Airbus A380 vs. Boeing 747: The Ultimate Double-Decker Showdown

Airbus A380 vs. Boeing 747: The Ultimate Double-Decker Showdown

I have yet to meet an aviation enthusiast that doesn’t like the 747. After all, it’s an iconic airliner that changed the industry. On the other hand, the A380’s reception has been mixed – while there are enthusiasts who love it, there are also those who don’t.

In this article, I decided to look at how the two double-deckers compare to each other in a variety of aspects ranging from their history, looks, size, and capacity, all the way to their price and commercial success.

So, let’s get the A380 vs. 747 battle started!

 

History: The 747 is more than 35 years older than the A380.

Having first flown in 1969 and entered into commercial operation on January 22, 1970, with Pan American World Airways, the Boeing 747 also known as the “Queen of the Skies” has been around for quite some time.

Since then, the original 747-100 was followed by several variants including the commercially most successful 747-400 and the latest 747-8. And, the aircraft has served a wide range of operators ranging from passenger and cargo airlines all the way to various government and military organizations.

If you are interested in the history of the 747, make sure to check out 747: Creating the World’s First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation, a book by “the father of the 747,” Joe Sutter.

Besides buying a printed book, you can also get it for free in an audiobook format with Audible’s free 30-day trial.

Mahan Air 747-300
Mahan Air is the last passenger airline still operating a classic Boeing 747.

While quite a few aircraft types were introduced after the A380, having first flown on April 25, 2005, it’s relatively young.

Unfortunately, though, it didn’t enjoy as much success as the 747 did. In fact, even though Airbus had plans to produce a freighter version of the “superjumbo” as well, those plans never came to fruition.

If you are interested in the history of the A380, make sure to check out Airbus A380: Superjumbo of the 21st Century by Guy Norris and Mark Wagner.

Singapore Airlines A380 - Launch Customer
Singapore Airlines was the first airline to receive the Airbus A380.

 

Look: The A380 can never match the 747’s iconic shape.

Now, let’s take at some of the two type’s characteristic features. While they are both four-engine aircraft and double-deckers, that is where the similarities end.

Among other things, depending on the version, the 747 uses nothing on its wingtips, winglets,  or raked wingtips, while the A380 (what used to be Airbus’ signature) wingtip fences. The biggest difference, though, lies in their overall look cause by the difference in their upper decks.

Boeing 747-400 Winglet
Wing of the 747-400. Notice the winglet on its end.
Airbus A380 Wing
Wing of the A380. Notice the wingtip fence.

While the A380 has a full-length upper deck which makes it look massive, the 747 has a hump just in the front part of the aircraft – a feature that gives it its iconic look and makes it the, perhaps, most widely recognized aircraft type in the world.

747's Iconic Shape
The 747’s iconic shape during sunset.

The 747’s unique design is partially a result of the fact that around the time the aircraft’s first version was designed, there was a strong belief that supersonic aircraft would take over the passenger market in the future, and the likes of the 747 would be left to carry cargo.

If you love the iconic look of the 747 just like I do, make sure to also check a post where I shared tens of photos of the Queen of the Skies in commemoration of her 50th birthday.

 

Size: 747-8s are 3.6 meters longer than the A380s.

At 72.72 meters long, Airbus A380 is the second longest aircraft in the world.

The shortest variant of Boeing 747, the 747SP is 56.3 meters long while the other than the latest 747-8 are 70.66 meters long. The latest variant, 747-8 is 76.25 meters long which makes it the longest mass-production aircraft in the world.

Boeing 747-8 - Longest Aircraft in the World
The latest version of the 747, the 747-8 is the longest airliner in the world.

While the 747-8 is longer than the A380, at 79.75 meters, the A380 has a wider wingspan. For comparison, the wingspan of the classic variants of the 747 up to the “-300” is 59.6 meters, and the “-400” and “-8” have wingspans of 64.4 and 68.4 meters respectively.

Finally, the A380 is 24.09 meters high while all variants of the 747 are between 19.3 and 19.9 meters high.

To sum it up, while the 747, or at least its 747-8 variant, is longer than the A380, the A380 is higher higher and has a wider wingspan.

