@Starlet
Your friend is engaging in a pointless argument. There are pros and cons to the approaches followed by both Airbus and Boeing and if the historical record is anything to go by it would appear that they cancel each other out in terms of an objective appraisal in engineering and safety terms.
No matter what gets thrown around, the fact is that both airframe manufacturers are responsible for designs that have improved safety records over the last few decades. Anything else is just pointless willy-waving.