Difference Between Airbus A380 and Boeing 747
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Airbus A380 vs Boeing 747
In their race for dominance in the commercial airliner market, Boeing and Airbus produced two very large aircrafts, revolutionizing the commercial aviation. They are able to carry more than 400 passenger and able to fly Trans-Atlantic without refueling.
The development costs are enormous (six billion dollars for A380) both companies laid down the future and success of the company on these projects. However, Boeing produced it 40 years before Airbus, then only a beginner in aviation.
More about Boeing 747
Boeing 747, officially the Queen in the Skies, more commonly known by its nickname, the ” Jumbo Jet ” rolled out of production at Seattle in 1969. It remained the world’s largest operating passenger aircraft until A380 was introduced by the Airbus.
The aircraft revolutionized the commercial aviation form engineering aspects to the logistics. It became the ideal carrier for the intercontinental flight and anything was possible to be transported from air with its unprecedented cargo capacity. For example, the Space Shuttle can be transported on top of a B-747. In its tenure of more than 40 years, many variants of Boeing 747 were produced; Boeing 747 -100, -200 and -300 series are out of production and known as the Classics. Boeing -400 and the Boeing 747-8 intercontinental are the newer variants of the aircrafts, but -400 series being brought to end of production, 747-8 intercontinental is the only aircraft currently under production. However, 747 -400, 400ER (Extended Range) and 747-8 are still operational.
More about Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger carrier which has a seating capacity of 555 in a standard configuration. The unprecedented cabin space provided by the airplane allows revolutionary interior design additions for customers such as bars, restaurants, beauty salons, and duty-free shops to improve passenger flight experience.
Even the aircraft is larger than most of the aircrafts, and the cabin noise level is 50% lower, and it has lower emissions than the aircrafts of the same class (ex. Boeing 747-400). The A380 has a state of the art Fly-by-wire flight control system, and it is the first commercial aircraft to use Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA), which is an advanced military fighter jet avionics system developed by Thales Group used in F-22 and Dassault Rafale
Aircraft’s logistics are of enormous complexity; it’s worthwhile noting. A380 components are produced in countries all over Europe (Great Britain, Germany, France and Spain) and assembled in the main airbus factory at Toulouse, France. Aircraft components are transported from air, ship, barge, and finally by lorry to arrive at the Toulouse factory.
Comparison Between A380 and Boeing 747 Specification
| Airbus A380 | Boeing 747 | ||
Variant | A380-800 | 747-8 Intercontinental | 747-400 | 747-400ER |
General | ||||
Manufacturer | Airbus | Boeing commercial Airplanes | ||
Type | Wide body Jet airliner | Wide body Jet airliner | ||
Configuration | Double deck, Double aisle | Main Deck : twin Aisle stretched upper deck (SUD): single aisle | Main Deck : twin Aisle stretched upper deck (SUD): single aisle | Main Deck : twin Aisle stretched upper deck (SUD): single aisle |
Number Built | 80 | 6 | 442 | 6 |
Orders (in July 2012) | 257 | 36 | 442 | 6 |
Unit Cost (in 2012) | US $389.9 million | US $ 351.4 | Production terminated | Production terminated |
Capacity | ||||
Cockpit Crew | 2 | 2 | ||
Passengers Capacity | Typical Configuration : 555 Max Possible : 853 (all tourist class) | Typical 3-class: 467 | Typical 3-class : 416 2-class : 524 | Typical 3-class : 416 2-class : 524 |
Maximum Cargo Volume | 176 m3 | 161.5 m | 170.5 m or 151 m | 158.6 m 137 m |
Performance | ||||
Maximum taxi/ramp weight | 562,000 kg | 443,613 kg | 398,254 kg | 414,130 kg |
Maximum take-off weight (MTOW) | 560,000 kg | 447,696 kg | 396,893 kg | 412,769 kg |
Maximum landing weight | 386,000 kg | 309,350 kg | 295,742 kg | 263,537/295,742 kg |
Maximum zero fuel weight | 361,000 kg | 291,206 kg | 251,744 kg | 245,847/251,744 kg |
Typical operating empty weight | 276,800 kg |
| 178,800 kg | 184,570 kg |
Maximum structural payload | 149,800 kg | 76,702 kg | 70,851 | 62,006/67,177 kg |
Maximum operating speed at cruise altitude | Mach 0.89 (945 km/h, 510 knots) | Mach 0.855 913 km/h | Mach 0.85 913 km/h | Mach 0.855 913 km/h |
Maximum design speed at cruise altitude | Mach 0.96 (1020 km/h, 551 knots) | Mach 0.92 988 km/h | Mach 0.92 988 km/h | Mach 0.92 988 km/h |
Take off run at MTOW / SL ISA | 2,750 m | 2,900 m |
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Range at design load | 15,400 km, 8,300 nmi | 14,815 km 8,000 nmi | 13,450 km 7260 nmi | 14,205 km 7,670 nmi |
Service Ceiling | 13,115 m | 13,000 m |
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Dimensions | ||||
Length | 72.727 m | 76.3 m | 70.6 m | 70.6 m |
Wing span | 79.750 m | 68.5 m | 64.4 m | 64.4 m |
Height | 24.09m | 19.4 m | 19.4 m | 19.4 m |
Outside fuselage width | 7.14 m |
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Outside fuselage height | 8.41 m |
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Maximum cabin width | Main Deck: 6.54 m Upper deck: 5.80 m | 6.1 m | 6.1 m | 6.1 m |
Cabin length | Main Deck: 49.9 m Upper deck: 44.93 m |
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Wing area | 845 m2 | 560 m² | 560 m² | 560 m² |
Aspect ratio | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
Wing sweep | 33.5° |
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Wheelbase | 33.58 m and 36.85 m | 29.7m | 25.6m | 25.6 |
Wheel Track | 12.46 m | 11m | 11m | 11m |
Engines and Fuel | ||||
Max. fuel capacity | 320,000 L | 242,470 L | 216,014 L | 240,544 |
No. of Engines | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Engines | Rolls-Royce Trent 970 & 972 | GEnx-2B67 (x4) | Pratt & Whitney PW4062 |
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Engine Alliance GP 7270 | Rolls-Royce RB211-524H2-T |
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General Electric CF6-80C2B5F |
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Maximum Engine Thrust | Trent-970 : 310 kN Trent-972 :320 kN GP 7270 : 363 kN | (296 kn) | PW4062 : 281.57 kN RB211 : 264.67 kN CF6 : 276.23 kN |
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What is the difference between Airbus A380 and Boeing 747?
• Boeing 747 first developed in 1970’s while, Airbus A380 was developed during the last decade, but more advanced variants built on the 747-100 still continues to fly.
• In a typical 3-class configuration seating capacity, B-747 is 416 and A380 is 555.
• Both A380 and B-747 have two decks, but B-747 upper deck is short while A380 upper deck runs the whole length of the aircraft
• Boeing 747-8 has 50.0% of its weight as composite materials, while A380 has only 20%.
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