Narrow-body aircraft

Four-abreast cross-section
Narrow-body Boeing 737-300 in front of a Boeing 777-300ER wide-body

A narrow-body aircraft or single-aisle aircraft is an airliner arranged along a single aisle, permitting up to 6-abreast seating in a cabin less than 4 metres (13 ft) in width. In contrast, a wide-body aircraft is a larger airliner usually configured with multiple aisles and a fuselage diameter of more than 5 metres (16 ft), allowing at least seven-abreast seating and often more travel classes.

Market

[edit]
Airbus A320 (foreground) and Boeing 737-900 (background), both narrow-bodies

Historically, beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1990s, twin engine narrow-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 737 Classic, McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 and Airbus A320 were primarily employed in short to medium-haul markets requiring neither the range nor the passenger-carrying capacity of that period's wide-body aircraft.[1][failed verification]

The re-engined Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo jets offer 500 miles more range, allowing them to operate the 3,000 miles transatlantic flights between the eastern U.S. and Western Europe, previously dominated by wide-body aircraft. Norwegian Air Shuttle, JetBlue and TAP Portugal will open up direct routes bypassing airline hubs for lower fares between cheaper, smaller airports. The Boeing 737NG 3,300-mile range is insufficient for fully laden operations and operates at reduced capacity like the Airbus A318, while the Airbus A321LR could replace the less fuel efficient Boeing 757s used since their production ended in 2004.[2]

Boeing will face competition and pricing pressure from the Embraer E-Jet E2 family, Airbus A220 (formerly Bombardier CSeries) and Comac C919.[3]

Between 2016 and 2035, FlightGlobal expects 26,860 single-aisles to be delivered for almost $1380 billion, 45% Airbus A320 family ceo and neo and 43% Boeing 737 NG and max.[4] By June 2018, there were 10,572 Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX orders: 6,068 Airbuses (57%, 2,295 with CFMs, 1,623 with PWs and 2,150 with not yet decided engines) and 4,504 Boeings (43%); 3,446 in Asia-Pacific (33%), 2,349 in Europe (22%), 1,926 in North America (18%), 912 in Latin America (9%), 654 in Middle East (6%), 72 in Africa (1%) and 1,213 not yet bounded (11%).[5]

Many airlines have shown interest in the Airbus A321LR or its A321XLR derivative, and other extended-range models, for thin transatlantic and Asia-Pacific routes.[6]

Examples

[edit]

Six-abreast cabin

[edit]
Type Country Production Fuselage width Cabin width Max. seats Engines seat
width[a]
Hawker Siddeley Trident[b] UK 1962–1978 344 cm (135 in)[8] 180 3 turbofan[c]
Bristol Britannia UK 1952–1960 366 cm (144 in)[9] 350 cm (139 in)[10] 139 4×turboprop
Douglas DC-8[11] US 1958–1972 373 cm (147 in) 351.2 cm (138 in) 269 4×turbojet/fan
Ilyushin Il-62[12] USSR/Russia 1963–1995 380 cm (150 in) 356 cm (140 in) 186 4×turbofan
Vickers VC10[13] UK 1962–1970 375 cm (148 in) 351 cm (138 in)[14] 151 4×turbofan
Boeing 707/Boeing 720[15] US 1958–1979 376 cm (148 in) 354 cm (139 in) 219 4×turbojet/fan 17"
Boeing 737[16] US 1966–present 220 2×turbofan 17"
Boeing 757[17] US 1981–2004 295 2×turbofan 17"
Boeing 727[18] US 1963–1984 356 cm (140 in) 189 3×turbofan 16.9"
Tupolev Tu-154[19] USSR/Russia 1968–2013 380 cm (150 in) 356 cm (140 in) 180 3×turbofan
Tupolev Tu-204[20] Russia 1990–present[d] 357 cm (141 in) 215 2×turbofan
Tupolev Tu-334 Russia 1999–2009 102 2×turbofan
Yakovlev Yak-42 USSR/Russia 1977–2003 360 cm (142 in) 120 3×turbofan
Dassault Mercure France 1971–1975 366 cm (144 in)[21] 162 2×turbofan
Airbus A320 family[22] Multi 1986–present 395 cm (156 in) 370 cm (146 in) 244 2×turbofan 18"[23]
Comac C919 China 2016–present 396 cm (156 in)[24] 390 cm (154 in)[25] 192 2×turbofan
Yakovlev MC-21[26] Russia 2017–present 406 cm (160 in) 381 cm (150 in) 230 2×turbofan
Tupolev Tu-114[e] USSR 1958–1963 420 cm (165 in) 406 cm (160 in)[14] 220 4×turboprop

