[safisoft]

Airbus piloting is more akin to autopilot management and manipulation than flying an airplane.

Myth.

As an 18,000 hour Boeing (B737) and Airbus (A320, A330, A350) captain and check airman, I can assure you that flying an Airbus is absolutely flying the airplane. Use of autopilot and auto thrust is the same on Boeing and Airbus.

BTW, highly automated and lower workload makes better pilots, not worse. Airlines are safer today because of better training and better automation.

[rdcbn1]

Thanks for the input. I personally find it hard to believe that the Boeing flight control systems could be any less capable than the Airbus system. Know a number of pilots who have flown both and the general consensus is that they prefer the Airbus as a work plane because it takes care of so much more stuff for them than the Boeing. Automation is a huge positive, especially in busy, complex airspace. The potential problem is that a lot of the current generation of pilots in the civilian training pipeline are becoming more dependent upon automation at the expense of basic airmanship skills.