Airbus A321neo vs Boeing 737 MAX
The Airbus A321neo and the Boeing 737 MAX are the current narrowbodies of the two makers, and the belly gives them away: the A321neo closes doors over its main wheels in flight, while the 737's wheels stay visible. The MAX's engines have serrated chevrons at their rear edge, and its wingtips split into one tip pointing up and one pointing down, where the A321neo has tall curved sharklets. The A321neo is the stretched member of its family, about 5 metres longer than the 737 MAX 8 compared here — the MAX the receiver networks hear by far the most often; its direct rivals in size are the MAX 9 and MAX 10.
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Side by side
| Specification | Airbus A321neo | Boeing 737 MAX |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 44.5 m (146 ft) | 39.5 m (130 ft) |
| Wingspan | 35.8 m (117 ft) | 35.9 m (118 ft) |
| Height | 11.7 m (38 ft) | 12.3 m (40 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 240 | 230 |
| Persons on board | 188 | – |
| Maximum take-off weight | 97 t | 82.1 t |
| Range | 4,000 NM (7,408 km) | 3,550 NM (6,575 km) |
| Maximum speed | 473 kt (876 km/h) | 486 kt (900 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 39,800 ft (12,131 m) | 41,000 ft (12,497 m) |
| Rate of climb | 2,000 ft/min (10.2 m/s) | – |
| Take-off distance | 2,150 m (7,054 ft) | 2,500 m (8,202 ft) |
| Landing distance | 1,850 m (6,070 ft) | 1,500 m (4,921 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 32,940 l | 25,816 l |
| Engines | PW1000G/CFM LEAP-1A | CFM LEAP-1B |
| Units built | 2,200 | – |
| Airframes seen in 30 days | 2,096 | 2,062 |
| Rarity in CatchFlights | Common | Common |
Compared variant for variant: the Airbus A-321neo and the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Specifications are curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; a dash means no source could confirm the value.
Airframes seen are the different aircraft of each type the receiver networks CatchFlights uses saw in the last 30 days — a lower bound, since aircraft out of range or without a broadcasting transponder are not counted.
Catch both. CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so either of these is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
More comparisons
- Airbus A380 vs Boeing 747
- Airbus A350 vs Boeing 787
- Boeing 787-10 vs Airbus A350-900
- ATR 72 vs Dash 8 Q400
For every other pair, our guide shows how to tell Airbus from Boeing.