Wide-body aircraft
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft and in the largest cases as a jumbo jet, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast.[1] The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to 6 m (16 to 20 ft).[2] In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast,[3] allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850[4] passengers. Seven-abreast aircraft typically seat 160 to 260 passengers, eight-abreast 250 to 380, nine- and ten-abreast 350 to 480.[5] The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m (20 ft) wide, and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations.
By comparison, a typical narrow-body aircraft has a diameter of 3 to 4 m (10 to 13 ft), with a single aisle,[1][6] and seats between two and six people abreast.[7]
Wide-body aircraft were originally designed for a combination of efficiency and passenger comfort and to increase the amount of cargo space.[8] However, airlines quickly gave in to economic factors, and reduced the extra passenger space in order to insert more seats and increase revenue and profits.[citation needed] Wide-body aircraft are also used by commercial cargo airlines,[9] along with other specialized uses.
By the end of 2017, nearly 8,800 wide-body airplanes had been delivered since 1969, production peaking at 412 per year in 2015.[10]
History
Following the success of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, airlines began seeking larger aircraft to meet the rising global demand for air travel. Engineers were faced with many challenges as airlines demanded more passenger seats per aircraft, longer ranges and lower operating costs.
Early jet aircraft such as the 707 and DC-8 seated passengers along either side of a single aisle, with no more than six seats per row. Larger aircraft would have to be longer, higher (double-deck aircraft), or wider in order to accommodate a greater number of passenger seats.
Engineers realized having two decks created difficulties in meeting emergency evacuation regulations with the technology available at that time. During the 1960s, it was also believed that
The engineers also opted for creating "stretched" versions of the DC-8 (61, 62 and 63 models), as well as longer versions of Boeing's 707 (-320B and 320C models) and 727 (-200 model); and Douglas' DC-9 (-30, -40, and -50 models), all of which were capable of accommodating more seats than their shorter predecessor versions.
The wide-body age began in 1970 with the entry into service of the first wide-body airliner, the four-engined, partial double-deck Boeing 747.[12] New trijet wide-body aircraft soon followed, including the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the L-1011 TriStar. The first wide-body twinjet, the Airbus A300, entered service in 1974. This period came to be known as the "wide-body wars".[13]
L-1011 TriStars were demonstrated in the USSR in 1974, as Lockheed sought to sell the aircraft to Aeroflot.[14][15] However, in 1976 the Soviet Union launched its own first four-engined wide-body, the Ilyushin Il-86.[16]
After the success of the early wide-body aircraft, several subsequent designs came to market over the next two decades, including the Boeing 767 and 777, the Airbus A330 and Airbus A340, and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11. In the "jumbo" category, the capacity of the Boeing 747 was not surpassed until October 2007, when the Airbus A380 entered commercial service with the nickname "Superjumbo".[17] Both the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 "jumbo jets" have four engines each (quad-jets), but the upcoming Boeing 777X ("mini jumbo jet") is a twinjet.[18][19]
In the mid-2000s, rising oil costs in a post-
The production of the large Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380 four-engine, long-haul jets has come to an end as airlines are now preferring the smaller, more efficient Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 twin-engine, long-range airliners.[20]
Design
Fuselage
Although wide-body aircraft have larger frontal areas (and thus greater
- Larger cabin space for passengers, giving a more open feeling.
- Lower ratio of surface area to volume, and thus lower drag per passenger or cargo volume. The only exception to this would be with very long narrow-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 757 and Airbus A321.
- Twin aisles that accelerate loading, unloading, and evacuation compared to a single aisle (wide-body airliners typically have 3.5 to 5 seats abreast per aisle, compared to 5–6 on most narrow-body aircraft).[21]
- Reduced overall aircraft length for a given capacity, improving ground manoeuvrability and reducing the risk of tail strikes.
- Greater under-floor freight capacity.
- Better structural efficiency for larger aircraft than would be possible with a narrow-body design.
British and Russian designers had proposed wide-body aircraft similar in configuration to the
Engines
As jet engine power and reliability have increased over the last decades, most of the wide-body aircraft built today have only two engines. A
The Boeing 777 twinjet features the most powerful jet engine, the
The 560 tonnes (1,230,000 lb)
Interior
The interiors of aircraft, known as the aircraft cabin, have been undergoing evolution since the first passenger aircraft. Today, between one and four classes of travel are available on wide-body aircraft.
Bar and lounge areas which were once installed on wide-body aircraft have mostly disappeared, but a few have returned in
Depending on how the
In some of the largest single-deck wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, the extra space above the cabin is used for crew rest areas and galley storage.
