Hello All, After looking at the payload-range capabilities of the latest-generation single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft, we are now focusing on the market segment that doesn’t have a new-generation OEM offering. It comprises the 757-300, 767-200ER, 767-300ER, and 767-400ER. To...
Hello All,
After looking at the payload-range capabilities of the latest-generation single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft, we are now focusing on the market segment that doesn’t have a new-generation OEM offering. It comprises the 757-300, 767-200ER, 767-300ER, and 767-400ER.
To help the comparison we will add two latest-generation aircraft: the A321XLR (single-aisle with the most payload range) and 787-8 (smallest twin-aisle).
A word of caution
The words of caution disclosed in a previous article remain valid. We need to add two of them:
The A321XLR payload-range diagram is estimated; The 787-8 has a long-haul cabin and crew rest area in the default OEM configuration, while the others do not. Those two items combined add several metric tons to the aircraft’s structural weight, commensurably reducing the maximum structural payload. So the below diagram is not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison.The diagram
Below is the payload-range diagram for all the aircraft:
And payload at various ranges:
| Range (nm) | A321XLR | 757-300 | 767-200ER | 767-300ER | 767-400ER | 787-8 |
| 2000 | 23.0 | 30.9 | 35.6 | 43.8 | 45.8 | 43.3 |
| 3000 | 23.0 | 26.2 | 35.6 | 43.8 | 45.8 | 43.3 |
| 4000 | 21.0 | 35.6 | 42.8 | 42.2 | 43.3 | |
| 5000 | 35.2 | 33.3 | 31.9 | 43.3 | ||
| 6000 | 45.2 | 39.0 | ||||
| 7000 | 30.4 |
An extremely wide segment
The payload-range diagram and table above show that the so-called middle of the market segment is extremely wide.
The 757-300 has the range for US transcontinental operations but not much more (the range is comparable to the 737-9). The A321XLR can do trans-Atlantic operations but they are nowhere near the level of the 767 (a Rome-Atlanta is too much for the A321XLR). The Payload capacity is also significantly lower (20 metric tons vs. the 767-300ER/-400ER). All three 767 variants can comfortably do trans-Atlantic operations, with ranges of at least up to around 5,500 nautical miles. They do not have enough range for most trans-Pacific routes or East Asia to Europe operations. The 787-8 is a long-range aircraft for trans-Pacific operations. In a similar cabin configuration, the aircraft can carry double the payload of the A321XLR. The 757-300 and 767-200ER have similar passenger capacity (the 757-300 has a few more seats), but the latter can carry almost five more metric tons of payload. It shows a twin-aisle aircraft has more structural payload capacity, which is not surprising given the larger cargo hauls.A previous post showed that building a new aircraft with a dedicated and efficient cross-section for the segment between the A321XLR and 787-8 is challenging. Boeing also struggled with pleasing all customers in the segment during its New Midmarket Aircraft studies. US carriers wanted an aircraft with single-aisle payload-range characteristics, while Asian ones wanted more payload for cargo operations.