An ITA Airways Airbus A330 Is Flying Around Without A Winglet?

An ETA Airways Airbus A330-200 has been flying around for weeks with a winglet missing, a component that the carrier has yet to replace. The widebody has been photographed in service without its right-side winglet, which was likely damaged and thus removed. Despite the missing component, the aircraft was returned to service and has been a rather peculiar sight in the skies. So you might be interested to know that this is not the first time ETA has flown its A330s with a missing winglet, as observers have noticed this phenomenon on other aircraft in the past. As reported by Airways Magazine, the A330-200 has remained in service for weeks while missing the winglet at the tip of its right wing. Data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft has been flying on multiple long-haul routes out of Rome-Fiumicino in recent weeks, including Delhi, New York, Toronto, and Washington. Winglets are installed for fuel-efficiency purposes but actually aren't present on all A330-200s. However, we have to say that pretty much every A330 we've seen has had these angular winglets installed. Nonetheless, the aircraft is capable of flying safely without them, even if the jet would encounter adverse yaw with more drag on the missing winglet side. The Airbus A330 in question is registered as EIEDP and is a 12-year-old aircraft delivered to Alitalia in October 2012 before passing over to successor ETA in October 2021. Looking at data from CH Aviation, the A330 has accumulated over 50,000 flight hours and around 6,000 flight cycles. The likelihood here is that the winglet in question was damaged at some point a few weeks ago, and ETA has chosen to keep the plane in service while it waits for a replacement part. The A330 will thus be flying with a slight efficiency penalty. Flying long enough like this will add hundreds or perhaps even thousands of dollars of additional cost due to increased fuel burn from the slight increase in drag. But then of course, the downside of putting an aircraft out of action until a new winglet can be installed is clearly a major concern for the airline. The aircraft is technically still able to perform flights safely. As a missing aircraft can force an airline to cancel flights, lose revenue, and disappoint customers, we can see why the jet continues to fly as-is. According to Airbus, winglets deliver a modest efficiency increase of 1-2%, while its sharklets can offer up to 4% improvements. Winglets improve the aerodynamic efficiency of an aircraft by reducing the intensity of vortices at the tip of the wing, ultimately lowering induced drag and saving on fuel burn. What do you think of ETA's decision to operate the jet in this condition? Let us know by leaving a comment. If you're looking for the latest aviation news and insights, visit SimpleFlying.com.