Five-abreast cabin

[edit]
Type Country Production Fuselage width Cabin width Max. seats Engines Seat
width
de Havilland Comet UK 1949–1964 292 cm (115 in)[28] 81 4×turbojet
Douglas DC-4/DC-6/DC-7 US 1942–1958 301 cm (118.5 in)[29] 95 4×piston engine
Sud Aviation Caravelle France 1958–1972 301 cm (118.5 in)[30] 80 2×turbojet
Vickers Viscount UK 1948–1963 305 cm (120 in)[31] 75 4×turboprop
Fokker F28/Fokker 70/Fokker 100 Netherlands 1967–1997 330 cm (130 in) 310 cm (122 in)[32] 122 2×turbofan
Tupolev Tu-144[33] USSR 1963–1983 330 cm (130 in)[f][34] 140 4×turbojet
McDonnell Douglas DC-9/MD-80/MD-90/Boeing 717[35] US 1965–2006 334.3 cm (131.6 in) 311.2 cm (122.5 in) 172 2×turbofan 17.9"
Antonov An-148/An-158 Ukraine 2002–present 335 cm (132 in) 313 cm (123 in)[36] 99 2×turbofan
Comac ARJ21[37] China 2007–present 336 cm (132 in) 314.3 cm (123.7 in) 105 2×turbofan
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser US 1947–1963 335 cm (132 in)[38] 315 cm (124 in)[39] 114 4×piston engine
Tupolev Tu-104 USSR 1955–1960 350 cm (137.7 in) 320 cm (126 in) 115 2×turbojet
Ilyushin Il-18 USSR 1957–1985 351 cm (138 in)[40] 315 cm (124 in)[14] 120 4×turboprop
BAC One-Eleven UK 1963–1989 315 cm (124 in)[32] 119 2×turbofan
Sukhoi Superjet 100 Russia 2007–present 345 cm (136 in)[41]: 451  323.6 cm (127 in)[42] 108 2×turbofan
Convair 880 US 1959–1962 325 cm (128 in)[14] 110 4×turbojet
Convair 990 US 1961–1963 325 cm (128 in)[14] 149 4×turbofan
Lockheed L-188 Electra US 1957–1961 325 cm (128 in)[14] 98 4×turboprop
Lockheed Constellation US 1943–1958 328 cm (129 in)[14] 109 4×piston engine
Airbus A220 Canada/Multi 2012–present 350 cm (138 in)[43] 328 cm (129 in) 160 2×turbofan 18.6"
British Aerospace 146[44][g] UK 1987–2001 350 cm (138 in) 324 cm (128 in) 112 4×turbofan

Four-abreast cabin

[edit]
Type Country Production Fuselage width Cabin width Max. seats Engines Seat
width
Yakovlev Yak-40 USSR 1966–1981 240 cm (94 in) 215 cm (85 in) 40 3×turbofan
Douglas DC-3[47] US 1936–1942, 1950 250 cm (98 in) 27 2×piston engine
De Havilland Dash 8[48] Canada 1983–present 269 cm (106 in) 251 cm (99 in) 90 2×turboprop 17.3"
Fokker 27/Fokker 50 Netherlands 1987–1997 254 cm (100 in)[32] 58 2×turboprop
Bombardier CRJ[49] Canada 1991–2020 269 cm (106.1 in) 255 cm (100.5 in) 104 2×turbofan 17.3"
ATR 42/ATR 72[50] France/Italy 1984–present 273 cm (107 in) 257 cm (101 in) 78 2×turboprop 18"
Concorde France/UK 1965–1979 262 cm (103 in)[32] 128 4×turbojet
Convair CV-240 US 1947–1954 271 cm (106.5 in)[39] 40 2×piston engine
Tupolev Tu-124/Tu-134[51] USSR 1956–1984 290 cm (114 in) 261 cm (103 in)[52] 56-84 2×turbofan
Ilyushin Il-114 USSR/Russia 1997–2012 264 cm (104 in) 228 cm (90 in) 64 2×turboprop
Embraer E-Jet/E-Jet E2[53] Brazil 2001–present 301 cm (119 in) 274 cm (108 in) 146 2×turbofan 18"
Antonov An-24 USSR 1959–1979 277 cm (109 in)[32] 50 2×turboprop

