Boeing’s 737 MAX delivers market leading fuel burn |

Boeing's 737 MAX has had a rough time. There have been accidents, groundings, and now FAA production rate restrictions due to "quality escapes." However, data shows that the MAX line delivers on Boeing's promise of excellent fuel burn. The 737 is lighter than its A320 family equivalents, which gives it a critical advantage. Despite being an over half-century-old design, the 737 does yeoman work for operators. After reviewing data from Skailark, we developed the following charts. Because of the interruptions the MAX has faced, the data is inconsistent for the early periods of its service life. Therefore, we settled on the period 2022 through 1Q24. Our charts show fuel burn/ASM against average stage lengths. The world regions we report from include Asia, the EU, North America, and Oceania. Moreover, we filtered for the current generation single-aisles. The upper chart shows Airbus and the lower chart shows Boeing. The data reports that both OEM fleets average 1.1 globally. That means Boeing's MAX is delivering better fuel burn because there is no MAX 10 to compete with the A321neo. The lower chart shows the variance moving to normal as the MAX 8 was returned to service. The MAX 9 numbers are right where Boeing guided. The A220-100 is relatively fuel inefficient among the current Airbus models. The A220-300 might be doing better than the A319 but is still handily beaten by the A320neo. The A321neo offers excellent fuel burn, as expected. We anticipate the MAX 10 to be right next to it in terms of fuel burn and would not be surprised to see a slightly better fuel burn. Here we see the charts for Europe. As expected, the A321neo is undertaking long segments. In terms of stage length, the MAXs and A320neo perform similar missions. Overall, the Airbus fleet averages 1.1, while Boeing's fleet averages 1.0. The MAX 9 does better than the MAX 8. The gap between the A321neo and A320neo is larger. Here are the charts for North America. Boeing's fleet average is 1.2 compared to Airbus's 1.0, and it's clear why this is so. The rough start to the MAX service life throws off the data. The A220 family again reports relatively high fuel burn. The clear winner for Airbus is the A321neo, which has excellent results. Of course, this also highlights the impact of Boeing not having the MAX 10 in service. Finally, here are the charts for the Oceania region. Interestingly, Airbus averages 1.0, and Boeing averages 0.9. The Airbus chart offers no surprises and is consistent with what we have seen in other regions. The Boeing numbers are interesting not only because the fuel is so good but also because of the stage lengths being flown. Oceania-based MAX 8s are flying long sectors, and that helps lower fuel burn. Summary The MAX delivers excellent fuel burn numbers across several regions. Despite the lack of a real A321neo competitor, the MAX 9 delivers equivalent fuel burn. Overall, the MAX family seems potentially more fuel-efficient than the A320neo family. The A220 family does not deliver the fuel burn we expected.

US Flight Planner - US DoT On-Time Data	Airbus vs Boeing - Official OEM Data
US Airline Schedule Performance - US DoT Data	Daily OEM Production & Deliveries -

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