Boeing 747 vs. Airbus A380 Size Comparison

Image originally created by Clem Tillier.
Modified by KN Aviation under the CC BY-SA 2.5 license

 

Weight: A380’s MTOW is 127 tons heavier than 747-8’s.

A380’s maximum take-off weight (MTOW) is 575 tons and its operating empty weight (OEW) – basically the aircraft’s weight without its payload (passengers and cargo) and usable fuel – is 277 tons.

All variants of the 747 are lighter than that. The 747SP has, at 320 tons and 153 tons respectively, the lightest MTOW and OEW of the family. On the other end of the spectrum lies the latest 747-8 which has a MTOW of 448 tons and an OEW of 220 tons.

Just for comparison, a Toyota Camry weighs around 1,600 kilograms. So, an A380 can be as heavy as almost 360 Toyota Camrys when it takes off, and a 747-8 as heavy as 280 of them.

Airbus A380
The A380 is considerably heavier than any of the 747 variants.

 

Speed: 747s can fly faster than the A380s.

The maximum cruise speed of an A380 is Mach 0.89 (89% of the speed of sound in air) while the two newest variants of the 747 (“-400” and “-8”) can cruise at a speed of Mach 0.855.

While in normal circumstances, the aircraft wouldn’t operate at speeds faster than the above, let’s also take a look at their MMo – maximum operating limit speed. For the A380 it’s Mach 0.89 and for the 747-8 it’s Mach 0.9. The older 747 variants have an even faster MMo of Mach 0.92.

Boeing 747 Speed
The 747 has a faster maximum operating limit speed than the A380.

The aircraft might fly even faster than that during test flights (or rarely in emergency situations), though.

Just as an example, the 747 is recorded to have flown at Mach 0.99 during its test flights and an Evergreen International 747 freighter reportedly made an emergency descent exceeding the speed of Mach 1.

 

Range: Both the 747-8 and A380 have a similar range.

While some sources cite the A380 as being able to fly a couple of hundred miles further than a 747-8 could, according to the official marketing documents of both Airbus and Boeing, both of the aircraft have a range of 8,000 miles.

That said, the older 747s had nowhere near the range of the A380 or the 747-8 and 747-400. For example, the 747SP had a range of 5,830 miles and the 747-200 of 6,560 miles.

That, though, is of course caused by the fact that they’re decades older.

Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 Range
Both the 747-8 and the A380 have the same range, 8000 miles.

 

Capacity: A380s can carry more passengers than the 747s.

The actual capacity varies from airline to airline depending on the number of classes, types of seats used, seat pitch, and so on. However, for the purpose of comparing the two jumbo jets, let’s take a look at the maximum number of passengers (the exit limit) the two types are rated for.

While a 747-8 could theoretically transport a maximum of 605 passengers, the A380-800 would be able to transport 868 passengers – 40% more than the Queen of the Skies.

Rarely do airlines install seats hitting the exit limit, though.

Airbus A380 Capacity
The A380 can seat considerably more people than the 747.

After all, most of them want to offer at least business class (if not premium economy or first as well) in addition to economy class. And, some of them even install things like onboard bars and showers.

 

Price: The A380 is 10% more expensive than the 747-8.

Now that you know how the A380 and 747 compare in terms of size, capacity, speed, and other factors, let’s take a look at how they compare in price.

Just in case you want to buy one…

A380 Price
The A380 is the more expensive of the two.

The average list price of the Airbus A380 based on the company’s 2018 price list is 445.6 million dollars.

On the other hand, the average 747-8 is about 40 million dollars cheaper with Boeing listing the average prices at 402.9 million dollars for the passenger version and 403.6 million dollars for the freighter.

While the above are average “list prices,” the actual price an airline has to pay for either of the aircraft can differ greatly depending on the importance of the customer to the manufacturer, the number of aircraft ordered, the engines used, and so on.

 

Customers: The 747 received 5x as many orders as the A380.

Finally, let’s take a look at how the A380 and 747 stack up against each other in terms of sales and deliveries.