Three-abreast cabin

[edit]
Type Country Production Fuselage width Cabin width Max. seats Engines Seat
width
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter[54] Canada 1965–1988, 2008–present 175 cm (69 in) 161 cm (63.2 in) 19 2×turboprop
BAe Jetstream 31/41 UK 1982–1997 185 cm (73 in)[55] 30 2×turboprop
Short 360 UK 1981–1991 193 cm (76 in)[56] 36 2×turboprop
Embraer EMB 120[57] Brazil 1983–2001 228 cm (90 in) 210 cm (83 in) 30 2×turboprop 17.3"
Embraer ERJ 145 family[58] Brazil 1989–2020 228 cm (90 in) 210 cm (83 in) 50 2×turbofan 17.3"
Saab 340/Saab 2000[59] Sweden 1983–1999 231 cm (91 in) 216 cm (85 in) 50 2×turboprop 18.1"
Dornier 328 Germany 1991–2000 217.2 cm (85.5 in) 32 2×turboprop 18.1"
Cessna 408 SkyCourier[60] USA 2023–present 188 cm (74 in) 19 2×turboprop

Two-abreast cabin

[edit]
Type Country Production Fuselage width Cabin width Max. seats Engines
Beechcraft 1900 US 1982–2002 1.37m 19 2×turboprop
Beechcraft Model 18 US 1937–1970 6 2×piston engine
Beechcraft Model 99 US 1968–1986 15 2×piston engine
Boeing 247 US 1933-1937 10 2×piston engine
Britten-Norman Islander UK 1965–present 9 2×piston engine
Britten-Norman Trislander UK 1970–1982 16 3×piston engine
de Havilland Dove UK 1946–1947 8–11 2×piston engine
de Havilland Heron UK 1950–1963 14–17 4×piston engine
Dornier 228 Germany 1981–1998, 2009–present 19 2×turboprop
Douglas DC-1 US 1933 12 2×piston engine
Douglas DC-2 US 1934-1939 14 2×piston engine
Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante Brazil 1968-1990 18 2×turboprop
Evektor EV-55 Outback Czech Republic 2011–present 9–14 2×turboprop
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner US 1968–2001 19 2×turboprop
Ford Trimotor US 1925-1933 11 3×piston engine
GAF Nomad Australia 1975–1985 12–16 2×turboprop
Junkers Ju 52 Germany 1930-1952 17 3×piston engine
Lockheed Model 10 Electra US 1934-1937 10 2×piston engine
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra US 1937-1946 12-14 2×piston engine
Tecnam P2012 Traveller Italy 2016-Present 11 2×piston engine
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ with 2" armrests when not otherwise specified
  2. ^ except seven-abreast for Channel Airways[7]
  3. ^ +1 booster on some variants
  4. ^ limited production
  5. ^ up to eight-abreast in tourist class[27]
  6. ^ Series Aircraft, 300 cm (118 in) prototype
  7. ^ except six-abreast for some operators including CityJet[45] and Mahan Air[46]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The eye of the storm". The Economist. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  2. ^ Richard Weiss, Andrea Rothman and Benjamin D Katz (September 15, 2016), "Your next trans-Atlantic trip may be on Boeing's smallest plane, the humble 737", Bloomberg
  3. ^ Trefis stock analysis (March 6, 2014), "New Entrants Pose a Challenge to Boeing's Share of the Global Commercial Airplane Market", Forbes Great Speculations, Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own
  4. ^ "Flight Fleet Forecast's single-aisle outlook 2016–2035". FlightGlobal. 10 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Infographic: How is the narrowbody market-share shaping up?". FlightGlobal. 12 July 2018.
  6. ^ Adrian Schofield; Sean Broderick; Kerry Reals; Jens Flottau (Jan 30, 2019). "Long-Range Narrowbodies Open New Airline Opportunities". Aviation Week & Space Technology.[dead link]
  7. ^ "Variants". Shockcone.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  8. ^ "Commercial aircraft survey". Flight International. 23 Oct 1975.
  9. ^ Greg Goebel (1 Aug 2018). "The Bristol Britannia & Vickers Viscount". AirVectors.
  10. ^ "Commercial aircraft of the world" (PDF). Flight International. 20 Nov 1959.
  11. ^ "Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning" (PDF). Boeing. 1989.
  12. ^ John Pike Page (Sep 7, 2011). "Il-62 Classic". GlobalSecurity.
