The Finale of the A340, A330, and B777 Question

Now that we've got ETOPS down, lets look at the state of the airline industry in the mid-1980s, just before the arrival of the three aircraft in question.

The Scene

ETOPS ratings were still quite strict, which meant that all long-haul aircraft were either tri- or quad-jets. Of course the king of kings was the B747 that had the furtherest range, highest payload, and four engines to exempt it from ETOPS restrictions. The other big fish in the long to medium haul market were the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar and DC-10 (later the MD11). I'll show pictures of them in my next plane spotting post (or you can just look them up; chances are that you've seen a DC-10/MD11 but not a L-1011). Twin engine aircraft were still stuck in the short to medium haul market as the ETOPS limitations greatly reduced the profit potential of a long haul twin widebody airliner. The most prominent twins on the market were the A300 (first flew in 1972), A320 (first flew in 1987, so quite a late contender), B737 (first flew in 1967), B767 (first flew in 1981), B757 (first flew in 1982), and the various McDonnell Douglases, etc. Here's a quick summary of each of their original design purposes:

A300 -> first twin engine widebody airliner; designed for short-to-medium haul and high density market

A320 -> basically an Airbus alternative to the B737 (and in turn the B717)

B737 -> a flexible short-to-medium and low density market airliner; designed to replace the larger and far more inefficient B707 and similar B717; most successful airliner of all time

B767 -> Boeing's first twin engine widebody; designed to compete directly with A300 and the trijets in the short-to-medium haul and high density market; replaced the aging B707

B757 -> larger capacity narrowbody for the short-to-medium haul market; designed to replace the aging and considerable B727 fleet

(these are very general, obviously each aircraft's design, replacement, and competitor wasn't as cut and dry as that)

The Times They Are A-Changing

As you can see, none of these aircraft are designed for the medium-to-long haul or long-to-ultra long haul markets. But the stars were beginning to align for a radical change. In the 20 years since the market state I described, the trijets have gone from the most common airliners in the U.S. to almost nonexistent, fewer than a dozen B747s are operated by U.S. carriers, the B737NG has replaced the B707, B717, B727, and largely the B757, the B757 has been discontinued, the A380 has taken the crown as the largest capacity airliner, and finally, the A340, A330, and B777 have come to dominate the medium-to-long haul market (with the B777 being the clear front runner).

So what created the change.......? I'm sure you're already putting the pieces together. In 1985, the FAA opened up the ETOPS-120 minute rating for the first time, finally allowing twins to effectively compete with the tri and quad jets over the most lucrative medium-to-long haul market in the world, the transatlantic corridor. Ever since then, the FAA has been steadily increasing the maximum possible ETOPS ratings (so now 95% of the Earth is covered). At the same time, the trijet and quadjet fleets were starting to age and their inefficiencies were beginning to hurt the airlines. Trijets are in no way comparable to contemporary twins since they had the same capacity but far greater fuel consumptions and maintenance costs due to the third engine. Why have three when two will do? The answer prior to the 1980s was three because of the power need and safety restrictions. But by the early 1990s, GE had created the most powerful jet engine of all time, the GE90 (at a world record thrust of 127,900 lbf). Each GE90 is rated at 111,526 horsepower... TWICE the power of the Titanic! And of course these engines are hugely more reliable than the engines from the 1960s and 1970s. So the twin was in. How Boeing and Airbus both predicted and capitalized on this change has shaped the international airport landscape.

Airbus's Answer

First and foremost, its important to understand that the A340 (first flew in 1991) and A330 (first flew in 1992) programs were jointly managed. Both share similar parts and as a result, each was designed to fulfill a different niche. The program was started prior to the ETOPS rating increase in the mid1980s, so Airbus was designing the A340 for long haul and the A330 for medium haul routes. Airbus's failure to predict the opening up of the long haul market for twins is why both aircraft are second to the B777 (which can do both market effectively). But key to especially the A340's survival, both aircraft came out three years prior to the B777, giving them enough time to get a market share, however small. The A340 was able to get its foot in the door since it was more economical than the B747 with new construction materials and systems and it had a higher MTOW and range than the initial variants of the B777. The A330 has been relatively successful since there is more room in the medium haul market for different aircraft. The A330-200 is actually a direct competitor for the B767, so it has not competed very much with the 777, although the A330-300 is comparable to the B777-200 and -300. Airbus doesn't currently have an aircraft that directly competes with all the B777 varients, as they chose to compete with the B747 with the A380, although the development of the A350 is set to change that.

Boeing's Magnificent Answer

I could spend quite a long time explaining how the B777 (first flew in 1994) is such an amazing and successful airplane, whether I talk about it being the first airliner designed on a computer, having the commercial distance record, or having the most powerful jet engines ever made. But instead I'll just talk about the economic reasons its so pervasive. Boeing was lucky in that it started later than Airbus and in turn saw the writing in the wall about twins. The later design dates also allowed Boeing to utilize many new technologies in the "triple 7" that furthered its economical and technological prowess. The first version of the B777 (B777-200) was revolutionary in its efficiency, power, capacity (for two engines), and reach, but the A340 still had it beat. But with the advent of the B777-200LR, -200ER, -300, and -300ER, the B777 beats every single deck (in other words, not the A380-800) commercial aircraft in the world in terms of range and fuel efficiency. That doesn't even bring into play its extraordinary characteristics such as those mentioned above. I don't know if you've ever been on a B777, (if you haven't been farther than North America and Hawaii then you haven't) but listening to those two beautiful GE90s spool up to full power during a MTOW takeoff is awe-inspiring.

In conclusion, the B777 is so successful because Boeing saw and took advantage of a change in the medium-to-long market that resulted from relaxed regulations and new technologies. That is why you are far more likely to see a B777 taking off from Logan than an A340 and to a lesser degree, an A330. If you have any questions, be sure to ask.