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Airbus versus Boeing
Airbus A300 The supersonic Concorde development possibly produced an unexpected side effect: “The experience Europe gained building it paved the way for the creation of the Airbus consortium, which has grabbed an impressive share of the airliner market with a full line of advanced commercial aircraft”, wrote Air & Space (June 1993). Airlines’ “air bus” discussions had started at a Paris air show. However, “necessity for a comeback by European manufacturing was not widely accepted”, remembered former Airbus president Roger Betaille. Finally a Hawker Siddeley/ Breguet/ Nord HBN design was chosen to become the Airbus. Rolls-Royce engines were intended, but then Rolls-Royce left the program because of American pressure. An all-British BAC 311 wide-body twin project was not continued. Italy stayed absent though its industry had built a variety of military jet aircraft. As Great Britain has left the project, an agreement was signed by France and Germany in 1969. But chancellor Helmut Schmidt was cautious and when in 1970 Franz Josef Strauss (later the minister president of Bavaria) had become chairman of German Airbus, some leftist opponent reportedly accepted it only with the hope Airbus and Strauss would fail. The Airbus A300 should have become a 300-seat jetliner, but then the study concentrated on a 250-seater. The A300B with General Electric engines was the first twin-engined wide-body aircraft, with engines in maintenance-friendly underwing position, following the successful 707 principle. It entered service in 1974 with Air France as the launch costumer. It was followed by the smaller A310 and the stretched A300-600.
Competitors IL-86, IL-96, B.757, B.767 In Russia “the first wide-bodied aircraft got under way in the early 1970s, by which time Sergei Ilyushin’s design leadership had been handed down to Genrikh Novozhilov” (R.E.G. Davies: Airlines of the Jet Age). Aeroflot got its first wide-body, the Ilyushin IL-86, in 1981 and it needed four engines, like also its upgraded derivative IL-96 of 1991. The triple-engined DC-10 and Lockheed TriStar disappeared from regular service towards the end of the century. After Boeing had abandoned sophisticated 7X7 ideas, the single-aisle Boeing 757 of 1982 and the wide-body twin Boeing 767 of 1986, together with the Airbuses represented the new generation of jetliners. Airbus A320 Series The most advanced single-aisle airliner of the time became the Airbus A320, first introduced in 1988. Equipped with an innovative computerized steering system and economic engines of CFM and the IAE consortium, it competed together with its derivatives A319, A321 and A318 successfully against the steadily upgraded Boeing 737 series. In 2010 the A320neo family (“new engine option”) was announced and then it went into production parallel to the classic option. A 737NG upgrade package was set by rival Boeing, whereupon Flight Intl (Nov28, 2010) asked if costumers ”… prove happy to wait until 2025 for an all-new narrowbody…”. Airbus A340, A330 The A340 was the first four-engined Airbus, entering service in 1993. At that time of the successful Boeing 767 and the 777 under development, a quad was a surprise. The twin-engined variant is the A330 with a lower take-off weight. The origins of this twin-aisle design from Toulouse can be traced back to the A300B11 (later TA 11) version, under study since the 70s. The A340 was first introduced by Air France in 1993. All these Airbus types have an identical cross section with a typical 2+4+2 seating configuration in economy class. A common wing structure for the A340 and its twin-engined derivative A330, created by Jean Roeder and built by British Aerospace, enabled Airbus to do both aircraft. When IAE canceled its SuperFan engine project, the A340 had to be equipped with less powerful CFM56 engines. The stretched long-range A340-500 and the A340-600 for 380 passengers (3-class) with more adequate Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines complemented this beautiful airliner family. In 1988 Airbus had discussions with McDonnell-Douglas about a joint venture, but then the A340 defeated the triple-engined MD-11. With the steadily ameliorated engine reliability and new ETOPS rules (see chapter The Flight/ Routing) the economic twins were victorious, production of the beloved quad A340 ended in 2010 and many airlines tried to sell them. In 2014 the A330-800neo and 900neo were presented as competitors against the Boeing 787.
Boeing 777 Under the designation 767-X, Boeing announced in 1989 a twin for up to 375 passengers, intended as a replacement of the competitors’ triple-engined wide-bodies. That 777, with a 3+3+3 seating layout slightly wider than the A340 and offered with General Electric, Pratt & Whitney or Rolls-Royce engines, appeared in 1995, first with United Airlines. In extended-range versions, the 777 as well as the Airbus A340 opened up extreme nonstop routes. With passengers the Boeing 747-400ER achieved a range of 14,200km, the 777-200 ER of 14,700km, the A340-500 of 15,715km and the 777LR of 17,400km or 9,400nm. The success of large twins had been made possible by the progress on the engine sector. The first Boeing 747 needed an engine thrust of 180,000 lb altogether. More powerful engines enabled to build bigger twin-engined wide-bodies than before. For the Boeing 777-300ER General Electric has pushed the thrust of its top GE90 engines to 115,000 lb each and then still higher. Folding wing tips, which had been proposed by American Airlines, however found no interest. Concerning the question of a completely new model for c.400 passengers, Flight Intl (April 27, 2010) has quoted Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, saying “a re-do of the 777 is an option”. Two years later Flight Intl informed that Boeing “revamps the 777”, due to the continuously strong demand, whereupon TEAL analyst Richard Aboulafia was quoted, stating: “The 777-300ER may be a superb plane, but the market still prefers newer models.” The report by Flight Intl (Oct30, 2012) informed: “Several airlines (…) have expressed interest in the 777X, which will stretch the fuselages of the existing 777-200ER and 300ER. The new aircraft will also have new engines and composite wings…” Boeing published descriptions of the 777-9X, showing folding wing tips, possibly once again not attractive. A composite wing structure and mainly new engines were expected to lower fuel consumption by 20%. In 2017 the 777-9 was published to be delivered with a 400-seat (three-class) layout and c.14,000km range. In 2019 Flight Intl (Oct01) reported that “Boeing puts long-range 777-8 on hold” and the first flight of the larger 777-9 was delayed.
MD-12 For a successor of the triple-engined MD-11, McDonnell Douglas has evaluated first a tri-jet and then the MD-12 quad in a full-length twin-deck configuration with a cabin wider than the Boeing 747, laid out for 3 aisles with a 10 to 11-abreast seating for 580 passengers. 40 percent of commercial jetliner production should have been transferred to the newly formed Taiwan Aerospace Corporation for $2bn. However, in 1992 Taiwan backed off and McDonnell Douglas could no longer afford the $4bn program. Under the courageous leadership of Harry Stonecipher, icon McDonnell Douglas was sold to Boeing in 1997. For the years to follow the classic Boeing 777, the “Triple Seven”, was victorious. Russian The Russian quad IL-96 remained without any significant chance on the global market. An Antonov An-218 was announced at the Paris Air Show in 1991, to be powered by 2 turbofan engines, capable of carrying 292 passengers in a three-class configuration, but it did not come. In 2017 Flight Intl (Oct24) reported: “In a move related to the (Russian-Chinese) CR929 programme, Moscow has approved the production of a small batch of Ilyushin IL-96-400M.”
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