Airbus pilot flies a Boeing 787 for the first time and shares what immediately feels very different to him

This Airbus pilot flew a Boeing 787 for the first time alongside an experienced captain and opened up about the polarizing experience.

Airbus and Boeing have dominated skylines for generations, but each plane is vastly different.

Between the two brands, the cockpit is the biggest change, with a variety of different controls and laws to comply with.

So, courtesy of YouTube personality and British Airways Pilot CaptainCroft, we finally get to see the contrast as she puts a friendly Airbus aviator into the cockpit of her Boeing 787

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Airbus pilot experiences Boeing 787 cockpit for the first time

With both airline makes so vastly different in their design, getting in the cockpit of a different brand’s aircraft is quite a rarity for most pilots.

But thanks to some state-of-the-art simulators, replicating the actual cockpit of popular aircraft, it’s now possible for Boeing and Airbus pilots to see what it’s like turning to their respective dark sides.

Previously, CaptainCroft showcased the inside of an Airbus A320 as she jumped in the simulator at Brighton Airport, UK, and documented the ‘synthetic’ changes between that and her rustic Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Now, the tables had turned, as she invited an Airbus Pilot named Adam to sit inside the Boeing sim at Luton Airport, UK.

The two Pilots went through a regular flight situation, taking off from Luton, cruising in the air, before touching down at one of the hardest landing strips in the world at Madeira, Portugal.

Straight off the bat, the differences were stark, with his first impressions citing that the cockpit was ‘old-school’.

But was he able to fly it just as effectively? And what did he find so different?

Every difference from his usual Airbus A320

Unlike the Airbus A320, CaptainCroft explained that there are a few rules that he must abide by; first, Adam must monitor speed and configuration actively, unlike Airbus planes that automate it, and he must be aware to prevent speed decay, which Airbus also does automatically.

However, Adam took off with good control, describing it as ‘responsive’ but ‘overwhelming’.

“It’s quite overwhelming how many differences there are compared to the Airbus already,” he said.

“It’s like taking a step back into the past. With the Airbus, we’ve got a very, very nice kind of clean cockpit, and this is a little bit different from what I’m expecting in terms of the functionality of an Airbus.

“It requires a lot of work. To be fair, it’s very nice. You’ve got to be very proactive with this, whereas the Airbus is, I suppose, a little bit different in that sense.”

The biggest differences were the automation systems, with the Boeing 787 being more hands-on, whereas Airbus’ systems do a lot of heavy lifting for you, and the cockpit is comfier.

The Airbus A320 is so easy to land that even ChatGPT has been able to make a somewhat successful touchdown.

However, the Boeing 787 is harder work – making it clear that the pilot is still very much part of the equation.

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