Airbus A380 vs Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are the newest commercial aircrafts designed and built by Airbus (EU) and Boeing (USA). Airbus A380 was introduced to commercial aviation with Singapore Airlines in October 2007, and the Boeing 787 made its first commercial flight in October 2011 with all Nippon Airlines. Both aircraft have marked significant milestones in aviation history; A380 being the largest operational carrier and Boeing 787 claims to be the world’s most fuel efficient airliner.
Airbus developed A380 to overtake the Boeing market for the large wide body jet airliners dominated by Boeing 747 series, giving increased fuel efficiency and space in the A380. But Boeing responded with their Boeing -787 Dreamliner, which is smaller than the A380 but highly efficient and profitable for airliners. These aircrafts are attempts by both companies in their race for dominance in the airliner production.
More about Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger carrier which has a seating capacity of 555 in a standard configuration. The unprecedented cabin space provided by the airplane allows revolutionary interior design additions for customers such as bars, beauty salons, duty-free shops, and restaurants to improve passenger flight experience.
Even the aircraft is larger than most of the aircrafts and the cabin noise level is 50% lower; also, it has lower emissions than the aircrafts of the same class (ex. Boeing 747-400). The A380 has a state of the art Fly-by-wire flight control system, and it is the first commercial aircraft to use Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) which is an advanced military fighter jet avionics system developed by Thales Group used in F-22 and Dassault Rafale.
More about Boeing 787 Dreamliner
In designing Boeing 787 Dreamliner modern new engineering were introduced, pioneering a new class of airliners and making it one of the most efficient airliners ever built. Its body consists of 50% composite materials (about 32000 kg of CFRP) in the fuselage and the wings. It is 20% more fuel efficient than aircraft of the same class (ex. Airbus A350) due to advanced engine technologies introduced in 787, and it produces 20% less emissions.
One significant advancement of the design is the reduction in the part count (for ex. 1, 500 aluminum sheets and 40,000 – 50,000 fasteners give 80% reduction in fasteners), resulting in 30% reduction, in maintenance costs. Also, the new electric architecture assures 35 percent less power from the engines than traditional pneumatic systems on contemporary airplanes and using about 10 km of copper wiring is eliminated.
Comparison Between A380 and Boeing 787- Dreamliner Specification
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Airbus A380 |
Boeing 787 Dreamliner |
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Variant |
A380-800 PAX |
A380-800F (Freighter) |
787-8 PAX |
787-9 PAX |
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General |
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Manufacturer |
Airbus |
Boeing Commercial Aircraft |
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Type |
Wide body Jet airliner |
Wide body Jet airliner |
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Configuration |
Double deck, Double aisle |
Single deck, Double aisle |
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Number Built |
80 |
15 |
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Orders (in July 2012) |
257 |
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520 |
339 |
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Unit Cost (in 2012) |
US $389.9 million |
~ US $ 350 million |
787-8: US$ 206.8 million (2012) 787-9: US$ 243.6 million (2012) |
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Capacity |
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Cockpit Crew |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
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Passengers Capacity |
Typical Configuration : 555 Max Possible : 853 (all tourist class) |
Cargo/ Freight |
242 (3-class) 264 (2-class) |
250–290 (2-class) 280 (3-class) |
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Maximum Cargo Volume |
176 m3 |
1,134 m3 |
137 m3 |
172 m3 |
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Performance |
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Maximum taxi/ramp weight |
562,000 kg |
592,000 kg |
228,384 kg |
228,384 kg |
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Maximum take-off weight (MTOW) |
560,000 kg |
590,000 kg |
228,000 kg |
251,000 kg |
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Maximum landing weight |
386,000 kg |
427,000 kg |
172,000 kg |
193,000 kg |
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Maximum zero fuel weight |
361,000 kg |
402,000 kg |
161,000 kg |
181,000 kg |
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Typical operating empty weight |
276,800 kg |
252,200 kg |
110,000 kg |
115,000 kg |
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Maximum structural payload |
149,800 kg |
89,200 kg |
TBD (july 2012) |
TBD (july 2012) |
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Maximum operating speed at cruise altitude |
Mach 0.89 (945 km/h, 510 knots) |
Mach 0.85 (913 km/h, 490 knots) |
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Maximum design speed at cruise altitude |
Mach 0.96 (1020 km/h, 551 knots) |
Mach 0.89 (954 km/h, 515 knots) |
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Take off run at MTOW/SL ISA |
2,750 m |
2,900 m |
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Range at design load |
15,400 km, 8,300 nmi |
10,400 km 5,600 nmi |
14,200–15,200km 7,650–8,200 nmi |
14,800–15,700 km 8,000–8,500 nmi |
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Service Ceiling |
13,115 m |
13,100 m |
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Dimensions |
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Length |
72.727 m |
62.8 m |
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Wing span |
79.750 m |
60.0 m |
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Height |
24.09m |
16.9 |
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Outside fuselage width |
7.14 m |
5.77 m |
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Outside fuselage height |
8.41 m |
5.97 m |
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Maximum cabin width |
Main Deck: 6.54 m Upper deck: 5.80 m |
5.49m |
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Cabin length |
Main Deck: 49.9 m Upper deck: 44.93 m |
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Wing area |
845 m2 |
325 m2 |
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Aspect ratio |
7.5 |
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Wing sweep |
33.5° |
32.2° |
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Wheelbase |
33.58 m and 36.85 m |
22.78m |
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Wheel Track |
12.46 m |
9.8m |
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Engines and Fuel |
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Maximum fuel capacity |
320,000 L |
320,000 L |
126,920 L |
138,700 L |
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No: of Engines |
4 |
2 |
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Engines
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Rolls-Royce Trent 970 & 972 |
Rolls-Royce Trent 977 |
General Electric GEnx |
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Engine Alliance GP 7270 |
Engine Alliance GP7277 |
Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 |
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Maximum Engine Thrust |
Trent-970 : 310 kN Trent-972 :320 kN GP 7270 : 363 kN |
Trent 977 : 340 kN GP 7270 : 340 kN |
GEnx : 280 kN Trent 1000 : 320 kN |
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Airbus A380 vs Boeing 787
• A380-800 is a double deck, single aisle aircraft while Boeing 787 is a single aisle, twin aisle aircraft.
• The A380 can take off with more weight than the B-787, while B787 has higher fuel efficiency.
• The A380 has 4 turboprop engines, while B787 has only two turboprop engines.
• Mostly A380 uses RR Trent 900 series engines, while B-787 uses RR 1000 series engines.
• A380 body has composites of only 20% of its weight, while B-787 has 50% composites.
• A380 is produced with a freight variant, while B-787 only produced as passenger aircrafts.