Global Demand for First & Business Class Drives Next-Generation Widebody Jets

Global air travel has come roaring back from its pandemic-induced slump, and airlines are racing to provide enough capacity or in lay terms, to put enough seats in the sky – particularly for premium tickets on international flights enjoying a stronger-than-expected rebound.

The surge has created a surprise bottleneck for some carriers, which are finding that many of their new-generation aircraft outfitted with enough business and first class berths are either late for delivery, especially the much-delayed Boeing 777-9, still awaiting regulatory approval. The new advanced 777 is unlikely to enter service until at least 2025

Airbus A350 and Boeing 777 order backlog, as of Dec. 2022:

A330-800/-900 backlog: 196
A350-900 backlog: 298
A350-1000 backlog: 71
Total of 565

787-8 backlog: 30
787-9 backlog: 432
787-10 backlog: 108
777-9/-8 backlog: 353
Total of 923

In 2022 and 2023 carriers have been forced to revive a venerable plane model that looked consigned to the scrap heap even before the Covid-19 outbreak: the four-engine dinosaurs like the Airbus A380 or the Boeing 747.

Lufthansa is now bringing back its larger Airbus A340 jets, some almost two decades old, to satisfy the appetite for first class seating ahead of the peak northern summer season. The airline, which has 10 Airbus A340-600s in its fleet, will reactivate the planes in Q2 of 2023.

So, who is winning the widebody jet sales race? Right now it looks like Boeing is leading with 3,132 orders and a backlog of 923 widebody jets, and Airbus with 1,163 orders and a backlog of 565. The biggest challenge for Boeing will be to deliver the aircraft on order to its clients in 2023 and 2024. Boeing has been extremely challenged with development and delivery delays in 2021 and 2022. It must resolve these issues immediately, otherwise it might see a serious decline in its orders and deliveries, just like it did in the norrowbody market with its 737 Max and the A320 series.