-
The economy class cabin of an Airbus A350
-
The business class cabin on an A350
Jumbo jets
The term "jumbo jet" usually refers to the largest variants of wide-body airliners; examples include the Boeing 747 (the first wide-body and original "jumbo jet"), Airbus A380 ("superjumbo jet"), Boeing 777X and Boeing 777 ("mini jumbo jet").[18][19] The phrase "jumbo jet" derives from Jumbo, a circus elephant in the 19th century.[34][35]
Wake turbulence and separation
Aircraft are categorized by
Due to their weight, all current wide-body aircraft are categorized as "
The wake-turbulence category also is used to guide the
Special uses
Wide-body aircraft are used in science, research, and the military. Some wide-body aircraft are used as flying command posts by the military like the
Some wide-body aircraft are used as
Outsize cargo
Some wide-body aircraft have been modified to enable transport of
Comparison
Model | produced | MTOW (tonnes) |
Length | Fuselage width | Cabin width | Economy seats across | Seat width[a] |
Number built |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
767[44]
|
1981–present | 186.9 | 48.51–61.37 m (159 ft 2 in – 201 ft 4 in) |
5.03 metres (16 ft 6 in) |
4.72 metres (15 ft 6 in) |
7: 2-3-2 (HD, 8: 2-4-2) | 18" (16.4") | 1263 (October 2022) |
A300[45] | 1974–2007 | 171.7 | 53.61–54.08 m (175 ft 11 in – 177 ft 5 in) |
5.64 m (18 ft 6 in) | 5.28 m (17 ft 4 in) | 8: 2-4-2 (HD, 9: 3-3-3) | 17.2" (16.4") | 561 (discontinued) |
A310[46] | 1983–1998 | 164 | 46.66 m (153 ft 1 in) |
8: 2-4-2 | 17.2" | 255 (discontinued) | ||
A330[47] | 1994–present | 242 | 58.82–63.67 m (193 ft 0 in – 208 ft 11 in) |
8: 2-4-2 (9: 3-3-3 on 5J and D7[48] and JT) | 18" (16.5") | 1555 (November 2022) | ||
A340[49] | 1993–2011 | 380 | 59.40–75.36 m (194 ft 11 in – 247 ft 3 in) |
8: 2-4-2 (9: 3-3-3) | 17.8" (16.4") | 380 (discontinued) | ||
787[50]
|
2007–present | 252.7 | 56.72–68.28 m (186 ft 1 in – 224 ft 0 in) |
5.76 m (18 ft 11 in) | 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in) | 9: 3-3-3 (8: 2-4-2 on JL[51]) | 17.2" | 1021 (October 2022) |
C929[52]
|
2025- (projected) | 245[53] | 63.755 m (209 ft 2.0 in)[53] | 5.92 m (19 ft 5 in) | 5.61 m (18 ft 5 in) | 9: 3-3-3 | 17.9" | - |
A350[54] | 2010–present | 316 | 66.61–73.59 m (218.5–241.4 ft) | 5.96 m (235 in) | 5.61 m (221 in) | 9: 3-3-3 (10: 3-4-3 on BF and TX[55]) | 18" (16.5”) | 509 (November 2022) |
DC-10[56]
|
1971–1989 | 259.5 | 51.97 m (170.5 ft) | 6.02 m (237 in) | 5.69 m (224 in) | 9: 2-4-3, 10: 3-4-3 | 18", 16.5" | 446 (discontinued) |
MD-11[57]
|
1990–2001 | 286 | 58.65 m (192.4 ft) | 9: 2-5-2, 10: 3-4-3 | 18", 16.5" | 200 (discontinued) | ||
L-1011[58]
|
1972–1985 | 231.3 | 54.17–50.05 m (177.7–164.2 ft) | 6.02 m (237 in) | 5.77 m (227 in) | 9: 3-4-2/2-5-2, 10: 3-4-3 | 17.7", 16.5" | 250 (discontinued) |
Il-86
|
1980–1994 | 206 | 60.21 m (197.5 ft) | 6.08 m (239 in) | 5.70 m (224 in) | 9: 3-3-3[59] | 18" | 106 (discontinued) |
Il-96
|
1992-present | 270 | 55.3–63.94 m (181.4–209.8 ft) | 30 (2016) | ||||
777[60]
|
1993–present | 247.2-351.5 | 63.7–73.9 m (209–242 ft) | 6.19 m (244 in) | 5.86 m (231 in) | 9: 3-3-3, 10: 3-4-3 | 18.5", 17" | 1696 (October 2022) |
777X[61] | 2019–present | 351.5 | 70.87–76.73 m (232.5–251.7 ft) | 5.94 m (234 in) | 10: 3-4-3 | 17.2" | 4 (January 2021) | |
747[62]
|
1968–2022 | 447.7 | 56.3–76.25 m (184.7–250.2 ft) | 6.50 m (256 in) | 6.10 m (240 in) up: 3.46 m (136 in) |
10: 3-4-3 (main) 6: 3-3 (upper) |
17.2"/18.5" | 1574 (discontinued) |
A380[63] | 2005–2021 | 575 | 72.72 m (238.6 ft) | 7.14 m (281 in) | 6.54 m (257 in) up: 5.80 m (228 in) |
10: 3-4-3 (HD) (main) 8: 2-4-2 (upper) |
18" (18") | 246 (discontinued) |
- ^ with 2" armrests when not otherwise specified
See also
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