The Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner are not direct competitors in every sense. After all, the 787 is a smaller aircraft that burns less fuel, while the A350 is a 777-sized airliner, and its real benefit is its capabilities. However, these two widebodies do have models that overlap in size, the 787-9 is an ultra-long-range airliner just like both A350 variants, and perhaps most importantly, both aircraft feature similar technological innovations and are of the same generation of airliners.

One of the bigger innovations that came with the A350 and 787 programs was the passenger experience, as both firms made efforts to design cabins that were more spacious than older airliners. They also improved the air inside the aircraft to be closer to that on the ground. In addition, the planes come with larger windows and are quieter, too. Both the A350 and 787 are perhaps the most comfortable airliners to fly on in the world (other than the slightly older Airbus A380), but which one is better?

The Airbus A350 And Boeing 787 In A Nutshell

The Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 are the newest clean-sheet widebodies from Airbus and Boeing, and the Boeing 787 was the first of the two to enter service, with the 787-8 entering service in 2011. The larger and improved 787-9 took its first commercial flight in 2014, while the stretched 787-10 would begin carrying passengers in 2018. This aircraft is offered with either Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 or General Electric GEnx engines.

The Airbus A350 first entered service in 2015 with the A350-900 variant, while the A350-1000 began flying passengers in 2018. It was initially envisioned as a further refinement of the eight-abreast Airbus cross-section used on the A300, A310, A330, and A340, before Airbus redesigned the aircraft as a full-cleansheet airliner due to customer feedback.

The aircraft is exclusively offered with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. While the 787 program has been troubled with quality issues as well as Trent 1000 reliability problems, the A350 program has been relatively problem-free. Still, the Boeing 787 is by far the more popular of the two programs.

The Boeing 787 has received over 2,200 orders, compared with slightly under 1,500 orders for the A350. The 787-9 is by far the most popular variant of the Dreamliner family, with over 1,400 orders alone, while the A350-900 leads the A350 family with over 1,000 sales. However, both the larger 787-10 and A350-1000 have started to gain traction as well due to their superior operating economics, and the A350-1000 also has an even longer range than the A350-900.

Interior Comfort: Seats On The Aircraft

Onboard seating is customer-specific and thus varies dramatically between airlines, but there are some elements that remain constant, such as economy seat width. The 787 was originally marketed with eight-abreast layouts, permitting 18.5-inch (46.99 cm) wide seats. Currently, only Japan Airlines operates 787s with eight-abreast seating, and these are some of the world’s most comfortable economy seats. However, all other airlines configure Boeing 787s nine-abreast in economy.

A nine-abreast Boeing 787 features seats that are roughly 17 inches (43.18 cm) wide, comparable to a 10-abreast Boeing 777. The Airbus A350, in contrast, was designed for nine-abreast seating with 18 inches (45.72 cm) of seat width. While a ten-abreast configuration is even tighter than a nine-abreast Dreamliner, this is primarily used by a handful of low-cost carriers. Nine-abreast is the standard for the A350, and this also results in wider aisles compared to the 787.

In premium economy, airlines typically configure 787s seven-abreast, while A350s usually feature eight-abreast seating. In business class, meanwhile, seats are often narrower with tighter aisles on the 787 compared to the A350, although the difference is not as pronounced. Overall, the 787 would be the better ride for most people traveling in premium economy, while the difference is minor in business class. In the economy, the A350 is undoubtedly the more comfortable of the two.

Interior Cabin Design And Space

One of the problems with the Airbus A330, for example, is that the aircraft’s circular cross-section creates steeply sloped sidewalls. This decreases head and shoulder room, while also making the interior feel more claustrophobic. The 787 and A350, however, have ovoid cross sections that are taller than they are wide, creating largely vertical sidewalls. In addition, both planes have ceiling heights of over eight feet (2.45 m), which are among the highest of any airliner.

The Boeing Sky Interior was originally designed for the Boeing 787, although it ended up debuting on the 737NG, and the A350 was the first aircraft to feature the Airbus Airspace cabins. These new interior design standards come with large pivoting overhead bins and advanced mood lighting to create an environment that is more visually pleasing. Airspace has since been adapted onto the A320neo and A330neo, while the Boeing Sky Interior is standard on the 737 MAX.

While the Airbus A350’s windows are the largest of any Airbus aircraft, they’re actually smaller than those on the Boeing 777. Its windows measure 9.5 by 13.5 inches (24.13 by 34.29 cm), compared to 10 by 15 inches (25.4 by 38.1 cm) on the 777. The 787’s windows, meanwhile, measure 10.7 by 18.4 inches (27.2 by 46.7 cm), making them by far the largest cabin windows of any airliner on sale.

The Physical Impact Of Flying On The A350 And 787

One of the major innovations with both airliners was ensuring that the aircraft was less physically taxing than prior widebodies. This is important, as many airlines use the A350 or 787 for long-haul and ultra-long-haul flights. As such, both airliners are pressurized to a cabin altitude of roughly 6,000 feet, whereas most older aircraft are typically pressurized to an ambient altitude of 8,000 feet. This means that the air is denser and more similar to what you’d breathe on the ground.

This was largely enabled by the carbon-composite fuselages found on both aircraft. Carbon-composite materials are stronger and more resistant to fatigue than traditional aircraft aluminum, which allows for a greater pressure differential on these two airliners. In addition, both also feature more humid air than their predecessors, which improves onboard comfort. As such, although they operate some of the world’s longest flights, passengers arrive less fatigued than those traveling on older planes.

In addition, the 787 and A350 are two of the world’s quietest airliners. Some studies have stated that the A350 is the quieter of the two, while others have placed them as roughly equal. Both, however, are marginally louder than the A380, which is considered to be the world’s quietest airliner in the cabin. They do remain quieter than aircraft such as the 777 or A330, and this lack of noise has a significant impact on passenger fatigue, thereby making ultra-long-haul flights physically easier.

How Do They Compare To Other Aircraft?

The Airbus A350 comes with wider seats than the Boeing 787, but the two aircraft are otherwise comparable in terms of onboard comfort. The A380 is the only other aircraft that can compare, as it also has a lower pressure altitude and low noise levels. While there are relatively few A380s in the world, the A350 and 787 are becoming more prevalent, meaning that long-haul flying as a whole is becoming less tiresome.

Other aircraft commonly used for long-haul flights include the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777. Both of these aircraft feature similar technology to one another, but they’re significantly louder than the A350 and 787 while also being pressurized to a higher altitude with drier air. The A330 itself also has a noticeably smaller cabin with sloped sidewalls, while the 777’s cabin has vertical sidewalls and a ceiling height comparable to the A350 or 787.

In addition, the 777 does have large pivoting bins similar to newer airliners, while the A330 has smaller ‘shelf-type’ bins. At the newer end of the age spectrum, the Airbus A330neo comes with the Airspace interior that includes advanced mood lighting and larger overhead bins. In addition, the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines on the A330neo are significantly quieter than the engines on older A330s, although the A330neo still has a higher pressure altitude than newer planes.

The upcoming Boeing 777X, meanwhile, will also come with new General Electric GE9X engines, which will be quieter than the GE90, while also having larger windows and a lower cabin altitude than prior 777s. In addition, Boeing is revising the Boeing Sky Interior for the 777X, with a new lighting system and even larger overhead bins. This will mean that, as opposed to the A330neo, flying on the Boeing 777X should be more similar to traveling on the 787 rather than an older aircraft type.