Michael B - I can cope with anyone preferring one aircraft to another on grounds of informed personal preference. I struggle more with ill-considered views that are gleaned from rumours and half-truths. I am concerned that from your comments you feel that Airbuses are more prone to error than Boeings or that there is some intrinsic error in the man-machine interface within the Airbus. You are stating as established fact something that simply is not. I do not wish to knock Boeings in any way as both manufacturers produce superb aircraft. I fly the A320/1 and although not perfect it would be totally incorrect to say that they have worse safety records than Boeings. Both have excellent safety records and this should be recognised by all responsible pilots. There have been a number of accidents with both B737s and A320/1s (a miniscule fraction of the total flights flown) and for some reason Airbus accidents have been held up as symptomatic of poor design. The most negative comments about Airbuses come from those people who have never flown them. I promise you that the A320 is a stunning aircraft to fly, and has an enormous number of built-in protections that other aircraft do not have. The Airbus will rescue pilots from countless errors and among other things will simply not allow the pilot to overbank, overspeed, over pitch up or down or to stall.
The much-publicised accident involving an A320 flying through trees on TV, which I suspect you are thinking of, was the result of extreme foolishness on behalf of the pilot involved. Had the pilot attempted this manoeuvre with a B737 the exact same result would have ensued, but probably sooner.
As for comments about an Airbus being trickier in emergencies, then again I think you will find this claim simply does not stand up to investigation. Any modern, complex airliner can be prone to difficulties in handling emergencies. The Airbus, although not perfect, has excellent systems for emergency handling that I firmly believe provide significant plus points in its favour.
This is in no way an attack on the 737 which has been a superb aircraft for a generation of pilots and passengers. It is to the credit of the 737 that so many of its pilots love it and defend it so vigorously. Perhaps, however, the ultimate testimony is to be found from those who have flown both aircraft. I have not personally flown the 737 apart from the simulator, but I fly nearly every working day with those who have. With virtually no exceptions, every pilot who has done a year or more on the Airbus says he would never go back to the 737. None of these guys has an axe to grind, and their opinion is arguably the most valid of all.
[ 08 January 2002: Message edited by: Norman Stanley Fletcher ]</p>