The Aircraft Replacing The Airbus A350 As The World's Extra-Widebody Twinjet

The Airbus A350 is one of the most popular widebody aircraft ever built, helping to establish European planemaker Airbus as the world’s biggest commercial aircraft manufacturer. Since the A350 entered service in 2015, Airbus has delivered almost 700 airframes and attracted more than 1,400 orders from 62 customers across the globe. When it made its debut, the A350 XWB (eXtra Wide Body) became the widest Airbus twinjet aircraft and remains so to this day.

But its position as the newest widebody on the market will soon be taken by the Boeing 777X, which is expected to make its entry in early 2027. Boeing’s widebody will offer even more fuselage width compared to the A350, giving operators unprecedented cabin space to play with. Let’s look at the upcoming 777X and how it compares to the popular A350.

The eXtra Wide Body: Inside The A350

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The A350 has proven to be one of the greatest successes in the company’s history. According to Airbus, the A350 has a fuselage width of 5.96 meters and a maximum cabin width of 5.71 meters. This means the aircraft can potentially accommodate up to a 10-abreast economy configuration under its new production standard (NPS), although most operators opt for a nine-abreast layout for comfort reasons.

Airbus engineers succeeded in trimming four inches in thickness from the fuselage, adding precious extra width to the previous production standard. This took the cabin width from 5.61 meters to 5.715 meters. This may seem like a trivial amount, but the extra four inches are what enable a maximum 10-abreast economy layout or an eight-abreast premium economy layout without sacrificing comfort. Operators can consequently fit additional seating capacity to the jet that wouldn’t have been possible, helping them to drive up revenue per flight and improve their margins.

The A350 was initially envisioned to compete with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which was in the works at the time of the A350’s development. Airbus first considered a re-engined and enhanced version of the A330, but decided it would go bigger with a wider fuselage. This step-up in size meant the A350 would take on a dual role of competing with both the 787 and the larger 777, particularly the stretched A350-1000 variant.

The 777X Will Be Even Wider

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The A350 is not the widest twinjet in service today, nor is it the longest. That milestone goes to the Boeing 777, which has a slight edge on the A350-1000 in both length and width. While the stretched A350-1000 has a very long fuselage of 73.78 meters, the 777-300 is 73.9 meters long. While this makes it the longest twinjet in service today, its length is still eclipsed by the Boeing 747-8 and the Airbus A340-600, but these two planes are both quadjets.

The 777-200/300 has a fuselage width of 6.19 meters, translating to 5.86 meters of cabin width. This gives 777 operators the space needed to implement a ten-abreast economy configuration, something very few Airbus A350 operators have chosen. However, many passengers have complained about such layouts on 777 aircraft, as a seat width of 17 inches is not ideal on long-haul flights. The 777X will expand the 777-300 both in length and width, adding some much-needed width to any ten-abreast cabins.

This will allow airlines to offer seats with a width of 17.5-18 inches, which can make a big difference over a 12-hour flight. The 777-9 is set to be the world’s longest commercial jet once it enters service – at 76.73 meters, it is just ahead of the 747-8 in its length, while Boeing has added another four inches of width on the 777 through clever engineering techniques. The planemaker used thinner sidewalls and insulation, as well as reworking the cabin architecture, to create a more spacious cabin that it promises will be a step-up from the regular 777.

Boeing Heralds New 777X Cabin

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Boeing has repeatedly used the phrase “game-changer” to describe the 777X, and this isn’t just a nod to its high capacity, range and excellent operating economics. The 777X’s enhanced cabin has been at the forefront of its marketing, promising a new standard of comfort and spaciousness in long-haul travel. In addition to the extra space, Boeing has implemented various features to improve the passenger experience, together with long-term design partner Teague.

The windows are 15% larger compared to the 777-200/300 and are also positioned higher on the fuselage, putting them closer to passengers’ eye level. Just as it did on the 787, Boeing implemented electrochromic dimming instead of manual shades. Airlines will have more customization choices when rolling out their 777Xs, allowing for a unique cabin experience from airline to airline. As explained by Teague,

“A revolutionary aspect of the 777X interior is its modular framework, with two baseline architectural layouts, as well as elegant and functional cabin transitions, customizable lighting, premium ceiling treatments, and lining packages that can be used to differentiate or unify cabin segments. The inventive design provides an unprecedented scope for brand expression.”

Quietness is also a key factor of the onboard experience, and Boeing says the 777X will be up to 40% quieter than the 777-300ER. This was achieved through a combination of superior insulation and the GE9X engine, which has a very high bypass ratio and other noise-dampening features, including a new nozzle system and composite fan blades.

Why Did Boeing Develop The 777X?

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Much like the A350 has been for Airbus, the 777 has been one of the more successful products in the Boeing portfolio. The original 777-200 came about as a response to changing market demands, which favored more efficient long-haul aircraft that could fly on just two engines. The 777 made its debut in 1995 with United Airlines, and it was around that time that ETOPS regulations were relaxed, allowing twinjets to fly on routes previously accessible only to trijets and quadjets.

The 777-300ER was still a market leader when Boeing started working on the 777X, but it knew it had to play catch-up with the A350 about to enter service. Boeing also knew that large quadjets, such as the 747 and A380, would eventually need to be replaced with new high-capacity jets, as would older 777-200/300 models. Building on the existing 777 platform, Boeing focused on modernizing its cabin while adding key efficiency enhancements, most notably its new GE9X engines and folding wingtips.

The end result is an aircraft that can deliver up to 12% less fuel burn per seat compared to the 777-300ER. While the 777-9 can seat around 40-50 more passengers compared to the -300ER, it has maintained an almost identical range. Airbus is considering implementing another stretch on the A350 to compete with the 777X – this A350-2000 would add around 40 more seats to the -1000, pushing it more into the 777X’s bracket.

Which Aircraft Will Be More Popular?

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Boeing announced the 777X program over a decade ago, announcing the next-generation 777-family product back in 2013. At the time, it advertised a 2020 entry-to-service date, but various problems with the program have continually pushed the launch date back. The two passenger versions of the 777X have so far attracted almost 500 orders, with the longer 777-9 outselling the 777-8 by around ten to one. Boeing is also developing a freighter version of the 777X, which has garnered a total of 59 firm orders.

Compare that to the A350, and it is clear the Airbus widebody is more in demand, even if it did have a head start. Airbus launched the program in 2005 and the jet entered service a decade later. As it stands, the planemaker has secured 1,435 net orders, with over 1,000 of those being for the base A350-900 model. It is also slightly ahead of Boeing in the freighter game with 65 commitments for the upcoming A350F.

While the A350 will likely outsell the 777X when both programs are concluded, the A350 is a cheaper aircraft to purchase. But as Airbus proudly declared at the time, it broke-even on the A350 program back in 2019, so the widebody has been a huge profit-spinner for the manufactuer ever since. As for the 777X, it remains to be seen how profitable the program will be for Boeing, but it has ended up costing more than anticipated due to ongoing certification delays. With development costs already exceeding $10 billion, the company expects another $4 billion in charges after delaying its entry until 2027.