The Airbus A330 program was developed back in the late 1980s. It was seen as a new means of transporting passengers on long-distance flights using only two engines. Sensing a change in the wind, Boeing wanted to get in on the action. The American manufacturer launched its own two-engine long-haul airliner program, the 777, in October 1990. But how do the two widebody jets compare?

When comparing the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777, there is a historical leapfrog-type situation with Boeing looking to outdo existing Airbus developments. It is important to stress that Boeing was behind Airbus when it came to the launch of the 777 as a competitor for the A330. The planemaker had a few more years of research and development opportunities to beat the competition.

Comparing the specifications

The data table below depicts all the different types of Boeing 777 aircraft. You can see our '777X vs. 777-300ER' article for further comparison within this aircraft family. Qatar Airways became the first customer to order the Boeing 777X freighter in January 2022. Last year, the planemaker revealed this jet's detailed specs, which we have updated in this table. There are nine variations of the Boeing 777.

Type

Length (m)

Wingspan (m)

3 Class Capacity

Max Capacity

Range (NM)

List Price (2022)

777-200

63.7

60.9

305

440

5,240

N/A

777-200ER

63.7

60.9

305

440

7,065

$306.6m

777-200LR

63.7

64.8

301

440

8,555

$346.9m

777-300

73.8

60.9

368

550

6,030

N/A

777-300ER

73.8

64.8

365

550

7,370

$375.5m

777F

63.7

64.8

N/A

102 tonnes

4,970

$352.3m

777-8

69.79

64.82-71.75

384 (2 class)

N/A

8,730

$410.2m

777-8F

70.9

64.8-71.8

N/A

112.3 tonnes

4,410

N/A

777-9

76.72

64.82-71.75

426 (2 class)

N/A

7,285

$442.2m

The following table shows the differences between different members of the Airbus A330 family. Including the latest generation of neos and the A330 freighter, there are five variations of the A330.

Type

Length (m)

Wingspan (m)

3 Class Capacity

Max Capacity

Range (NM)

List Price (2018)

A330-200

58.82

60.30

210-250

406

7,250

$238.5m

A330-300

63.66

60.30

250-290

440

6,350

$264.2m

A330F

58.82

60.30

N/A

61 tonnes

4,150

$241.7m

A330-800

58.82

64

220-260

406

8,150

$259.2m

A330-900

63.66

64

260-300

440

7,200

$296.4m

Capacity

The Airbus A330-300 has a similar capacity to the Boeing 777-200. The two aircraft have a reasonably similar length, after all. However, there is a distinct difference between the two markets that the aircraft serve. Airbus' largest A330s are on par with Boeing's smallest 777s. In other words, the Boeing 777 targets a higher capacity than the A330.

Measuring over 10 meters longer than the A330-300 and the 777-200, the 777-300 seats a significantly higher number of passengers. Meanwhile, the smaller A330-200 is more comparable in passenger capacity with the Boeing 767-400.

Air Canada(Star Alliance livery) Airbus A330-343 C-GHLMRange

Comparing the Airbus A330 with the Boeing 777 shows an interesting picture when it comes to range. Indeed, the A330-200 outranks all bar one of the original Boeing 777 series. However, it trades off capacity. While the Airbus A330-300 outperforms the standard 777-200 range with which it competes in terms of capacity, it does not match up to the range of the LR and ER varieties offered by Boeing with an extended range in mind.

Qatar Airways (25th Anniversary Retro Livery) Boeing 777-3DZ(ER) A7-BAC (3)Value for money

The two aircraft families have a significant difference regarding their list prices. Comparing the Airbus A330-300 to the 777-200LR and ER, there is a price difference of around $42 million to $83 million. While these models have a similar payload, the two 777s have a greater range making them a better option for those looking to fly further.

Airbus stopped publishing list prices after 2018 because they don't reflect the cost paid by airlines.

As airlines do not pay the list price for these aircraft, the value of comparing list prices seems pretty meaningless. A good Boeing customer could pay less for a 777 than another customer without the power to negotiate significant price cuts for the Airbus A330.

