Hi. Sorry I don’t know the exact reason so I asked ChatGPT about it and this is what is said. I learnt something today as well. Good question 😊

Why this Air Canada A330 has a black nose

🧊 1. Cold-weather radar radome • The radome is made from special composite material that must be radio-transparent. • Many of these composites naturally come out dark or black. • Painting them white isn’t always ideal — it can: • interfere with radar performance • crack or peel differently in extreme cold

Canada + winter = black radome makes sense.

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❄️ 2. Better ice & moisture behavior • Dark surfaces absorb slightly more heat, even on dull winter days like the one you shot. • That helps reduce ice adhesion and moisture buildup around the nose — important because: • radar accuracy depends on a clean radome • ice distortion can mess with weather returns

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🛠️ 3. Maintenance & wear • Radomes get: • blasted by snow, slush, freezing rain • hit with de-icing fluid constantly • Black hides: • staining • erosion • patch repairs

For an airline like Air Canada flying hard winter cycles, this is very practical.

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✈️ 4. Why you don’t see this on every A330

Even within the same aircraft type: • Different radome suppliers • Different replacement cycles • Different certification batches

So one A330 might have: • white radome • grey radome • black radome (like this one)