A320 copying Boeing?

Is this Airbus copying a Boeing 737? Looks that way:

Looks can be deceiving

well copying is a vague choice of word...


the A320 was Airbus's answer to the 737.

a very nice one too, i might add.

(i dont take sides.. i support all aircraft, boeing and airbus alike )

I actually can't see any similarities - except for the apparent cigar-shape-and-wings of course. The exterior is quite different, the engines are different and if you enter the flight deck *everything* is different. Is this a picture of a special A320?

The only different thing I can see are the winglets. But they look nice too

correct me if i am wrong.. but until the A380, which blew all competition out of the water, airbus had been answering boeing for years.. trailing just behind them in the competition

look at these debut dates:

1981: 767 ---> 1983: A310
1984: 737-300 ---> 1987: A320
1988: 747-400 ---> 1991: A340
1994: 777 ---> 1995: A330

(Airbus debuted the A300 in 1972, and although the 767 seemed to be Boeing's answer to the A300, the A310 strikes a much greater resemblance to the 767 in multiple aspects)



Like I said before.. I'm not biased.. I like Boeing and Airbus alike.. I'm just throwing out some facts here


OOH YAY! MY 100th POST!!

Didn't know that!

That's the Airline Manufacture's business. That's what they do.

mhm... it's just interesting that airbus has always been the "copy-cat" of the industry (until the A380)

and when i say "copy-cat", i use that term very lightly, and not as an insult. in copying something.. you always improve on it

Yes, I agree. Airbus always responded to Boeing by developing and building new airplanes.

Maybe it is a strategy

..let your opponent make the first move


..although the A380 was a bold jump ahead by airbus

I wouldn't say "copy cat". Boeing made a brilliant move with the 737 for example, but the A320 that came out later was *totally* different. It's in the same category, but the frame, engines, flight characteristics are different. The avionics? Man they are different! Still, it does seem to be true. Boeing had to keep ahead of the game and Airbus had to follow.

Do not forget, though, that in 1987 Boeing was the dominating power and Airbus was a startup with a very small share of the market. And I mean VERY small. Here they are now, leading for the first time, ahead of Boeing (for now). So, you see, what for Boeing would be a "casual" release almost (the 737 for example) would be a make-or-break release for Airbus (the A320 in the example above). If it had been a bust, Airbus would not exist today probably.

To each their merit.

yeah good point.. i think Airbus is built on the A320.. if it had bombed in the sales department.. Airbus wouldn't be in existance today


imagine that? no A340, no A330, no A321, no A319, no A318 no A380


like john lennon said.. imagine

I am going to attempt and provoke a thought in you good people who have, like myself, been trying to unravel what to us mere mortals will forever remain a mystery. Or not.

Now we are all aware that prior to the event of Airbus it was all american aircraft manufacturers, Boeing in particular in the department of commercial airliners... period. Oh yes, there were other minor players, british for example, but those non-american manufacturers didn't really put a dent in the complete domination enjoyed by the american companies.

In effect, all of the european airlines were flying Boeings. BA, Air France, Lufthansa, KLM and many others can certainly not be discounted as minor players.

Incidentally, those were also the days when the EURO did not exist. We're talking about revenue here and that thing that makes the world go round.

Some of you might remember the days when you went off travelling to exotic places on a shoestring (plastic money hadn't even been invented then), so... what kind of currency would you carry in your hidden pouch? Some of the local Dineros, Travellers Cheques which were 99% American Express in U.S. Dollar denominations, and some cash for emergencies and bribes: What was the cash you would carry? A few Swiss Francs and of course Greenbacks. Only a fool would get caught at the border checkpoints without some Greenbacks already placed inside the passport right next to your mug shot so the friendly customs officer wouldn't get impatient.

The point of it all? It was always U.S. currency that was on the forefront and mostly sought after.

Times have changed. The EURO has become more important than the U.S. Dollar in many countries even outside of Europe.
More and more airlines, even american ones, are incorporating Airbus into their fleets. Coincidence? Think twice.

As the European Union began to expand and grow in importance on a global scale, some scientists, economists and politicians probably decided that the continuous domination of world markets and political affairs by the U.S. could no longer be justified -- and who in his right mind would dispute that?

BTW, Gore Vidal, love him or hate him - not long ago stated that we are witnessing the decline of the "Last Empire" -- food for thought.

To summarize: The constant speculations of who builds better aircraft, Boeing or Airbus, or who's gonna win out in the end are futile and childish and a waste of time. Instead of one, we now have two major players competing for aircraft sales which is beneficial for us all.

Anyone who still thinks that american scientists, economists and politicians are more intelligent and superior to those who live 'somewhere else' probably still suffer from the delusion that non-Caucasians have blood of a different colour running through their veins.

My answer to the subject line of this topic : 'A320 copying Boeing?' -- Absolutely Not

whoa tailhook.. nobody is claiming white and/or american spremacy here... lol




like i said.. i take no sides in the "aircraft manufacturing war" and i am not going to debate who makes better aircraft. ..as you said, it's pointless and childish

my post before about airbus answering multiple boeing aircrafts.. well those are all facts, not opinions


heh.. nobody is trying to prove anybody or anything is the best here.. or at least i know i am not

Hey pilotguy my post wasn't directed at you at all. Unfortunately it often happens within a thread that one participant takes a comment personally. I know better than picking out individuals and using names in my criticisms -- it's not right and it's unethical. Where humour is concerned, the picture changes of course. Hopefully you get my drift.

Now getting back to the Airbus - Boeing comparisons. I will not be silenced for as long as this nonsense continues to pop up as a major topic of discussion on these boards.

If you find the time Ryan, do a search and read some of the topics and 'Polls' mind you that have been started and conducted just to establish who is the prettiest in the land.
I can assure you, you'll soon get sick of this pathetic, narrow-minded nonsense which saves no other purpose than taking up bandwidth.

I repeat, I do hope you understand that my post was not directed at you or anyone else personally who partook in this thread .

no problem tailhook


to be honest.. i never saw the point in quarelling over airbus-boeing competition either... and i could only imagine how many "airbus or boeing?" polls there are out there, lol.

i didnt exactly take your post personally, i just found it to be very bold compared to the posts everyone else had made.

i wasn't stating any favored company before.. i'll say it for the millionth time.. i enjoy flying boeing and airbus alike.. and it will stay that way.

sorry for any confusion tailhook, i hope there's no hard feelings

No hard feelings pilotguy