Put an experienced pilot in any airplane and chances are they will be able to fly it, albeit fairly roughly. That is because all airplanes follow the same laws of aerodynamics and gravity: pull back, they go up, push forward they go down, chop the wings off and they go down very fast. But we are currently flying in the ‘fourth generation’ of commercial aircraft, which means beyond the base aerodynamic rules of science, there are some significant systems inside helping them fly.
So, just how different are Boeing and Airbus?
Fly-by-wire
Fly-by-wire is “relatively” new to Boeing. It was first implemented in their 777 series aircraft back in 1994, and is currently only on the 777 and 787 series (although the 737 MAX does have a fly-by-wire spoiler system). Airbus started wiring up their aircraft all the way back in 1988, and it can be found in all their aircraft series from the A320 family up to the A380.
Fly-by-wire actually dates back to 1934 and a chap called Karl Otto Altvater. He developed and tested a system in a Heinkel He 11 which controlled the aircraft by electrical impulses.
How does it all work though?
Well, it replaces conventional manual flight controls with an electrical interface. In old-school aircraft, if the pilot moves the control column that directly moves the control surface via some big old pulley systems. In fly-by-wire, the control input from the pilot is converted to an electrical signal and flight control computers determine how much to move actuators to achieve the demanded movement or rate of movement.
The benefits are reduced weight (no more heavy cables), more redundancy and safety (if cables or controls break there isn’t much you can do about it) and stability and control benefits (if things get ‘upset’, it can sort itself out via its computer brain).
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: The same way you would a conventional aircraft. Pull back to go up, push forward to go down, and move the column/stick left and right to turn.
Feedback and trim
Which brings us into feedback and trim – in other words, what does the pilot ‘feel’? This is a big difference between Boeing and Airbus, because Boeing fly-by-wire aircraft still provide some feedback and ‘feel’ to the pilots, while Airbus does not.
The 787, Boeing’s “newest” design is fully fly-by-wire but still requires the pilot to ‘trim for speed’ – this gives them a sense of changing speed with the control column growing “heavier”, requiring them to adjust the trim. The benefit of this is more awareness of what the aircraft is doing. The pilot also gets ‘feedback’ in terms of what the other pilot is doing while hand flying.
Airbus does not require trim, and there is no feedback on the side stick to indicate what the other pilot is doing while flying. This requires a higher level of PFD (primary flight display) monitoring, and has been attributed to several accidents and incidents.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: Boeing needs more monitoring of whether it is ‘in trim’, and to trim it you use the thumb switches on the control column. With an engine failure on a non-fly-by-wire that is going to be down to you. Even with the autopilot engaged, if the rudder isn’t in trim, it is going to drift off course. Airbus helps you out a lot more, but without any feedback, you need to continuously monitor what it/ the other pilot is doing.
Stick vs yoke
We can’t really move on without mentioning one of the most obvious differences between the two – how the pilot “holds” the aircraft. A Boeing has the conventional control column that sits in front of each pilot, while an Airbus has a side stick system, which sits to the side of each pilot.
Pilots tend to train in light aircraft with conventional control columns so the side stick takes a bit of getting used to. It requires a very specific seat position to ensure the lower arm and hand are in the correct position for smooth control. Movements have to be ‘small and smooth’, and there can be a tendency to ‘stir the pot’ – this is when the pilot starts to move the stick loads without actually much corresponding movement from the aircraft. Airbus pilots are often reminded to “just let go” which allows the aircraft to stabilize itself. Boeing fly-by-wire aircraft also require ‘small and smooth’ movements, but the conventional column tends to result in less over controlling.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: The basics remain the same but be careful when rotating or flaring an Airbus - the movement on the side stick (until you have experience) can feel less natural and over and under rotation/flare can occur more easily.
Other bits that move
The thrust levers in the Boeing also move while the auto throttle system is controlling it. Airbus thrust levers do not move while the auto thrust is engaged, and while the pilot is using manual thrust, the range of movement of the levers ‘feels’ a lot smaller. Boeing has a more conventional feel to it. Other differences in the thrust system comes more down to engine types.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: Manually, you push forward to speed up and pull back to slow down.
Oh, and Boeing light switches are upside down (spoken by an Airbus pilot) - to turn lights on you flick them up, in an Airbus you push them down.
All cockpits look the same
At least they do in an Airbus, sort of. Airbus designed their aircraft to be as similar as possible, allowing pilots to move between types with minimal type rating courses required. Several Airbus are also considered a ‘common type rating’ meaning you get one on your license and you get the other as well.
However, while the philosophy and systems between Airbus are the same, each still requires specific training. While an A320 pilot could sit in an A380 and know what they are looking at, the differences in weight, internal systems, etc. still need to be learned.
The Boeing 777 and 787 are considered a common type rating, but the same applies with regards specific differences training, particularly as the 787 has some big design distinctions in terms of things like its electrical (its big and complicated) and pneumatic (it doesn’t actually have one) systems. A pilot who has flown a 737 for example, could do a shorter course onto a 777 or 787 but there are more significant differences between the two than between an A320 and an A380.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: Read on to learn more.
Dark vs light
You may hear ex-Boeing (now Airbus) pilots saying they’ve moved over to the Dark Side. That’s not because all pilots are Star Wars geeks (ok, a fair few are), but is down to what Airbus refer to as their ‘Dark Cockpit Philosophy’. Basically, if a switch (or its associated system) is doing what it should be doing then the light on the button stays out. If it has a fault or is switched off (and should be on), then it is lit.
Boeing has more of a ‘transparent’ approach, which ties in with its philosophy (more about that coming up).
