1990-present
For the following information, it will all be about different aircraft throughout this time period. Some of the aircraft were actually created in the 80’s or even longer but they have been put in this time period as they are planes that are still in service and are important. These aircraft are the main aircraft that are still used today and one’s you have probably flown on.
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range twinjet narrow body airliner. It was originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner that was inspired from the Boeing 707 and the 727. The 737 has now grown and developed into a family of ten passenger models that can carry 85-215 passengers. The 737 is Boeing’s only narrow-body airliner that is in production with the 737-700, the 737-800 and the 737-900ER variants that are still being built today. There is a new re-engine and redesigned version said to debut in 2017 called the 737MAX. The original 737-100 made its first flight in April 1967 and entered into the airline service in February 1968 for Lufthansa. Then in the 80’s Boeing introduced and launched the -300, -400 and the -500 737 models. These were referred to as the Boeing 737 Classic series. The 737 Classics added more capacity to the aircraft, and also used the CFM56 turbofan engines along with wing improvements. Then in the 90’s Boeing released the 737 Next Generation with multiple changes such as increased airflow over the wings by creating new wings, upgraded cockpit and a whole new interior. The Next Generation included the -600, the -700, the -800 and the -900 models. The aircraft ranged from 31,09m to 42,06m in length with the -900 being the longest. The 737 series is the best-selling aircraft jet commercial airliner. The 737 has been constantly manufactured by Boeing since 1967 with 8,807 aircraft delivered and another 4,231 orders to be fulfilled. 737 assembly line is centred at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton, Washington. The Boeing manufacturing factory is the biggest building in the world. The primary users of the 737 are Southwest Airlines, Ryanair, United Airlines and American Airlines. The 737-900ER which is the lasted 737 costs $99 million. The 737MAX that is said to arrive in 2017 will cost around $110 million.
The Airbus A320 family consists of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners that have been manufactured by Airbus. The family includes the A318, A319, A320 and the A321 as well as the ACJ business jet. The aircraft family can carry up to 220 passengers and has a range of 3,100 to 12,000 km depending on the model. The A318 and A319 are the smaller aircraft and have less range than the A320 and the A321. The first member of the family was the A320 which was launched in 1984 and first delivered to Air France in 1988. The family soon grew to the A321, delivered in 1994, then the A319 in 1996 and finally in the A318 in 2003. The A320 family were the aircraft that pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire flight control systems meaning that before aircraft had wires attached to button and the wheel so when turned the wires moved activating the flaps or the tail for example. The A320 family got ride of those wires and it became all digital sending messages down electrical wires instead. It went from physical movement to digital. The A320 family was also the first to use side-stick controls as before aircraft used steering wheels when the A320 used a small joystick on the side which saves space. As of the 30th of November 2015, a total of 6,821 Airbus A320-family aircraft have been built and delivered of which 6,531 are still in service. The A320 family has proved very popular to low-cost carriers like EasyJet which bought A320-family aircraft to replace their Boeing 737 fleet. The A320 itself costs $97 million. It has a cruising speed of 840km/h and has a length of 37.55 meters.
The Airbus A330 is a medium to long range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner that is made by Airbus. Versions of the A330 have a flight range of 5,000 to 13,430 kilometres. The aircraft can carry up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout and can carry 70 tonnes of cargo. The A330-300 which was the first model took is first flight in November 1992 and entered passenger service with Air Inter in January 1994. Air Inter was a French airline that later in 1998 merged with Air France. The A330 at first was very slow at selling so Airbus created a shorter model, the A330-200 in 1998. Other models of the A330 included a freighter or cargo plane, the A330-200F and a military tanker, the A330 MRTT which flies in the air as a mobile gas station for jets. The military tanker releases tubes from it wing and the fighter jets have to open up their refuelling tube and mid-air connect the tube to refuel. It is a very difficult task and requires excellent flying mobility. The A330 was developed parallel with the A340 (explained after). These aircraft shared many airframe components. Both aircraft used the fly-by-wire which was explained above with the A320. The A330 has a cruising speed of 871km/h and has a length of 58.82 meters. The main airlines that use the A330 are Turkish Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China and Cathay Pacific. The A330-300 costs $231.3 million. As of October 2015, 1,439 A330’s have been ordered and 1,230 have been delivered. Turkish Airlines has the largest fleet of A330 with 53 in operation.
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, four-engine, wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. It was developed and then produced by Airbus which was assembled in Toulouse, France. The aircraft can carry up to 375 passengers in the standard model but in the biggest model, the A340-600 is can carry up to 440 passengers. Depending on the model of the aircraft, it has a range of 12,400 to 16,700km. There are 4 different variants of the A340. There is the -200, the -300, the -500 and the -600 with the -600 being the largest. The first variant the A340-300 entered into service in 1993 with Lufthansa and measured 59.39 meters. The shorter -200 was then developed and after was the A340-600 which was 15.91 meters longer than the first making it 75.3 meters long. The -600 was developed alongside with the shorter -500 which at the time became the longest-range commercial airliner until the arrival of the Boeing 777 (explained after). The A340-200 and the -300 models share the same fuselage and wings as the A330 but the A340 had four engines instead of 2. Then the -500 and the -600 models are longer and have larger wings. As of September 2011, 379 orders have been placed of which 375 have been delivered. The most common model that was delivered was the A340-300 with 218 aircraft delivered. Lufthansa is the biggest operator of the A340 with 59 aircraft in their fleet. The other main users of the A340 are Iberia, South African Airways and Swiss International Airlines. With reliability and fuel efficiency improving now a days, airlines are starting to use twin-engine jet airliners instead of four-engines as twin-engines jet are more reliable, fuel efficient and cost less to operate. Airliners are starting to turn to the A330, 777, 787 and the A350.
