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Airbus or Boeing

S

smharm

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
13
0
Ames, Iowa
Ive been reading macrumors religiously for awhile now and have noticed that many of the posters are traveling businessmen like myself. I was curious as to what people think of flying the two different types of comercial plane. Do you notice the difference? Do you have a preference?

I myself have always flown on Boeing planes but my company is looking at starting to book with airlines that use airbus planes and wonder what everyone thinks.
 
I feel just as safe in both aircrafts.

I generally fly in a Boeing though. Not by preference or anything, but British Airways and Continental (two main airlines I fly) seem to mainly use Boeings, so that's what I get placed on.

Last time I flew on an Airbus was on Air Canada. Since I fly in Boeings so much, I love getting the chance to fly on an Airbus. It certainly feels a bit different, but I like it. :)

It doesn't matter though. Not sure why your company would prefer one brand over the other. Just get whatever IMO.
 
I fly pretty frequently for just a traveler and I can say that personally there isn't much difference. Most modern airplanes are so similar to passengers that most couldn't tell you which one they are on unless they looked at the safety card.

My father-in-law fly's at least twice a week all over the world and he would tell you that the first thing he does when he gets on a plane is get comfortable and shut his eyes. He or his company doesn't much care what kind of plane he is on.
 
i think that they're both pretty great manufacturers. i don't have a preference between the two though and i think both are moving into some exciting designs and both have a lot of future potential.
 
It's not the plane, it's getting through the airport security.

After going through that, you could put me on The Spirit of Saint Louis with Charles Lindbergh's skeleton at the controls and I wouldn't care.:eek: :D
 
I don't have a preference either way. As long as it's not a regional jet.

The A320s do have the barking dogs (if you've ever flown on one, you know what I'm talking about. It's a noise from the hydraulic system that sounds like sawing or barking dogs) which can get annoying if you're on the ground for awhile. But once airborne it doesn't make a difference.

The airline's service makes all the difference. I recently flew on Delta with connecting flights, one was an A320 and one was a 737. The 737 had the touchscreen TVs at each seat with free DirectTV. The A320 didn't. So in that case, I prefer the 737.

I've flown both a United 767 and a Lufthansa A340 across the atlantic. The A340 has a better in flight entertainment system and Lufthansa provides free booze in economy. Lufthansa and the A340 win.
 
Either works, as long as it gets me safely from point a to b it doesn't really matter to me.
 
yg17 said:
I don't have a preference either way. As long as it's not a regional jet.

The A320s do have the barking dogs (if you've ever flown on one, you know what I'm talking about. It's a noise from the hydraulic system that sounds like sawing or barking dogs) which can get annoying if you're on the ground for awhile. But once airborne it doesn't make a difference.

The airline's service makes all the difference. I recently flew on Delta with connecting flights, one was an A320 and one was a 737. The 737 had the touchscreen TVs at each seat with free DirectTV. The A320 didn't. So in that case, I prefer the 737.

I've flown both a United 767 and a Lufthansa A340 across the atlantic. The A340 has a better in flight entertainment system and Lufthansa provides free booze in economy. Lufthansa and the A340 win.
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The type of plane does not determine the amenities. Its the carrier. They all set up their planes to their own interior layouts.
The type of plane does not drive my booking. Its frequent flier miles. If I can't get miles, it seems like such a wasted flight. Plus, I get no benefits (first on, etc...)
 
de Havilland Beavers all the way! I like a plane that glides, if necessary. In my part of the world they are all float-planes and they fly over water. Essentially, their world is a one big runway. And it takes like 3 minutes to load and unload. And if you are lucky you get to sit in the co-pilot seat and put on the headphones and listen to the radio chatter.

Why would you fly any other way?
 
In general it doesn't matter to me, but if I remember correctly (I may be wrong), Boeing computers restrict roll angles where as Airbus computers don't, so experiencing a banking turn in an Airbus gets me a little freaked.
 
