A320 series vs. B737NG series
 

yeah i know what you guys are thinking... but i really don't want this to develope into the usual Boeing vs Airbus flame war. What i'm after is a comparison of these aircraft performance-wise and in an operational context - effectively answering the question: What makes an operator choose one aircraft series over the other (apart from getting a better deal perhaps) or why did they choose to have both aircraft series in the fleet?!
The reason why i'm asking is that i will have an interview in a few weeks with an airline (low cost / charter Short-/Mediumhaul) operating both aircraft series and i like to present a factual opinion when asked about that matter.

the better deal...it's an important reason...then there are some other reasons like maintainance costs, operation costs , area of operation....
Having both in the fleet, I think can give more flexibility...I would be curious to know which one is most used in low cost, although I have an ideea....having both types in our fleet...

Don't know about the overall costs but the field performance of the 737 beats the daylights out of the 320. Exel 737-800s going Skiathos direct to Manchester with a full load of 189 pax and not an A320 in sight.

Seat mile costs and maintenance costs are very similar but it obviously depends on the deal you do with your maintenance supplier. Easyjet can answer that question but then they got a really sweet 320 deal from Airbus after Ryanair turned down the 320 about 5 or 6 years ago. That might tell you something. If there's one thing Michael O'Leary is good at it's reducing costs, so he obviously calculated that the 800 was a better bet! I doubt that he stayed with Boeing for any reason other than it was the cheapest.

well first of all: pilots FLY the aircrafts. they don't choose which type to buy. second: if you are new to both (737/320) how the heck should you know the pros/cons of the ops?
whatever.
legend has it airbus couldn't promise the 320 would make it to the canaries on a windy day, so hlf and the unspeakables took the NGs. the 320 are fine for the shorter city shuttle routes. and of course, the more you order, the cheaper it gets.

good luck for your interview (bring some spine for those who are in already).

you're right FCS, they can't expect any in-depth knowledge... but being prepared and having a bit of background knowledge when you're trying to get your first job in commercial aviation isn't such a bad thing, don't you think?
Anyway, thanks to all for the input.

Parkbremse, PM me for a paper on the topic.

If your applying to AB (which i think most likely) the major thing that should be important to you is the ability to work to the full extent of the law, meaning 900 hours and up to 150 hours per month during the summer season. The ability to cope with a basicly non-existant roster (well, you get one, but its changed several times every day) etc.

yeah right... however if you want to discuss AB's terms and conditions i suggest we move on to pilots.de and start another AB bashing thread... there hasn't been one for the last weeks so i guess it's time. In the meantime, let's keep this thread clean, okay?