The first benefit of the Airbus A320 is its performance capabilities. The A320 has a maximum range of 4,000 nautical miles and a maximum speed of Mach 0.82, making it capable of flying long-haul routes with ease.
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Airbus's original A320 was revolutionary for many reasons, including but not limited to side-stick flight controls, a fly-by-wire system, and cargo capabilities. Since then, the family has grown to include the A318, A319, and A321, and of course, has evolved into the A320neo family.
It's called the PTU, or Power Transfer Unit. It's basically an extra hydraulic pump that assists the system as necessary, and also does a self-test during engine start. But, it's very loud and people don't like strange, loud noises on airplanes, so I understand how it can be disconcerting!
Airbus emphasizes commonality across its aircraft models, meaning that pilots can more easily transition between different Airbus aircraft. This approach benefits airlines by reducing training time and costs. Boeing's aircraft, in contrast, have more variation in cockpit design and systems.
Each had their strong points and their not-so strong-points. The A320 was more comfortable on long flights, due to the larger flight deck and lack of a control column (it has a side stick). The 737 was the best airplane I have ever flown in a crosswind.
As of August 2023, the global A320 fleet had 99.7 percent operational reliability in the last 12 months and completed more than 167 million flights over 307 million block hours since its entry into service.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the family was followed by the longer A321 (first delivered in January 1994), the shorter A319 (April 1996), and the even shorter A318 (July 2003).
Airbus estimates that their A320 series aircraft have a lifespan of around 60,000 flight hours or 24,000 flight cycles. The A380 series aircraft have a lifespan of around 25 years or 60,000 flight hours.
A320`s can actually travel just under 4000 nautical miles with no payload and the maximum fuel load on board. So crossings can be made non stop on delivery flights.
It was found that Boeing had more accidents than expected, while Airbus had fewer (p = 0.015). In terms of fatalities, Boeing had more than expected, with Airbus fewer (p < 0.001). Looking at accidents alone, only the number of fatalities was statistically significantly different.
What I do find noisy on A320 series aircraft are the brake fans. Sometimes used on taxi out, and almost always used on taxi in, they can be very very noisy.
Speaking of landings, the Airbus is much easier to land smoothly and, for pilots, it goes a long way to stroke our already-inflated egos. If you can consistently grease a 737NG landing, you're a better pilot than most.
The safest commercial aircraft models have exceptional safety records, such as the Embraer ERJ, Airbus A380, Boeing 767, Airbus A319neo, and Bombardier CRJ-700.