When it comes to widebody aircraft, Boeing and Airbus dominate the market, with twin-aisle planes manufactured the former planemaker set to 138,145 flights this October. According to scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, this represents a year-on-year increase of 0.7%.
Interestingly, however, the number of available seat miles on flights scheduled to be operated by Boeing widebodies this October has grown by a larger margin of 3.5% compared to the same month in the previous year, suggesting that they are being used on longer routes. Something else that has changed year-on-year is the aircraft type operating the most flights out of any Boeing widebody on the market.
The 787-9 Comes Out On Top
Indeed, in October 2024, the Boeing 777-300ER was the US firm’s most active widebody, with 35,051 flights scheduled. This time around, however, the figure has dropped by a factor of 2% to 34,367, allowing the 787-9 to replace it at the top of the pile. This October, there are 34,903 flights with the mid-sized Dreamliner, representing an impressive increase of 10.8% compared to the same month in 2024.
Collectively speaking, these services will offer grand totals of 10,042,559 seats and 36,806,231,706 available seat miles, with these figures having risen by respective factors of 10.8% and 12.5% year-on-year. According to Boeing, “the 787 has unlocked more than 425 new nonstop routes around the world, many of which were never served previously,” with the American planemaker also explaining that:
“The 787 Dreamliner fleet has carried more than one billion passengers, faster than any other widebody jet in aviation history. The airplane’s industry-leading technology creates remarkable opportunities for airlines around the world and dramatically improves the air travel experience.”
Who Operates The Most 787-9 Flights?
The top operator of the Boeing 787-9 this October is Etihad, with the Abu Dhabi-based UAE flag carrier having penciled in 2,428 flights with the type, offering 692,340 seats and 2,408,516,524 ASMs. Its top destinations with the type from its main hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) are Milan Malpensa (MXP) in Italy and Phuket (HKT) in Thailand, both of which have 59 rotations next month.
Last October, Japanese carrier and 787 launch customer All Nippon Airways sat at the top of the tree, with 2,367 787-9 flights scheduled. This time around, however, it has dropped to second place, with an 8.1% drop in usage of the type at the airline, resulting in a monthly total of 2,175 services. The domestic corridor from Tokyo (HND) to Fukuoka (FUK) will see 69 round trips with the type next month.
Qatar Airways is the third-largest 787-9 operator by flights operated this October, with 1,994 services penciled in, offering 620,134 seats and 1,731,254,585 ASMs. The widely revered Middle Eastern carrier has been one of the biggest growers on this front year-on-year, with 26.9% more flights and seats and 45% more ASMs scheduled. Doha (DOH) to Barcelona (BCN) is its top route with the type, on 92 rotations.
The 787 Is Also The Most Popular Widebody Family As A Whole
If we move away from individual variants of a given widebody series, and look more broadly at Boeing’s four main twin-aisle families of passenger aircraft as a whole, we can see that the 787 Dreamliner still comes out on top. This October, the modern widebody accounts for 67,526 flights, 19,418,114 seats, and 61,971,058,310 ASMs, retaining its place as Boeing’s top twin-aisle family from last year.
Worldwide usage of the Boeing 787 family is up across the board, with this October seeing 5.9% more flights, 6.8% seats, and 9.4% more ASMs with the type than the same month in 2024. Meanwhile, the second-placed Boeing 777 family has seen a slight decline, falling by 3.2% to a still impressive total of 55,704 flights.
These two widebody series sit head and shoulders above the older and rarer Boeing 767 and 747 families. The former of these ranks third, with 13,326 flights, 3,124,637 seats, and 6,180,043,132 ASMs (respectively down 8%, 8.9% and 7.1%), while the latter’s total of 1,589 sees it rank last despite a slight increase.
