Airbus vs. Boeing Comprehensive Comparison

Real World Aviation
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This is a long topic:) We have suffered many great wars of Airbus vs. Boeing on this fourm ;) Well, I got to thinking, which on is actually better? I have done some deeper research on these two companies and compare different aspects of these two companies. Hope you enjoy!

Comment if you like Airbus or Boeing better down below :)

Airbus vs. Boeing sales

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  • dark blue=Airbus orders, light blue=Airbus, dark red=Boeing orders, light red=Boeing deliveries

Airbus orders 2016: 731
Boeing orders 2016: 668

Airbus deliveries 2016: 688
Boeing deliveries 2016: 748

Airbus total deliveries (since 1974): 10208
Boeing total deliveries (since 1958): 17964

Economics

Revenue:
Airbus: 72.54 billion USD
Boeing: 66 billion USD

Net income or Profit (total earnings):
Airbus: 1.89 billion USD
Boeing: 4.895 billion USD

Total Assets:
Airbus: 121.05 billion USD
Boeing: 89.997 billion USD

Total equity:
Airbus: 3.96 billion USD
Boeing: 877 million USD

Number of employees:
Airbus: 72,816
Boeing:147,683

Stock Price:
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Aircraft

A320 family vs Boeing 737 series:

Range:
A320: 6,850 km (3,700 nmi)
B737: 5,510 nmi (10,200 km)

Fuel Consumption (per seat)
A320: 2.61 L/100 km (90 mpg‑US)
B737: 3.19 L/100 km (74 mpg‑US)

Seats (three class configuration)
A320: 150 seats
B737: 154 seats

Market prices
A320: 88 million USD
B737: 90 million USD

Orders (2016)
A320: 607
B737: 550

A350 XWB family vs. Boeing 787 series:

Range:
A350: 15,186.4 km (8,200 nmi)
B787: 15,189.95 km (8201.91 nmi)

Fuel Consumption (per seat)
A350: 2.39 L/100 km (98 mpg‑US)
B787: 2.37 L/100 km (99 mpg‑US)

Seats (three class configuration)
A350: 366 seats
B787: 335 seats

Market prices
A350: 295 million USD
B787: 249 million USD

Orders (2016)
A350: 41
B787: 58

A330/A340 family vs. Boeing 777 series:

Range:
A330: 11,750 km (8,555 nmi)
B777: 15,844 km (8201.91 nmi)

Fuel Consumption (per seat)
A330: 3.11 L/100 km (76 mpg‑US)
B777: 2.89 L/100 km (81 mpg‑US)

Seats (three class configuration)
A330: 277 seats
B777: 314 seats

Market prices
A330: 209 million USD
B777: 298 million USD

Orders (2016)
A330: 83
B777: 17

A380 vs. Boeing 747 series:

Range:
A380: 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km)
B747: 7,260 nautical miles (13,450 km)

Fuel Consumption (per seat)
A380: 2.39 L/100 km (98 mpg‑US)
B747: 3.16 L/100 km (74 mpg‑US)

Seats (three class configuration)
A380: 538 seats
B747: 524 seats

Market prices
A380: 432 million USD
B747: 357 million USD

Orders (2016)
A380: 0 (don’t worry, they delivered 28 though)
B747: 17

Saftey

Airbus (since 1974): 35 crashes, 28.3 million flights, 0.81 million flights per crash
Boeing (since 1958): 251 crashes, 461 million flights, 1.84 million flights per crash

Analysis: Statistically, Airbus has a higher crash rate (barely) . But still, both companies make really reliable aircraft. They are the safest on the market. Their products are well-engineered and high-quality. Planes from both aircraft manufactures are all tested to their limits to make sure no tragic accident happen when in service. So overall, both companies has safe and reliable aircraft.

Overall
In my opinion, I like airbus better :) I personally just like their aircraft better. I think the sidestick beats the yoke. But Boeing is still amazing. Both aircraft manufactures has revolutionized air travel in many ways.

If we look statistically, Airbus is doing better on the market based on orders, revenue, and overall stock prices. That doesn’t mean however, that Airbus is better than Boeing. Both companies has strengths and flaws. THB there isn’t much differences between Boeing’s aircraft and Airbus’s aircraft. There performances are about the same.

So who is actually better: None of them. Both companies broken down, you can see, there aren’t much differences between them. When we say we like on or the other, it is going to be based off of personal preference.

Comment bellow if you like Airbus or Boeing -------------------------->
Or share your thoughs below ------------------------>

Feel free to have a civilized discussion about who is better

44 Likes
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I’ll catch hell for this but I think Boeing aircraft look better. I give the A380 an A+ for modern marvel. Agree with the control stick over the yoke.

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Hahaha :) I personally think that there are some Boeing aircraft that looks better than Airbus’s and some Airbus aircraft that looks better than Boeing’s. I think the a320 looks better than the B737 but the B777 looks better than the a330;)

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I think I’m the only one on this community that loves the 737. The new MAX 8 is beautiful.

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You are very wrong with that… #737life

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Both companies have their pros and cons. Boeing has better longer range aircraft, airbus has better shorter range aircraft. I could make a list 20x longer than what was posted above, but that will only prove my point that they are essentially equally matched.

Their competition, from an economic stand point, benefits us all. Their competition forces them to make their planes better, and more appealing to airlines, thus improving technological innovation and the experience of the passengers (as long as you aren’t dragged off of the plane).

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Very true which is why I resorted to looks. Airbus=cute. Boeing=beautiful.

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I can not agree enough. Some one actually found a positive out of a negative ;)

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Every topic made about this has turned into an argument. Let’s hope not this time! Your topic is very well done though.

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The good thing about this thread is that it is initially organized into statistics, meaning it is harder for us to argue :)

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So true. We need more civilized discussions with constructive criticism ;)

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I think you need to include the years the companies were founded as well. It contributes 😉

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Airline safety in the first half of the 20th century is nothing like it is today. Navigation was not as effective, you had speed heading and altitude (obviously it continued to advance). When airbus came along, we see the industry transitioning to more modern technology, and more accurate navigation, leading to higher safety. If you want to compare safety, the best place to look is the last 25 years.

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Exactly, that’s why there are a lot more Boeing crashes overall.

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Boeing includes other subsidiaries where as Airbus has EADS as the parent company so not all the facts are completely accurate

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@anon31652286 @Reedgreat Absolutely true. Though If you break down aviation accidents on a graph, you can see that unitl the 1990’s, accident trends were consistent. It starts decreasing around the 2000’s

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An interesting (and just as effective) way to compare is fatalities. Accidents always happen, but the majority of the time, no one is killed. If my theory is right, fatalities probably decreased much more than the graph trend above in the last 20 years.

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FYI for stock price, Market Cap is a better indicator of a companies worth than just the quote.

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I like Airbus just a bit more, but I would rather fly a Boeing because I prefer the yoke to the side stick.

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