Shrink said:
It's not the plane, it's getting through the airport security.

After going through that, you could put me on The Spirit of Saint Louis with Charles Lindbergh's skeleton at the controls and I wouldn't care.:eek: :D
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Great post. ;)

Personally, I prefer Airbus (the overhead lockers strike me as having a bit more room), and - depending on the carrier, the seats may be marginally more spacious, and hence, comfortable, on long haul flights. However, in truth, these days, there is not a lot of difference between them.
 
Wow so many responses so quick thanks so much for the help guys. Any more info would be super helpful. Got to make sure my boss doesn't get mad at me for flying on a bad airplane haha
 
I prefer to fly on Boeings. But, my preferred airline JetBlue flies only E190's and A320's which neither aircraft is bad.

As a pilot, I prefer Boeing. Airbus doesn't give full control to the pilot. If the airplane doesn't like it, it will give you a big, " **** you". While Boeing will let the pilot know it will be out of limitations, but will let the pilot do what he/she deemed best for the safety of the flight.
 
As far as comfort, the A319/320 and A330 are very comfortable aircraft enjoyed by both passengers and crew alike. Without any doubt, the A320 is more comfortable for passengers than the 757 due to a larger diameter fuselage. The 757 coach section, six abreast is a cattle car.

MovieCutter said:
In general it doesn't matter to me, but if I remember correctly (I may be wrong), Boeing computers restrict roll angles where as Airbus computers don't, so experiencing a banking turn in an Airbus gets me a little freaked.
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This info is incorrect. Maybe it was on a Boeing you got freaked out? :)

I operate a A319/320 on a regular basis and The Airbus (I believe) is the first commercial aircraft with restrictive computer based flight laws that control roll rates and max bank angles.

Secondly as a passenger, regardless if the aircraft has flight laws or not you should never notice a rapid roll rate unless it's an unusual circumstance. I'm not familiar with the newest Boeing aircraft, but I know the 757 does not have flight laws. The 777 might. I assume the Dreamliner does.

quagmire said:
I prefer to fly on Boeings. But, my preferred airline JetBlue flies only E190's and A320's which neither aircraft is bad.

As a pilot, I prefer Boeing. Airbus doesn't give full control to the pilot. If the airplane doesn't like it, it will give you a big, " **** you". While Boeing will let the pilot know it will be out of limitations, but will let the pilot do what he/she deemed best for the safety of the flight.
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I see your point. However, under normal circumstances the Airbus won't let you roll the airplane upside down, nor overstress it. In the event of an upset, the available control to the pilot is considered by the manufacturer and the FAA to be adequate to recover. Now could there be a circumstance whether the ability to "bend" the plane might save it? I suppose, but I'm not aware and am not an expert regarding, any crashes where having more control might have made a difference. Keep in mind the aircraft was developed for use in 3rd world countries where pilot experience could be lacking. However, this does not keep inexperience pilots out of trouble though. ;)

My guess is that most new modern commercial aircraft will incorporate flight laws, but I could be wrong about this.
 
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Like others have mentioned, it usually has more to do with how the airline configures the airliner than the airliner itself. For example I find the seats on JetBlue to be far more comfortable than Virgin America's, even though they both fly Airbus 320s. VA has the better entertainment system, however. One thing I like about the Airbus over the 737 - the aisle is just a hair wider, which allows me to roll luggage down the aisle instead of carrying it sideways behind me.

The Airbus (319/320/321) engines sound like an Evinrude outboard during takoff, but that's more amusing than anything. :)

Coach in any 757 is terrible, even though it's a terrific airplane otherwise.
 
Huntn said:
As far as comfort, the A319/320 and A330 are very comfortable aircraft enjoyed by both passengers and crew alike. Without any doubt, the A320 is more comfortable for passengers than the 757 due to a larger diameter fuselage. The 757 coach section, six abreast is a cattle car
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And Delta doesn't help by having seats this close together on their 757's past row 27 I believe it was....... That was an uncomfortable trip. Not only did I not have any legroom, an obese man sat in the middle seat making me sit in a uncomfortable position against the window...... My back was aching.....

