal breaker and at least one YouTuber reports that they feel the aircraft is unsuited to serious Vatsim flyers for example.

For others it’ll be a decent enough experience. That said, there are a few bugs that are going to make the aircraft difficult to operate at first such as aircraft bouncing and gaining speed on landing touchdown. Some of those will need urgent patches.

Aerosoft have struggled in the past with follow-up updates and I think they are going to have to prove a longer term commitment to the product to capture veteran simmers. They will also be facing considerable competition in light of the freeware A330neo from Headwind and the iniBuilds A330-200 and -300 coming in MSFS 2024.

If you’re interested in the Aerosoft A330, check out their product page right here on their website.