Airbus A330-900neo vs Boeing 787-9

The Airbus A330-900 and Boeing 787-9 compete for the same orders, and the contest is between a clean-sheet composite design and a thoroughly re-engined classic. The 787-9, in service since 2014, is a 63 m twin seating about 296 in two classes, with a composite fuselage and wing, GEnx or Trent 1000 engines, and 7,565 nautical miles of range. The A330-900, or A330neo, entered service with TAP Air Portugal in 2018: the A330-300's 63.7 m aluminium fuselage with a new, longer composite-tipped wing, Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines derived from the 787's Trent 1000, and an Airspace cabin, seating 260 to 300 and flying around 7,200 nautical miles.

Airbus's pitch is price and familiarity. The A330neo is cheaper to buy and lease than a 787, shares a type rating with the more than 1,500 earlier A330s, and burns fuel at a rate within a few percent of the Dreamliner's on most routes. Boeing's is efficiency and range: the lighter composite 787-9 has the edge on fuel per seat and on the longest sectors, and it has outsold the A330neo several times over, with more than a thousand 787-9s delivered against a few hundred A330-900s. Delta, TAP, Air France-KLM, Cebu Pacific, Virgin Atlantic and Condor chose the A330neo; most of the world's long-haul carriers fly the 787-9.

Passenger experience

This is where the A330neo scores. Its fuselage is wider than the 787's, and most operators keep the A330's traditional 2-4-2 economy with seats around 18 inches wide, against the 787's usual 3-3-3 at 17.3 inches. The Airspace cabin has large bins and mood lighting comparable to the Dreamliner's. The 787 answers with its composite advantages: a 6,000 ft cabin altitude and higher humidity, which reduce fatigue, and large electronically dimmed windows. Noise levels are similar; both are quiet aircraft. For the best economy seat, the A330neo's side pairs are the prize, a window and an aisle with no middle; on the 787-9, take a window forward of the rear galley and avoid the last rows where the fuselage tapers.

Which to choose

Airlines pick the 787-9 for ultimate range and efficiency and the A330neo for price and fleet commonality; both are sound choices. Passengers in economy will usually prefer the A330neo's wider seats and no-middle side pairs, while those sensitive to cabin pressure on a very long flight may favour the 787.