The return trip I was sitting in row 22 and the legroom was much better. It was a comfortable flight back.


dmr727 said:
For example I find the seats on JetBlue to be far more comfortable than Virgin America's, even though they both fly Airbus 320s.
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Especially if you pay the $25 extra for their even more legroom seats. Plenty of leg space, in some airports you get the express security line, and you get to board first( even before the handicapped and the little brats) so you have first access to the overhead bin. It makes my experience a whole lot better. I can be more relaxed and don't have to worry about being a jerk to beat the jerks who bring on luggage that really should be checked or abuse the 2 per person policy which leaves me with no overhead space near my seat......
 

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Huntn said:
I see your point. However, under normal circumstances the Airbus won't let you roll the airplane upside down, nor overstress it. In the event of an upset, the available control to the pilot is considered by the manufacturer and the FAA to be adequate to recover. Now could there be a circumstance whether the ability to "bend" the plane might save it? I suppose, but I'm not aware and am not an expert regarding, any crashes where having more control might have made a difference. Keep in mind the aircraft was developed for use in 3rd world countries where pilot experience could be lacking. However, this does not keep inexperience pilots out of trouble though. ;)
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I am not that familiar with Airbus flight laws as I am still at ERAU training. If you're well past Vle, will Airbus allow the pilot to extend the landing gear still?

I forgot the type of aircraft involved and the full details of this incident, but a crew found themselves in a dive flirting with Mach tuck or something dealing with the sound barrier and couldn't pull the nose up. In an effort to slow themselves down they dropped the gear to increase drag. Obviously they were well past Vle and the aircraft was damaged, but the drag from the gear helped enough and they managed to pull the nose up before hitting the ground. Maybe dmr727 remembers that incident and knows the full details of that.

Another thing that I prefer Boeing's set up over Airbus is with the auto throttle. In the Boeing, the throttle levers move as the auto throttle increases or decreases engine power where in the Airbus it doesn't. It stays where ever the pilots last set it to when they engaged the auto throttle. So you had last set the levers at lets say 60% N1, but the auto throttle spooled the engines up to 95% N1. You go to disengage the auto throttle, guess where the power setting is going to?
 
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mojohanna said:
The type of plane does not determine the amenities. Its the carrier. They all set up their planes to their own interior layouts.
The type of plane does not drive my booking. Its frequent flier miles. If I can't get miles, it seems like such a wasted flight. Plus, I get no benefits (first on, etc...)
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I'm aware of that....that was my point :rolleyes:

I choose based off the amenities and service. I don't care what type of plane it is. It's six of one, half dozen of the other.
 
Airbus or Boeing doesn't matter, it's the airport security that makes travel so tedious now. :mad:
 
Huntn said:
This info is incorrect. Maybe it was on a Boeing you got freaked out? :)
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It was from a buddy who's a Boeing enthusiast...so that explains that. But to be honest, I get a bit edgy anytime there's a bank maneuver. That being said, I did fly an A380 business class on Emirates or Singapore Airlines once to Dubai from Singapore...that was one of the nicest flights I'd ever been on.
 
I flew a lot to the Middle East over the last year or two and many of their operators (Etihad, Emirates, Qatar) fly Airbus craft like A330 and A340. Generally as a passenger I like the Airbus planes but that's partly because the Boeing planes I flew on were older BA ones in need of refurbishment while the Airbuses were often much newer.

One annoying feature of the Airbus 330/340s that I flew on was that the seatback entertainment box is located under the window seats on each row and restrict legroom, particularly when sleeping.

As others have said, two similarly aged products from the two manufacturers are virtually indistinguishable internally and the differences are more to do with their age and carrier specifications.
 
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