What Plane is better?

JSK 252

737 or A320.

There is huge competition between the two. What do you think is the better of the two and why?

RoundyMooney

Ah the age old question

Tbh, I don't think there is a answer, so I'm going to sit on the fence on this. If you prefer flying raw, it's Boeing. For innovation, its the 'bus.

As a passenger, I think there's no difference as such, and 99% of people wouldn't know what they're on anyway, unless they look at the card in the seat pocket.

I do think that the 800s are noisier than their older 200 predecessors though, which would probably give the 'bus the edge for passenger comfort.

deaddonkey

737

for so many reasons (real flying etc)

also, i can't deal with the ugly spindley nosewheel on the 320s

it looks awful
i amn't too keen on the NG 73s either

bring back the 200s!

highlydebased

Definately 737. Less noise, handles better in poor weather, generally has much more pax appeal than the A320. B737's look way sexier too

Davidth88

As a passenger on airlines very often.

Airbus wins hands down.

Larger overhead bins, seems more space.

As for looks ..... TBH they both look very ordinary to me .

There is an interesting story about SAS back in the 80's , apparently they went to Boeing and showed them what they wanted , bascially what they did was draw a crosssection of an aircraft , and turned it sideways.


Think about it.. the classic cross section is an oval sitting upright like an egg , what they did was turn it 90 degrees, giving more room for the passenger.

It seems EADS/Airbus learnt from this , but Boeing didn't .

Thoughts ?

oscarBravo

As I've mentioned before, the 737 fuselage starts to taper earlier than the Airbus, meaning less passenger elbow room in the first few rows. Also, the 320 does seem roomier overall.

JSK 252

Airbus A320

Neon-Circles wrote:

Definately 737. Less noise, handles better in poor weather, generally has much more pax appeal than the A320. B737's look way sexier too

+1 when you add the picture of that sexy bitch Adrianna Karembu to the side of a SkyEurope aircraft.;)

737s are supposedly easier to do maintenace on due to the fact that the plane is lower in height when compared to the A320.

highlydebased

Lol

The front of the 737 seems to sit a bit lower than the A320, also possibly why the 737 has its own airstair and the A320 does not

gary o

Oh God where do i start,from an engineering point of view the A320 wins hands down!,it's been in production in it's current form since 1988!,it's taken boeing several evolutions of the 737 to keep up,the A320 was the pioneer of fly-by-wire technology,in terms of pax. comfort the A320 series is slighty wider and features less of a taper at front & rear of the cabin.The A320 is also designed to be future proof,avionics upgrades are easy to install,this is the only change between early production models & the new build aircraft of today,the A320 also pioneered the increase use of composite & other innovative materials,whilst boeing where still stick to cabe & pulleys along with aluminium,the A320 as a superior safety record with aircraft losses only due to human error,no technical malfunction,

jackofalltrades

gary 0 wrote:

the A320 as a superior safety record with aircraft losses only due to human error,no technical malfunction

According to this website:
http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/rate_mod.htm
the B733 and onwards seems to have a better safety record than the A320.

Also the following engineering bulletins:
http://www.airdisaster.com/investigations/af296/af296.shtml#oeb
don't exactly paint the picture of a technically flawless aircraft.

JSK 252

Airbus A320

gary o wrote:

the A320 as a superior safety record with aircraft losses only due to human error,no technical malfunction,

http://www.airdisaster.com/investigations/af296/af296.shtml

PhoenixRising

JSK 252 wrote:

http://www.airdisaster.com/investigations/af296/af296.shtml

That was pilot error caused by the pilot not fully understanding the Airbus Flight Director/Autopilot Modes. Not a technical malfunction. The airplane was functioning perfectly when it crashed.

JSK 252

Airbus A320

PhoenixRising wrote:

That was pilot error caused by the pilot not fully understanding the Airbus Flight Director/Autopilot Modes. Not a technical malfunction. The airplane was functioning perfectly when it crashed.

Well what I heard was that the software on the A320 which prevents a plane from going above its flight envelope had malfunctioned. Could be wrong though?

nopz

320 is container loaded, less throwing of your bag!
and of course european aircrafts kick amercan a**

Michael

PhoenixRising

JSK 252 wrote:

Well what I heard was that the software on the A320 which prevents a plane from going above its flight envelope had malfunctioned. Could be wrong though?