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: If it’s an Airbus, make sure there are no white lights. If it’s a Boeing, read what the lights say.
Philosophy
The philosophy relates to how the manufacturer intends the pilot to “manage” the aircraft when it comes to safety. For Boeing, their philosophy is to keep the pilot in control as much as possible. That doesn’t mean not having an autopilot and making the pilot work really hard, but it does mean the pilot has to direct the aircraft more.
Airbus still hold the pilot ultimately responsible for safety, but they integrate automation into everything just a little more, with higher levels of protection (coming up next). Airbus’ Golden Rules are actually fairly similar to Boeing though – they expect the pilot to fly the aircraft as is needed to keep it safe, expect the crew to use appropriate levels of automation, to understand what is going on when using automation and to act if it isn’t doing what you want it to do.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: Let the systems support you but if it isn’t doing what you want it to, do it yourself!
Laws and Protections
One of the design and philosophy differences between Boeing and Airbus lies in the protection systems incorporated into the automation. The more modern you get, the more the aircraft has protections in it to look out for the pilot. Things like stall warning systems, bank angle warnings, that sort of thing.
The BIG difference between Airbus and Boeing though is that Airbus has ‘hard protections’. That means, when all is working as it should, if you try to stall an Airbus, it will actively try to prevent you. Pull full back, chop the power and hold it until it approaches stall speed and you will get a whole bunch of warnings, and then the autopilot and thrust will take over, adding power, actively dropping the nose and ignoring your commands on the side stick. Boeing gives you all the warnings and will even add power and make the control column heavier and heavier, but if you continue to force it, it will let you stall.
A common misconception with Airbus, because of these hard protections, is that you can’t stall it, you can’t over bank it etc. Unfortunately, an Airbus is subject to the same laws of gravity and aerodynamics, as AF447 fatally discovered. When you turn off (or lose) all the clever systems and get back to the basics (known as direct law) then it loses all those protections and does function just like any other aircraft.
The warnings and protection systems you get in Boeing and Airbus are fairly similar, other than the relative ‘hardness’ of them. Both will warn you if approaching a stall, an overspeed, a big bank angle etc. They also both include standard systems like TCAS (traffic collision avoidance), EGPWS (enhanced ground proximity warning), predictive and reactive wind shear systems to name but a few.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: Know that an Airbus, when working normally, is going to protect you a little more than a Boeing, but ultimately, if you’re the pilot, you’re responsible for not flying it badly.
Memory items
Airbus and Boeing both require pilots to memorize a set of immediate actions to deal with time critical events. These are called ‘memory items’ (or actions) and there are a lot of similarities between the two.
First up, both have the ‘standard ones’ – TCAS, rapid depressurization, unreliable airspeed, stall (and upset prevention and recovery training), EGPWS, wind shear. However, there are minor differences within these. The A350, having the most advanced systems, can also handle some of these itself (emergency decent and some UPRT events), and more modern Airbus can automatically fly a TCAS for you, while even the 787 still requires the pilot to disconnect and fly the maneuver manually.
There are some which are specific to Boeing or Airbus as well though. For example, Airbus has ‘Loss of Braking memory’ items for all types while Boeing does not.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: Mostly the same way. If it goes pop, get an oxygen mask on and point the aircraft down. If it yells “terrain” at you, get it flying upwards (fast and full power). If it yells anything at you really, you’re going to do what you can to stop it yelling, and in most cases what that involves is pretty similar between types.
ECAM, EICAS and electronic checklists
When things do go wrong, how does each aircraft deal with it?
Boeing have a system known as Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) and Airbus have something called Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor (ECAM). Both present engine system information and have the ability to warn or alert the crew to ‘stuff that’s happening’ with all the most critical aircraft systems.
ECAM and EICAS both have the ability to bring up electronic checklists to help the pilots deal with failures as well, and these might look a bit different, but are actually pretty similar when you get down to it. They tend to be color coded for severity and lead the pilots through buttons and switches they need to press to try and troubleshoot or fix the issue. When it comes to the warnings themselves, red is bad for both, amber is a caution level (so less serious), but Airbus does have a more refined level of color coding for everything else and is slightly more advanced with how it prioritizes failures and associated checklists.
So how do you ‘fly’ each of them: In the most modern, the electronic checklist systems are fairly similar and you follow what they tell you to do.
Anything else?
How long do you have? Airbus and Boeing both have some systems and design traits very specific to their aircraft types.
So which do pilots prefer?
There are a whole load of arguments for each, ranging from system abilities to aesthetics to which can fly the fastest or the furthest. Both are advanced, extremely safe and have various things which make them extremely enjoyable to fly for the pilots.
So, we’ll leave the debate to you…
![An example full flight summary response from the Flightradar24 API: { "data": [ { "fr24_id": "0987654321", "flight": "SK1415", "callsign": "SAS1415", "operated_as": "SAS", "painted_as": "SAS", "type": "A20N", "reg": "SE-DOY", "orig_icao": "ESSA", "orig_iata": "ARN", "datetime_takeoff": "2023-01-27T05:15:22", "runway_takeoff": "12R", "dest_icao": "EKCH", "dest_iata": "CPH", "dest_icao_actual": "EPWA", "dest_iata_actual": "WAW", "datetime_landed": "2023-01-27T06:15:10", "runway_landed": "27L", "flight_time": 3600, "actual_distance": 1007.74, "circle_distance": 6245, "category": "Passenger", "hex": "4A91F9", "first_seen": "2023-01-27T05:06:22", "last_seen": "2023-01-27T06:18:10", "flight_ended": "true" } ] }](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Flight-summary-API-cover-768x378.jpg)
