Hello All,
Despite Boeing’s persistent production issues, the 787-9 passenger reached an important milestone: per planespotters.net data, there are now as many of them in passenger service as A330-300s (625).
This post will compare the in-service fleet of both aircraft that have similar passenger capacity.
Remarkably similar fleet profiles
The below table summarizes the passenger fleet profiles by variant (does not include 787-9 aircraft on order):
VariantA330-300787-9In Passenger Service625625Operator Count6952Operators with 10 or more aircraft2427HHI Index (%)3.03.2Share of in-service fleet with airlines operating 10 or more aircraft (%)7382In-service passenger fleet. Excludes VIP and government aircraft
Both fleets are on the podium of the most diversified twin-aisle ones (the other is the A330-200). The A330-300 is marginally more diversified, with more airlines operating fewer aircraft on average. It is not surprising because it is an older-generation aircraft with lower capital costs than the 787-9.
The five largest A330 operators are Cathay Pacific (43), Turkish Airlines (36), Delta Air Lines (31), Saudia (31), and Air China (28). The five largest 787-9 operators are All Nippon Airways (43), United Airlines (38), Etihad Airways (33), Air Canada (31), and Hainan Airlines (28).
But different geographical breakdowns
The table below shows the share of the in-service fleet by region:
Region Share (%)A330-300787-9Africa23Asia Pacific5638Europe2721Latin America06Middle East715North America816
More than half of in-service A330-300s are in the Asia-Pacific region. The aircraft is popular, especially among Chinese airlines (123 total in service) for intra-Asia flights on trunk routes.
The 787-9 operator base has more regional diversity. It is because of the variant’s appeal for thin long-haul routes
Looking forward
This blog believes that the A330-300 retirements won’t accelerate until the early 2030s, especially with lingering twin-aisle production delays at Airbus and Boeing. Airlines will first focus on retiring other less economical variants (A340s, A330-200s, 747s, 767-300ERs, and 777-200ERs). Usage will drastically drop only by the end of the 2030s unless more stringent environmental regular force earlier retirements.
The 787-9 has a bright fleet future with 585 outstanding orders. It will likely be the first twin-aisle variant to break the 1,000 units delivered milestone. A production line filled for five years means that there won’t likely be many orders in the next few years. Expect orders to accelerate later in the decade once slots open up.
The next major milestone for the 787-9 will be becoming the variant with the most twin-aisle aircraft in passenger service, overtaking the 777-300ER in the process. The 777-300ER still has 768 in-service passenger aircraft, so it won’t likely happen until at least the second half of 2026, depending on how quickly Boeing resolves its production issues.