Boeing 737 or Airbus 320?

lillis · Post by **lillis** » 17 Jan 2006, 19:03

What would your professional opinion be with regards the safety record of the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320, which would be the safest and more comfortable plane? for someone petrified of flying!!!

MX727 · Post by **MX727** » 17 Jan 2006, 19:10

Hi Illis. I don't know from a professional point of view. I think that both are safe planes and from a comfortable point of view, I believe it also depends on the airline. I'd had the opportunity to fly on both and both of them are fine to me, although I slightly prefer the 737.
Regards,
JAHC

fokker_f27 · Post by **fokker_f27** » 17 Jan 2006, 19:25

I would also say 737. Since one takes off every 5 seconds.

But I can't say for comfort. That dous depend on the airline.

FedEx · Post by **FedEx** » 17 Jan 2006, 20:35

all these forums seem to be now days are airbus verses boeing - boeing verses airbus

most people seem to have a bias opinion for either of the two manufacterers, being a european i'm more in favour of airbus.....

Andries · Post by **Andries** » 17 Jan 2006, 21:24

This is not a matter of "being in favour of ..."
The question was which of the aircraft is safer and more comfortable.

And as this is lilis' first post, I think it is more that he/she wants to decide on one of both for a trip. (Welcome to Luchtzak by the way)

For starters, you can allways state that one aircraft is safer than another, but you can be sure that both aircraft are very, very safe !
Airbus and Boeing have sold thousands of A320's and B737's. I don't think airlines would order these if they were not safe ... So you can easily state both are very safe !

Which one is the most comfortable ? Well that depends mostly on the airlines as they decide about the interior and seating-pitch.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask !

Greetz,

Andries

lillis · Post by **lillis** » 18 Jan 2006, 00:03

You've got it in one.....planning a trip to London, just wanted some advice...thanx a mil

If anybody else wants to give their opinion on this feel free..

MX727 · Post by **MX727** » 18 Jan 2006, 00:29

Hi Again lillis.....just one question: are you the one petrified of flying?

lillis · Post by **lillis** » 18 Jan 2006, 00:48

i'm petrified of flying but also interested...may sound strange

MX727 · Post by **MX727** » 18 Jan 2006, 01:42

Really strange indeed. Well, I know that statistically, flying is the safest way to travel. Safety is taken very, very seriously, not just by airplane manufacturers, but also by goverments and airlines as well. Just relax and enjoy the ride. I personally enjoy take offs and approaches for landing. Try to get a window seat. I'm sure you are going to like it.
Regards my friend,
JAHC

KLM671 · Post by **KLM671** » 18 Jan 2006, 04:32

Is there an error in the topic name or what?
The name of the topic is: Boeing 747 or Airbus 320
The thing we are discussing is 737 or A 320

Anyways, both aircraft manufacturers (A and B) take VERY seriously PAX safety, maybe you should look more carefully airline history and maintenance that the airline does on their planes, wich can be the reason why an accident could occur, BUT remember, flying is the safest way to travel!

Regards
KLM671 :wave:

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 18 Jan 2006, 07:11

lillis,

Welcome to Luchtzak.

Both the B737 and the A320 are very safe. And as far as comfort is concerned I try to find the A320 family a bit more spacious but my heart prefers the B737

Can you tell us more specifically about what you are afraid of flying ? Maybe we can help you with your fear. In the end I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip.

KLM671 wrote:Is there an error in the topic name or what?
The name of the topic is: Boeing 747 or Airbus 320
The thing we are discussing is 737 or A 320

changed the title.

Chris

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 18 Jan 2006, 07:12

fokker_f27 wrote:I would also say 737. Since one takes off every 5 seconds.

Great conclusion !!!! And do you think the A320 is less safe if one takes off every 6 seconds in the world ?

That dous depend on the airline.

It's DOES and not DOUS.

Chris

chunk · Post by **chunk** » 18 Jan 2006, 10:41

SAfety wise I dunno. All I can say that in order to get a fair comparison between 737 and 320 you'd better remove all the 732's from the comparison as they seem to ahem, hit dirt more often. Usually because of who is operating them but they are getting a bit old nowadays....

Personally I prefer the A320 series anytime for comfort.

earthman · Post by **earthman** » 18 Jan 2006, 11:06

MX727 wrote:Well, I know that statistically, flying is the safest way to travel.

I seem to recall that statistically the safest way to travel is by elevator. It is even safer than stairs. Regarding airplanes, I actually read that they are 10 times safer than stairs. Think about that next time you use stairs. Of course all of this depends on the statistic used.

I think the stair thing means stairs in general, I am not convinced that more people die falling down boarding or upper deck staircases than as a result of the plane crashing.

