RJMAZ wrote:Waterbomber wrote:but for anyone considering B787's today as a new aircraft in the fleet or A330 replacement, the A330neo is a serious contender.
If an A338 is considered too stubby and heavy, the same could be said about the B788.
The 787-8 has a cabin area of 232m2 and an empty weight of 120T. That is 515kg of structure per m2 of cabin area.
The A330-800 has only 237m2 for 132T. That is 554kg of structure per m2 of cabin area.
515 vs 554 is a very large 7% advantage to the 787-8. In shorter flights airport fees become a larger percentage of trip costs. As airport fees are calculated on weight the 787-8 wins.
The A330-800 may have greater wingspan but the inner wing being less advanced may offset all of the lift to drag advantage. So at no point would the A330 have a fuel burn advantage when you compare OEW, payload or cabin area.
When I was in maintenance, I once had to weigh an A332 joining the fleet. It was an interesting experience, because thanks to that I know that you are way off on your figures. The aircraft clocked in at less than 120 tons empty weight, with crews and catering added, the OEW would have been around 120 tons.
So explain to me how the A338, which is said to have maintained the same OEW as the A332, would suddenly have a OEW of 132 tons?
The dry weight of the Trent 7000 vs. Trent 700 is just 250kg higher.
http://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/default ... 7040875992http://www.easa.europa.eu/system/files/ ... 7040717180Wikipedia is a pretty good source but in this case it is wrong.
The narrower fuselage of the A330 should result in a lower profile drag, the larger span in lower induced drag.
Airbus' marketing material which should be taken with a pinch of salt, puts the A339 at 8 abreast on par with a 9 abreast B789 on fuel burn, but at lower operating costs per flight and per seat.
It's too close to call, but if you go 9-abreast on the A330neo (poor passengers), it'll beat the B787.
http://www.ausbt.com.au/files/A330neo%2 ... RXMnhuKmEPAnd I'm not biased, you can look over to the B787 vs A350 noise thread. Just stating things as they are.