  13. ^ "A Little VC10derness". vc10.net. 2017-02-26.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g "Commercial Aircraft of the world". Flight International. 23 Nov 1961.
  15. ^ "707 acaps" (PDF).
  16. ^ "737 acaps" (PDF).
  17. ^ "757 acaps" (PDF).
  18. ^ "727 acaps" (PDF).
  19. ^ "tu-154 specs". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  20. ^ Élodie Roux (2007). Avions civils à réaction : plan 3 vues et données caractéristiques. Elodie Roux. p. 610. ISBN 9782952938020.
  21. ^ Peter Middleton (20 May 1971). "Dassault Mercure". Flight International. p. 726.
  22. ^ "A321neo details". Airbus. 7 October 2021.
  23. ^ "A321 aircraft characteristics" (PDF). Airbus. Feb 1, 2019.
  24. ^ Bradley Perrett (8 September 2009). "Comac Begins Building C919 Structure". Aviation Week.
  25. ^ "Zhuhai10: COMAC releases C919 specifications". Flight Global. 16 November 2010.
  26. ^ "MC-21 aircraft family specifications and performance". Irkut.
  27. ^ "Tupolev Tu-114". Flight. 28 Feb 1958. p. 286.
  28. ^ "Commercial Aircraft of the world". Flight International. 23 Nov 1961.
  29. ^ "Commercial Aircraft of the world". Flight International. 23 Nov 1961.
  30. ^ "Commercial Aircraft of the world". Flight International. 23 Nov 1961.
  31. ^ "Commercial Aircraft of the world". Flight International. 23 Nov 1961.
  32. ^ a b c d e "Commercial aircraft survey". Flight International. 23 Oct 1975.
  33. ^ TU-144 SS Technical Specs: Accommodation
  34. ^ "Dimensions - Series Aircraft". TU-144 SST.
  35. ^ "MD-80 Series Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning" (PDF). McDonnell Douglas. Dec 1989.
  36. ^ Peter Collins (28 Nov 2011). "A flight test of Antonov's An-158 regional jet". Flightglobal.
  37. ^ Élodie Roux (2007). Avions civils à réaction : plan 3 vues et données caractéristiques. Elodie Roux. p. 60. ISBN 9782952938020.
  38. ^ "The Development Of Boeing's 367-80 or Charging Into the Jet Age Armed With Only a Slide Rule and Spline". Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  39. ^ a b "commercial aircraft of the world". Flight. 20 November 1959.
  40. ^ "Inside the 11-18". Flight International. 1 July 1960.
  41. ^ Jane's all the world's aircraft. 2005.
  42. ^ "SSJ100 Datasheet" (PDF). SuperJet International. 2011.
  43. ^ Bombardier Aerospace Commercial Aircraft Customer Support: Airport planning publication Archived 2016-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, p. 5.
  44. ^ Élodie Roux (2007). Avions civils à réaction : plan 3 vues et données caractéristiques. Elodie Roux. p. 162. ISBN 9782952938020.
  45. ^ "SeatGuru Seat Map Air France RJ-85 Avroliner". SeatGuru. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  46. ^ "Seat Map". Mahan Air. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  47. ^ "Douglas DC-3". Buffalo Airways. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  48. ^ "Q Series Brochure" (PDF). Bombardier. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  49. ^ "CRJ Series Brochure" (PDF). Bombardier. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  50. ^ "ATR 72–600 Quick view" (PDF). ATR. October 2018.
  51. ^ "Russian aircraft data". Archived from the original on October 11, 2017.
  52. ^ "Tu-134. A photo. Video. Driving compartment. Characteristics. Reviews".
  53. ^ "Embraer 195 Airport Planning Manual" (PDF). Embraer. 9 Oct 2015.
  54. ^ "Twin Otter Series 400 Technical Description". Viking Air Ltd. 2 March 2015.
  55. ^ "High performance Jetstream 31". Flight International. 10 October 1981.
  56. ^ "Shorts 360 joins commuterliner battle". Flight International. 2 August 1980.
  57. ^ "Airport Planning Manual" (PDF). Embraer. 30 Oct 2000.
  58. ^ "Airport Planning Manual" (PDF). Embraer. 29 Jan 2007.
  59. ^ "SAAB 2000" (PDF). Saab Aircraft Leasing. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  60. ^ "Cessna 408 skycourier-passenger". Cessna. 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
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