ITA Airways Airbus A330-202 EI-EJO
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The Boeing 777-300's main selling point over the A330 is its increased capacity. However, carriers do not always purchase a plane solely for its maximum capacity. Take the Boeing 777-200ER, for example. Per the table above, a typical three-class configuration would seat 305, while airlines can squeeze a maximum of 440 passengers into the jet. British Airways has several 777-200ER configurations. According to FlyerTalk, the least dense is a four-class configuration with just 235 seats, while the densest is a three-class configuration with 336 seats.

Fuel Burn

There is a lot to be said about an aircraft's fuel burn. Thanks to our friends at AirInsight, we can analyze how much fuel each aircraft type uses per hour in the air, though the data is limited to US carriers. For an airline, fuel is money. The more fuel an aircraft uses, the more it costs to operate. Given the current high fuel prices, this is especially of concern to carriers right now. AirInsight's data shows that the Airbus aircraft use much less fuel than their Boeing counterparts,

Type

Fuel Burn (Gallons per Hour)

Airbus A330-900

1,803.82

Airbus A330-300

1,899.37

Airbus A330-300

2,059.88

Boeing 777-200

2,277.64

Boeing 777-300ER

2,643.28

The future: Airbus A330neo vs. Boeing 777X

The Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 programs are being renewed by their manufacturers. Airbus has released its New Engine Option (neo) version of the Airbus A330. Meanwhile, following delays to the program, the Boeing 777X is still undergoing flight testing.

Boeing's 777X is a larger aircraft than the A330neo, giving several operational advantages. These include better passenger capacity and more cargo space. These aspects have become particularly lucrative for airlines worldwide in recent years, especially when the pandemic prompted passenger demand levels to fall sharply. While Boeing will create a next-generation 777X cargo aircraft, Airbus is not making a freighter A330neo. Instead, it focuses on the Airbus A350 product line for this use.

Dubai Airshow, Boeing, 777X
Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying

The Boeing 777X takes the prize regarding range, with the 777-8 outperforming the A330-800 and the 777-9 surpassing the A330-900. As such, airlines are faced with something of a dilemma. While the A330neo could perform essentially the same routes as these aircraft, one wonders whether they have sufficient passenger capacity to make it worthwhile. Perhaps it is an aircraft best suited to so-called 'long thin routes.'

Conclusion

There is little to split the two aircraft families in terms of commercial success. The Airbus A330 program was launched with Air Inter in 1994 and, to date, has generated 1775 orders, of which 1567 have been delivered. As such, Airbus has a backlog of 208 A330 aircraft. According to Airbus' Orders and Deliveries database, are currently 1,453 A330s in operation. Meanwhile, since its launch with United in June 1995, Boeing has generated 2,353 orders for the various 777 types, while 1,706 have been delivered. This means that Boeing has a backlog of 647 jets. Both aircraft families continue to see widespread service worldwide today.

One also has to consider the passengers' perspective. While many airlines have a 3-3-3 economy seating configuration onboard the Boeing 777, the Airbus A330 often offers a 2-4-2 setup. Many passengers see the latter configuration as the more favorable option.

2-4-2 allows couples to have a pair of seats to themselves. No seat is more than one place away from an aisle, with fewer middle seats. Additionally, as there is typically one seat less per row, economy passengers on A330 aircraft often enjoy slightly wider seats.

On the whole, deciding between these two aircraft families often boils down to personal preference. It is hard to say that one is better than the other, as both aircraft cater to different airline needs. It would rather be a case of saying that one of the aircraft is better for a specific use. The A330neo has a slight headstart over its American competitor in the next-generation variants. It launched commercially with TAP Air Portugal in December 2018. Meanwhile, the 777X is not expected to enter active commercial service until late 2024 at the earliest, but most likely in 2025. Three years have passed since the 777X first flight, and the aircraft has been hit with several delays pushing back the launching date of the type.

Which of the two aircraft do you prefer? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!