Boeing 787 and 747 widebodies are very different aircraft physically, primarily due to the upper passenger deck on the 747, making the 747 a much bigger and heavier aircraft than the 787. The other key difference is that the 787 remains in full production, whereas, the 747’s long production run recently came to an end with its final delivery taking place in January 2023.
Despite their differences, the 787 and the most recent 747 passenger variant, the 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8I) do share some similarities in terms of wing technology and they also share the same General Electric engines. The 787 and 747-8I onboard toilets are also the same!
In this article, I’ll compare these two aircraft from a number of different perspectives including size, seating capacity, range, and orders.
History
The 747 was conceived as air travel began to become more popular in the 1960s. Pan Am’s President asked for a new jet airliner 2.5 times the size of current aircraft such as Boeing 707, with 30% lower per passenger costs.
Boeing began its 747 studies way back in 1965 and asked Pan Am and other airlines to contribute to these studies so that airline requirements and objectives could be better understood. By April 1966, Pan Am had ordered 25 of the original 747 variant, the 747-100.
As Boeing did not have a manufacturing plant large enough to assemble this new giant airliner, they chose to build a brand new plant. Boeing eventually decided to build the new plant at Everett around 50km north of Seattle on a 320-ha site adjoining Paine Airfield military base. Boeing bought the site in June 1966.
Boeing agreed to deliver the first 747 to Pan Am by the end of 1969. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the Everett assembly building before the world’s press and representatives of the twenty-six airlines that had already placed orders.
The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and was followed by an exhaustive flight test program. Boeing was able to successfully take a test aircraft to the 1969 Paris Air Show where it was displayed to the public for the first time. The 747 received its FAA airworthiness certificate in December 1969, and the first 747 was delivered to Pan Am on time in December 1969. It entered service on January 22, 1970, on Pan Am’s flagship New York–London route.
The 787 family includes three variants:
| Aircraft Model | Type | Entry into Service |
| 787-8 | Passenger | 2011 |
| 787-9 | Passenger | 2014 |
| 787-10 | Passenger | 2018 |
The 787 development was driven by a need to produce more fuel-efficient aircraft. Boeing targeted 20% less consumption than the aircraft that the 787 was to replace, such as the 767, with a carrying capacity of 200 to 300 passengers, and deployment mainly on point-to-point routes of up to 8,500nm (15,700km). The 787 was the first airliner developed with an airframe made mostly from composite materials.
The 787-8 has a distinctive and recognizable appearance with its four-window cockpit and its raked wingtips. The first 787 was delivered to ANA in 2011. The stretched B787-9 entered service in 2014, also with ANA. The further stretched B787-10 entered service with Singapore Airlines in 2018.
Dimensions
Let’s take a look at some key physical characteristics and see how these two aircraft measure up against each other. For this comparison, I’m going to look at the three 787 variants and the most recent 747 passenger variant, the 747-8I.
As you would expect, the 747-8I is significantly heavier than the 787 and has a wider diameter fuselage. The 747-8I also has a longer wingspan and a longer fuselage than all of the 787 variants.
| Aircraft Model | Length/ m | Wingspan/ m | Tail Height/ m | Fuselage Width/ m | MTOW/t |
| B787-8 | 56.72 | 60.12 | 16.92 | 5.77 | 227.9 |
| B787-9 | 62.81 | 17.02 | 254.0 | ||
| B787-10 | 68.30 | ||||
| B747-8I | 76.3m | 68.4m | 19.4m | 6.5 | 447.7 |
Range
All 787 variants have relatively long ranges which vary from around 11,700km to 14,000km. The ranges of the 787 variants are shown in the table below.
| Aircraft Model | Range |
| B787-8 | 7,305nm (13,530km) |
| B787-9 | 7,565nm (14,010km) |
| B787-10 | 6,330nm (11,730km) |
The 787 has proven to be a highly adaptable all-purpose aircraft operating some of the longest direct air routes in the world such as Tokyo-Boston, Los Angeles-Melbourne, and the incredible London-Perth route. But it is also deployed by some airlines on some very short routes such as domestic routes in Japan, confirming how versatile this aircraft can be.
The B747-8I range is 7,730nmi (14,320km), similar to the 787-9. The 747-8I range allows this aircraft to fly non-stop long-distance routes such as London – Santiago, London – Jakarta, New York – Cape Town, Beijing – New York, Singapore – Seattle, and Dubai – Sydney.
