Don’t want to get into an Airbus versus Boeing slanging match here, but I was told recently that the new 777-300 ER with 250 pax and baggage on board weighs the same as an empty A340-600. If that’s true, Boeing’s going to clean up big time with the bean counters. And the new 777 when it comes out is capable of going further than the 340, isn’t it? Is there anyone out there who can say whether these figures are true?
I know for a fact that on shorter legs, the 777 fuel burn is significantly less than the A430s, as I was in Auckland recently and heard an A340-500 and a 777-300 both pass their fuel figures over the company radio. The 340 was heading for Sydney, the 777 for Brisbane (which is a little further). I can’t remember the exact figures, but the 340’s burn was a lot more than the 777’s, (as in many tons more), and the 773 carries a lot more passengers than the 340-500. Don’t know the loads of the two aircraft, but even if the 777 had been empty and the 340 full, the difference in the fuel burn was still amazing.
Someone told me some time ago that any sector under 10.5 hours was a loss maker for the 340. Again, this is all hearsay.