PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - If you have a choice at your airline - Airbus or Boeing?
Old 18th May 2011, 11:25
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Young Paul
 
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There are 4600 A320 series aircraft that have been built since they were introduced in the late 80s. There are 6600 B737s that have been built, in around 20 years longer.

To be honest, for all the opinions that have been voiced, if either had major character flaws, they wouldn't have been so successful. The early hull losses on the A320 were due to "pilots" who had ceased to be a part of the flying of the aircraft, and were forgetting things like ... you shouldn't be setting up vertical speeds of over 2000 fpm near the ground ... high bypass engines take time to spool up. And in these cases, Airbus have systems available that could have protected the pilots, which were either not installed or had been disabled (by the pilots, who perhaps didn't like being told how to fly their aircraft by the manufacturer?). If we want to talk about aircraft oddities, did Boeing ever get to the bottom of the rudder hardover mystery which means that the manoeuvre speeds for the 737 are now 10 knots higher than they were originally designed to be? IAMFI - I note that the BA 737s still ask for 170 to 5 miles ....

Two FBW Airbuses have made deadstick landings in which everyone has survived, due to external issues (fuel leak, birds); 737s have as well (birds).

If you are going to fly an Airbus, learn to fly it like an Airbus. The information, and more, is in front of you: learn to use it. If you flew it and didn't like it, 4600 built and largely still operating says that the problem is probably yours. If you are criticising it without having flown it, the word we use for that is "prejudice".

The objective of airline operations is the safe, reliable and efficient carriage of passengers from place to place. Both do the job admirably.
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