MAX 8 vs A320neo Economics: Fuel Efficiency & Cost Data

The current generation of aircraft claims fuel efficiency and economic improvements of 15% or more in financial performance over the prior generation they replaced.  Since being introduced in 2016 and 2017, the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX 8 have enjoyed substantial market success.  Economics is one key reason for that success, demonstrated through analysis of the Department of Transportation data collected monthly for US air carriers.

In evaluating the performance of the current and prior generations of narrow-body aircraft, we utilized the US DOT  Form 41 database that contains economic performance data for various aircraft, as well as the T2 database that contains operational statistics such as miles flown and average stage length. At the same time, an apples-to-apples comparison cannot be easily found in government datasets; a comparison of how each airline that operates both aircraft reports on the difference is about as close as one can see.  Comparing operations with the same airline takes out differences in fuel costs, pilot wages, and maintenance policies that could bias an analysis. As a result, our data model on operating costs per aircraft model can provide helpful insights and eliminate potential differences in reporting between airlines.