Originally Posted by
Adam Smith
Why? AC maintained a fleet of only 8 333s for nearly 20 years before expanding it, and for over a decade after they ditched the last of the A340s. The 788 has more economies of scale with the 789 than the 333 had with anything else during that decade, so the incremental cost of having it has not necessarily been outrageous.
The 788 may have not been exactly what AC expected from a performance perspective, whether in absolute terms or compared to the 789, but that doesn't mean they regret ordering it.
They've frequently used the 788 to open up new routes and see how demand shakes out, in addition to filling in spots in the schedule where the 788 is a better fit than a larger or smaller aircraft, whether that be on a TATL route for a short period of time, doing some of the TCONs, etc.
The A333 is the biggest model of the A330 while the 788 is the smallest, making that comparison a bit apples and oranges. The 789 is also a better performer than the 788's (especially the early ones). The incremental cost associated with the flying the 789 isn't that great compared to the 788, and it has a greater number of seats (obviously) that make it a better generator of revenue than the 788. Even if those seats remain empty, it doesn't cost that much more to fly a 789, and now AC is in a situation where it can likely fill the seats on the routes (the 789 also hauls more cargo). Boeing has gone on to try and make the present 788 more like the 789 and 78J in terms of how it is built.
I said in retrospect, not at the time they were ordered. The greater number of sales of the 789 over the 788 reflects its better performance and the small incremental cost of flying it. Yes the 788 didn't meet expectations - there are likely a fair number of carriers who, if they were ordering today, would not order the 788. The only two carriers that have recently placed significant 788 orders (more than 1 frame) after bringing the 789 in to service (American and EL AL). There are only 24 788 orders since 2018 which really reflects the advantage the 789 has over its smaller sibling.