Since the 747 program was started in the 1960s, 1,572 Boeing 747s were ordered and all of those except for 24 Boeing 747-8Fs were delivered to airlines and other operators around the world.

Former Largest 747 Operator Japan Airlines
For a long time, Japan Airlines was the largest operator of the 747 in the world.

With over 650 orders, the 747-400 (including the 747-400ER, 747-400F, etc.) is the most successful variant in the series. On the other end of the spectrum are the 747SP and the passenger version of 747-8, both of which recorded less than 50 orders.

Besides serving dozens of airlines over the years, various governments have relied on the 747 as well. The most notable government operator of the 747 is the United States Air Force which, among others, uses the 747 as the presidential aircraft commonly known as “Air Force One.”

As for the A380, in its fairly short life, it managed to accumulate slightly over 300 orders with outlook for future orders being fairly poor. So far, Airbus delivered a bit more than 230 of the ordered aircraft, with almost half of those finding home with a single airline – Emirates. For more A380 operators, read this article.

A380 Biggest Customer - Emirates
Emirates operates, by far, the largest fleet of Airbus A380s in the world.

 

A380 vs. 747: …and the winner is the Queen of the Skies!

Even though the latest 747-8 didn’t sell as well as the A380, the staggering difference in the total number of deliveries for all variants of the 747 versus the A380 makes it clear the 747 has been a much bigger success commercially.

Add to that the fact that the 747 can fly faster and is far better looking (although some might disagree on that one I believe most would agree), there’s no doubt who the winner is.

After all, while the A380 is certainly an impressive aircraft that beats the 747 in aspects such as capacity and weight, it does not transport the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of Japan (although that one is switching over to Boeing 777).

Air Force One - Boeing VC-25
“Air Force One” (officially only when the POTUS is onboard), the most famous aircraft in the world.

 

A380: Additional Reading

If you are interested in reading more about Airbus A380, make sure to check the articles below:

 

747: Additional Reading

If you are interested in reading more about Boeing 747, make sure to check the articles below:

Finally, to see what flying on the 747 is like, make sure to check some of the reviews of my flights on the Queen of the Skies:

16 thoughts on “Airbus A380 vs. Boeing 747: The Ultimate Double-Decker Showdown”

  1. THIS is not well written as the author’s facts are selective. Sales are not on a fair comparison and use more than one B747 model. The B747E/B747-8 created to compete with the A380 have not matched the sales figures of the larger aircraft.
    As to style, the wings of the A380 are pretty and a really special shape viewed from the front; as is frequently the case. It is a far cleaner look. The bulge on the B747 does not belong on a sleek aircraft and it looks exactly what it, a converted military transport vehicle. So here is one person who has never liked the shape or lines of the B747.
    Exterior and interior noise levels on the A380 are superior and so are take off and landing performances of the A380.
    Cost of the A380 is more but then carrying capacity is exponentially more than the cost difference.
    Whilst the B747 is a magnificent aircraft, and I do not mean to detract from that, be fair to the more modern design. It has amused me how the ordinary American is quite miffed and upset they no longer build the world’s ‘biggest’ aeroplane. The taste is the eating of the pudding as the A380 has proved to be the most popular aircraft in service today with passengers; that includes the clever B787 & A350.
    It is appearing the A380 may have arrived a little too soon and its’ day is still to arrive. There is still room for a lot more development to it. It is no secret the major airports are begging for the A380 as their ground and air space becomes saturated.
    I do enjoy the rivalry between the Airbus and Boeing camps and wish them both bon chance/good luck.

    1. Truely said……just by reading the given information without having a least knowledge of the Boeing and Airbus, it feels the writer is obviously biased on his comparison between the two.

    2. “It is appearing the A380 may have arrived a little too soon and its’ day is still to arrive.” I’m not sure if you are aware, but Airbus decided to cease production on the A380 program and is winding down the sales for it. The major issue I’ve seen (as someone who creates parts for Airbus) is a lack of enthusiasm within the US market. Current sales for the A380 was supposed to end in October 2019, but there are a few more orders Airbus still wants to fulfill before shelving the program.