Maybe you should just read this page.

chornedsnorkack · Post by **chornedsnorkack** » 18 Jan 2006, 13:15

What the airline can choose is pitch. The aircraft design is otherwise constraining.

Boeing 737 is designed to be lower, closer to ground. This means that it is easier to embark and disembark if the airplane has to use airstairs. But it also is said to cause inconvenience when the plane is using a gate and airbridge also used by widebodies.

The fuselage cross-section is slightly wider for Airbus 320.

Boeing 737 normally has 6 abreast in Economy. Hawker-Siddeley Trident used to have 7 abreast, with 4 seats on one side of aisle - but no one seems to have this layout on A320. So, an A320 seat necessarily has a few cm of extra elbowroom, irrespective of what the airline wants.

I have also heard that some stewardesses complain of inability to reach the window seats of A320 from aisle - so this would be a comfort issue with wide seats...

The windows are provided with the fuselage. Both 737 and 320 have a window in most frames - each 508 mm in 737 and each 500 mm in 320. Thus, most economy seat have at least one window - some have one and some two. The position of window/s with respect to seat varies in different rows.

What differs by airframe model is the exact size, shape and location (height from floor) of windows.

Some windows are missing, for example because ducts have to be passed through or because the fuselage has to be reinforced near engines. So, there are the "window" seats with no windows. Also the size and number of exit rows varies - IIRC some 737 and 320 models have only 1 small overwing exit each side, some have 2 exits near each other.

Also there are things like "767 interior", "777 interior" and the like. This seems to be because the shape of the ceiling and size of the overhead bins is not up to the airline - the manufacturer offers a limited number of bin choices.

The size and shape of the overhead bins is obviously a comfort issue with cabin baggage. Also, it is important how high the bins are - on window seats, it decides the headroom getting in and out of the seats, and for any passengers it decides how they are able to put luggage in and take it out of bins.

The design of bins is a safety issue, too. Some passengers complain of fellow passengers dropping heavy luggage on them when putting baggage in or taking it out. I suppose bins opening when they should not is also an accident that can happen.

Note that while the seats are supposed to perform to certain standards (which standards?) up to 16 g. the bins are only supposed to resist 2 g. And with this safety margin, how does anyone know it´s not eaten away in other ways? I gather the overhead bins are not allocated to specific seats. What is to stop passengers with heavy but small-sized hand luggage from happening to put it in the same bin, so it is overloaded?

lillis · Post by **lillis** » 18 Jan 2006, 13:17

I'm choosing between Aerlingus and Ryanair......what would your opinion be of both airlines?
Don't know why I'm petrified of flying, I suppose it's because I know very little about the technical aspects of it....It's seems like such an unnatural phenomena, I can't rationalise it! It's also because I feel I have no control...

However I do realise I'm being extremely paranoid, will just go ahead and book my flight and see how I go.....
thanx a million for the feedback..... keep it coming

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 18 Jan 2006, 13:41

lillis wrote:I'm choosing between Aerlingus and Ryanair......what would your opinion be of both airlines?

Both airlines are good airlines. Personally I would choose Aer Lingus but that has nothing to do with safety reasons.

As for the fear well you should know that it's indeed very safe, and one of the reasons for that is that aircraft systems are VERY redundant.

You should know that systems which are crucial for the security of flight should have a probability of 10^(-9) to fail. That means that the probability that the system fails is ONE in one BILLION. This is quite small isn't it ?

And don't worry two engine planes are designed to be able to fly on one engine as from V2 (one of the decision speeds during take off). That means that when your plane is approx 10m above the runway and one engine fails you are safe

Ask questions if you have some.

Chris

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 18 Jan 2006, 13:46

Ivan_Eagle wrote:Boeing rulez, only the sound of airbus is great and A330-300 is good 2 but the rest?

Great contribution to the discussion Ivan !!! You could have at least told us why you wouldn't want to fly the airbus don't you think?

I hardly think lillis will go for the B737 or A320 because "Boeing Rules" or "Airbus rulez" comments

Chris

Andries · Post by **Andries** » 18 Jan 2006, 14:56

Avro wrote:You should know that systems which are crucial for the security of flight should have a probability of 10^(-9) to fail. That means that the probability that the system fails is ONE in one BILLION. This is quite small isn't it ?

Indeed. On top of that most of these crucial systems are supplied 2 to sometimes 4 times. If one fails, the others just take over !

If I has to choose between Aer Lingus and Ryanair ...

My wallet would say Ryanair, but my brain would say Aer Lingus.
Aer Lingus hasn't had a lethal accident for over 35 years !
Ryanair has never had any lethal accident ...
Both airlines fly very modern aircraft, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about !

Just book your flight and enjoy the ride !

Greetz,

Andries

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