The angle of attack protection or 'alpha floor' is inhibited below 100ft radio altitude. The reason being so that you can land the aircraft without it thinking you are about to stall and applying full power. These guys where flying below 100' radio trying to demonstrate slow flight and the angle of attack protection. The official report cites lack of understanding of the new technology by the pilots involved. The aircraft was functioning as advertised when it crashed.

Aidan Disney

Neon-Circles wrote:

Definately 737. Less noise, handles better in poor weather, generally has much more pax appeal than the A320. B737's look way sexier too

I agree !!

and also i hate as a Future Pilot the Joystick as the Boeing Aircraft have Flight yokes not Joystick ..

Like imagine being Right Handed and the Captain (on the left) Unstedy hand ? a nd has to controll the plane with ONE Left hand .. Ehh ! no i think its Ryanair for me Aer Lingus fly the Airbus ! :eek: :mad: :mad:

JSK 252

Airbus A320

The 737 can land on shorter runways than the A320 cant it? That would be an advantage...

WexCan

Aidan Disney wrote:

I agree !!

and also i hate as a Future Pilot the Joystick as the Boeing Aircraft have Flight yokes not Joystick ..

Like imagine being Right Handed and the Captain (on the left) Unstedy hand ? a nd has to controll the plane with ONE Left hand .. Ehh ! no i think its Ryanair for me Aer Lingus fly the Airbus ! :eek: :mad: :mad:

Every pilot starts off in the left hand seat as a student. Most light aircraft have either simple "sticks" between the legs, or a Boeing-esque "wheel" (simplifying things here). It's almost impossible to fly with your right hand and fiddle with radios/throttle with your left if you're in the left hand seat. You'll find most 737 (for example) Captains have their right hand on the yoke very little.

Bit foolish restricting your choice of employer because of your preference in control devices, no? Especially with the market as it is.

Back on point, A32S for me, as a passenger and as crew. I do have a soft spot for 73s but the A319/20/21 are much more comfortable and crew friendly.

petetls

A320 series by far. A much more comfortable aircraft from a passenger's perspective, give a sensation of much more space over the 737. A modern aircraft and a true European success story.

As an aviation fan, I of course have a soft-spot for the 737 (classic versions), but I believe the 320 family success is wonderful.

I fly a lot, and to be honest I seem to end up on many more 320's than 737s now.

Also being involved in the industry, most crews I've spoken to with experience on both prefer the 320.

MooseJam

Airbus ftw Go Europe Go Europe , don't know much about the planes but I think the 320 is better looking

Kevster

Airbus A320

There are many types of 737's but the 737-800 is the best-selling aircraft of all time. For this reason alone, I vote for that.

gary o

You are incorrect in saying that the 737-800 is the best selling aircraft of all time,there are more A320-200 sold than 737-800 at this time,and i'd guess that the best selling aircraft of all time is likely to be some sort of military aircraft ordered by the US air force,around the cold war time possibly.

Kevster

Airbus A320

Firstly, I meant commercial aircraft. Secondly, what is your source confirming that the A320-200 is the best-selling?

Sponge Bob

PhoenixRising wrote:

That was pilot error caused by the pilot not fully understanding the Airbus Flight Director/Autopilot Modes.

My recollection from the time was that there was a lag of 5-7 seconds between 'putting the foot down' and the engines spinning up, you hear the engines accelerate just as it touches the tree for that crash.

The pilot forgot this lag existed .

gary o

if you look up the production lists the for each type ,A320-200,1745 have been manufactured,as opposed to 1239 for the 737-800,these are from around april 2007 numbers, planespotters.net have production lists.

PhoenixRising

Sponge Bob wrote:

My recollection from the time was that there was a lag of 5-7 seconds between 'putting the foot down' and the engines spinning up, you hear the engines accelerate just as it touches the tree for that crash.

The pilot forgot this lag existed .

Trust me, every jet pilot is well aware of the spool-up time on their aircraft. The average jet engine takes several seconds to spool up from low power to full power. That isn't what caused the accident.

Kevster

Airbus A320

gary o wrote:

if you look up the production lists the for each type ,A320-200,1745 have been manufactured,as opposed to 1239 for the 737-800,these are from around april 2007 numbers, planespotters.net have production lists.

Ah, okay. I'm now thinking that I misread various articles and that is actually the entire 737 family of airplanes that are the best-selling; as opposed to the entire A320 family.