  2. author must have gone through lot materials Before writing such article, the idea of double deck original invented by Boeing one would agree…the queen of the sky looks so beautiful without doubt… it had a long term plan from the beginning… is programmed in such a way of converting as cargo purpose…anyway records are meant to be broken so there may be one will achieve but there are many reason why it is survived 50long years with record sale which is beyond imagination any other aircraft will cross that figure in our lifetime… of course the present issue with Boeing may be after 50years the top officials in the company become greedy or pressured, became competitive but aurely quality was maintained 50yrs before we are aware…coming to A380 is also a record breaking achievement but not viable to suite present requirements as there are so many Pvt airlines…more than 50% aircraft sold to one airline is known fact which itself shows interest of other airlines… There are many reason why is the QUEEN OF THE SKY stands ahead of other aircraft…

  3. I think the A380 not enjoying patronage from the largest airlines of the world, from the US, coupled with its designed massive capacity satisfying the need for a funneling manner of a hub and spoke system against a point to point operation, necessitated the winding down of its production (consequent from declining demand/cancelling of old orders) .
    However, the Airbus 380 is a great engineering design as seen in its comfort level from streamlining through the sky and offering the most desirable comfort to passengers.

  4. Comparing max has no value since the buyers use it in a very different way, like carrying passengers from A to B. The comparison I like to see is how the airlines utilize each airplane. How many passengers and the distances they travel are more of a valid comparison of both airplanes

  5. You say the Boeing 747 wins, probably because you just like her better. And also, you’re wrong about the speed. I don’t know where you got the information because according to Google, the Airbus A380 can fly up to 737 miles per hour, and the Boeing 747 can only fly up to 614 miles per hour. And you forgot to add the passengers carried if you wanted to because the Airbus A380 can carry up to 405-853 passengers, and the Boeing 747 can carry up to about 400-500 passengers. And for the information from Google, look here:

    Boeing 747-8
    Wide-body
    The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the latest and largest variant of the 747. After introducing the 747-400, Boeing considered larger 747 versions as alternatives to Airbus A3XX. Wikipedia
    Length: 250′
    Top speed: 614 mph
    Wingspan: 225′ 0″
    Range: 9,320.6 mi
    Cruise speed: 568 mph
    Engine type: General Electric GEnx

    Airbus A380
    Wide-body aircraft
    The Airbus A380 is a wide-body aircraft manufactured by Airbus. It is the world’s largest passenger airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988 and the project was announced in 1990 to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747 in the long haul market. Wikipedia
    Top speed: 737 mph
    Wingspan: 262′ 0″
    Length: 239′
    Range: 9,444.8 mi
    Unit cost: US$445.6 million (2018)
    Number of seats: 853
    Engine types: Rolls-Royce Trent 900, Engine Alliance GP7000

    1. You are incorrect regarding top speed of the A380 (well, I should say Google is incorrect). The top speed for the A380 is Mach .89.

      Interestingly, Google cites Wikipedia as it’s source yet the Wikipedia article for the A380 states;
      Performance

      Cruise speed: 903 km/h (561 mph, 488 kn) Mach 0.85
      Range: 14,800 km (9,200 mi, 8,000 nmi)
      Service ceiling: 13,000 m (43,000 ft)
      VMO: Mach 0.89 (945 km/h; 511 kn) *** 588 MPH ***

      (Vmo is the Maximum Operating speed)

      I have no idea where they’re coming up with 737 mph, but that’s not even close.

  6. How can a boeing 747 looks better?
    It looks ugly with the double deck
    A380 is better with the iconic double deck and wing. I disagree with this article.

  7. I like both aircrafts Boeing looks good with it hump design and for me A380 is cute with its round design. I think the author went a little bit biased with Boeing. Because Boeing is used by presidents and US make doesn’t mean it’s superior to Airbus. Both are engineering marvels. Also keep in mind without a competition Boeing achieved the success for 35 years until Airbus came into competition in 2005. So, how can author say Boeing most successful?

  8. I love both of these aircraft and immensely enjoy flying on them, but I have to say that the A-380 had a much more spacious and luxurious feeling and was more enjoyable. Its looks may not be that great, but hey, my trip was super comfortable.

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