Airbus A320neo vs Boeing 737 MAX 8

The Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX 8 are the two aircraft most airlines in the world choose between, the current generations of the two best-selling airliner families ever built. The A320neo entered service with Lufthansa in January 2016: a 37.6 m single-aisle seating 150 to 194, with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofans or CFM LEAP-1A engines, Sharklet wingtips and a range of about 3,500 nautical miles. The 737 MAX 8 followed with Malindo Air in May 2017: 39.5 m long, seating 162 to 210, LEAP-1B engines only, split-scimitar winglets and a range around 3,550 nautical miles. Both cut fuel burn per seat by roughly 15% over their predecessors.

The MAX 8 is slightly larger and carries a few more seats, so its cost per seat is marginally lower where it can be filled; the A320neo is lighter and cheaper per trip. Both have had their troubles: the MAX family was grounded worldwide from March 2019 to late 2020 after two MAX 8 accidents linked to the MCAS software, and the A320neo's Pratt & Whitney engines have suffered reliability problems and, since 2023, inspections that grounded hundreds of aircraft at a time. On the order books the A320neo family leads comfortably, helped by the A321neo for which Boeing has no match in service.

Passenger experience

The A320's fuselage is about seven inches wider than the 737's, so A320neo economy seats are typically 18 inches wide against 17 on the MAX 8, a difference felt mostly in the middle seat. The A320neo's Airspace cabin offers larger bins and a quieter interior; the MAX 8 has the Boeing Sky Interior with its own larger pivot bins and LED lighting, and the LEAP-1B is a quiet engine. Both are usually fitted at 29 to 32 inches of pitch. Ryanair's MAX 200 version packs 197 seats with an extra exit, the tightest configuration of either type. For the best seat, take an exit row or a forward window on either; the rear rows beside the galley are the ones to avoid.

Which to choose

Airlines choose largely on existing fleet, price and delivery slots, since the two are closely matched on economics. For passengers the A320neo's extra inch of seat width is the one consistent difference, and it favours the Airbus.