The Boeing 777 is a family long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner which is developed and then manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world’s largest twinjet aircraft and can typically seat 314 to 451 passengers. The aircraft has a range of about 9,695 to 17,594km. The aircraft is normally called by the “Triple Seven” and has a few distinguishing features. For example it has the largest-diameter turbofan engine than any other aircraft, six wheels on each landing gear and a blade-shaped tail cone. The 777 was designed to replace older wider-body aircraft and balance the capacity of passengers between the 767 and the 747. The 777 was Boeing’s first fly-by-wire aircraft and it has computer-mediated controls. The original 777-200 model entered into service in 1995 with United Airlines which followed by the extended-ranged model the 777-200ER in 1997. Then in 1998 the stretched 777-300 was introduced and was 10.1 meters longer than the -200. Then in 2004, the 777-300ER was introduced and was the aircraft that was the largest. The 777-300ER aircraft uses General Electric GE90 engines while the older versions used Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. The 777-200LR is the world’s longest-range airliner and is able to fly half way around the globe. It holds the record for the longest distance flown non-stop by a commercial aircraft. The 777 has received more orders than any other wide-body aircraft in the world. As of November 2015, 60 customers had places orders for 1,885 aircraft of all models with 1,335 orders delivered. Emirates operates the largest fleet of 777 with 144 passenger and freighter aircraft. The other airliners that use the 777 are United Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Air France. The 777 ranks as one of Boeing’s best-selling models and orders are still being put in as the 777 is more fuel efficient compared to four-engine aircraft.
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner which is manufactured by the European company Airbus. It is the world’s largest passenger aircraft and the airports that which it operates at have had to upgrade their facilities to accommodate it. It was designed to challenge Boeing’s large amount of large-aircraft market. The A380 made its maiden flight on 27th of April 2005 and was entered into service in 2007 with Singapore Airlines. The A380 is the only commercial aircraft to have two decks. These two decks can hold up to 525 people in a three-class configuration and it could hold 853 people if the whole aircraft was economy-class. The A380-800 has a range of 15,700km which is flight from Dallas, USA to Sydney, Australia. The aircraft has a cruising speed of 900km/h. As of October 2015, Airbus has received 317 orders of the A380 and 173 have been delivered with Emirates having the biggest fleet of A380 who have ordered 140 and have been delivered 67. The other major airlines that operate the biggest passenger airliner in the world are Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas and Air France. The cost of one A380 is $428 million.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner which has been developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Depending on the model it can carry 242 to 335 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. It is Boeing’s most fuel-efficient aircraft and is a pioneering airliner with the use of composite material (a mix of strong material all in one) as the primary material for the construction of its airframe. The 787 was designed to be 20% more fuel-efficient than Boeing’s 767 which is what it is intended to replace. The 787 Dreamliner’s most distinguishable features are mostly electrical flight systems, swept wingtips and noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles. The 787 shares a common type rating as the 777 allowing qualified pilots to operate both models as they are similar. The first 787 that was reviled in July 2007. Originally the 787 was planned to enter into service in May 2008 but there were many delays. The aircraft’s first flight took place on December 15, 2009 and entered into service in October 2011 with All Nippon Airways. The stretched variant 787-9 which is 6.1 meters longer and can fly an extra 830km than the 787-8, was first delivered in September 2013. As of November 2015, the 787 had orders for 1,142 aircraft from 62 customers with all Nippon having the largest number on order. So far there have been 354 built. The aircraft did suffer from several in-service problems, mainly fires on board which were related to its lithium-ion batteries overheating. These systems had to be reviewed by the FAA (Federal Aviation Admiration) and the Japanese aviation agency. After Boeing completed tests on a revised battery design, the FAA approved the revised design and lifted the grounding of the Aircraft in April 2013. The 787 returned to passenger service later that month.
The Airbus A350 XWB is a family long-range, twin-engine wide-body jet airliner which has been developed and manufactured by Airbus. The A350 is the first Airbus to have both the fuselage and the wing structures made primarily of carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer. Its variants can carry 280 to 336 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. The A350 has been made to succeed the A330 and the A340 but also to compete with Boeing’s 787 and 777. The A350 was originally talked about in 2004, pairing the A330’s fuselage with new aerodynamics features and engines. In 2006, Airbus redesigned the entire aircraft in response to criticism from their future customers. They renamed the aircraft to the A350 XWB (extra wide body). As of November 2015, Airbus have received 775 orders of the A350 from 41 customers. The A350 first flew on the 14th of June 2013 from Toulouse France. Only on the 15th of January 2015 did the A350 enter into service with Qatar Airways. The other airlines that currently fly the A350 are Vietnam Airlines and Finnair. As of November 2015, only 11 aircraft have been built and each cost up to $300 million. The length of the A350 is 66.8 meters and has a top speed of 1000km/h.