Seat Capacity and Cabin Layout
The table below shows the passenger typical 2-class cabin configuration seating capacities of the 787 variants published by Boeing.
| Model | Passengers (Typical 2-Class Seating) |
| B787-8 | 248 |
| B787-9 | 296 |
| B787-10 | 336 |
In practice, airlines have fitted out the 787 in a wide range of cabin configurations, many with three or even four cabin classes. Total seat numbers vary widely depending on the proportion of the total aircraft cabin dedicated to premium cabins, and whether flatbed seats are installed in the premium cabins.
The twin-aisle 787 typically has eight or nine seats abreast in economy class (3-2-3, 2-4-2, 3-3-3), although nine seats abreast is a more common configuration. Seat rows can be arranged in four to seven abreast in first or business, e.g. 1–2–1,2–2–2, or 2–3–2. As an example, British Airways 4-class B787s are four abreast in first class (1-2-1), seven abreast in business and premium economy class (2-3-2), and nine abreast in economy class (3-3-3).
Boeing indicates that the 747-8I’s three-class seating capacity is 410 passengers. I looked at the three current 747-8I operators and found the following:
- Air China: 4 classes with a total of 365 seats (12 in first, 54 in business, 66 in premium economy, and 233 in economy)
- Korean Air: 3 classes with a total of 368 seats (6 in first, 48 in business, and 314 in economy)
- Lufthansa: 4 classes with a total of 364 seats (8 in first, 80 in business, 32 in premium economy, and 244 in economy)
All current 747-8I operators with a first-class cabin have located that cabin on the main deck. The upper deck is always used for business-class seating and the seating configuration is single aisle 2-2. Where business class is also located on the full-width part of the main deck the seating configuration is twin-aisle 2-2-2.
Air China’s main deck business class cabin extends into the aircraft nose where the seating configuration becomes 2-2. Air China’s premium economy cabin on the main deck adopts a ten-abreast seating configuration 3-4-3, the same as its economy cabin, although the seat pitch is more generous in the premium economy cabin. Lufthansa’s premium economy cabin features eight-abreast seating (2-4-2) whilst the economy cabin has ten-abreast seating (3-4-3).
Customers and Orders
Boeing 787 deliveries as of the end of January 2023 totaled 1,040 aircraft. Of those, 580 were 787-9s, 386 were 787-8s, and 74 were 787-10s. With that, the 787-9 accounts for 56% of the total 787 deliveries to date. As of the end of January 2023, Boeing had 575 unfulfilled orders for the 787, the majority of which were for the 787-9 (75%).
Adding deliveries and unfulfilled orders together, the 787-9 is the most popular 787 variant with a total of 1,010 aircraft, representing 63% of all 787 deliveries and unfulfilled orders combined as of the end of January 2023.
In total, the 787 deliveries and unfulfilled orders at the end of January 2023 were 1,615 aircraft (1,040 deliveries and 575 unfulfilled orders).
Significant 787 customers include United Airlines, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Qantas, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and leasing companies such as International Lease Finance Corporation and Air Lease Corporation.
The 747 is no longer in production but during its long production run over more than five decades, Boeing delivered 1,574 747s. The most popular 747 series has been the 747-400s, of which there were 694 deliveries, including, passenger, combi, and freight versions, or 44% of the total 747 deliveries. Approximately two-thirds of 747 orders have been for passenger versions and one-third for freighter and combi versions.
The top 747 customer was Japan Airlines which received a total of 108 aircraft, followed by British Airways which received 94 aircraft, and Singapore Airlines with 93 747s. United Airlines was the top US 747 customer with 68 deliveries.
Let’s take a closer look at the 155 B747-8s that Boeing delivered:
- For the 747-8I/747-8BBJ there have been 48 deliveries including eight B747-8 Business Jets for business jet/VIP customers. The biggest 747-8I customer is Lufthansa accounting for 40% of all 747-8I orders.
- For the 747-8 freighter (747-8F) Boeing delivered 107 aircraft to a variety of customers, the biggest being UPS which received 28 aircraft.
- The last ever 747 delivery was a 747-8F which took place in January 2023 to Atlas Air.
Boeing 787 vs. 747: Summary
The 787 and 747 Boeing widebodies aircraft are, physically, quite different aircraft. The most recent 747 passenger variant, the 747-8I, with its stretched upper deck, is heavier, wider, longer, and carries more passengers than all of the 787 variants.
The 747 is no longer in production and had a delivery run of more than 53 years from December 1969 to January 2023. The 787 was first delivered in 2011 and remains in production today.
In terms of commercial success, it’s likely that the 787 will surpass the 747. To date, the number of 787 deliveries and unfulfilled orders has already exceeded the total number of 747 deliveries. Given the continuing popularity of the B787, it looks like significantly more orders will continue to be placed; just during 2022, Boeing received 139 787 orders.
