Favourite passenger aircraft to fly on...

Fabio

Regardless of airline service/livery/entertainment etc what is your favourite aircraft to fly in?

I flew SNN-JFK within the last few weeks on one of Delta's Boeing 757-200s and it was really pleasant despite the fact it is single-aisled. Fair enough you don't really have anywhere to stretch your legs but the 757 just "feels" solid and the take-offs are always fun. Smooth landings too. The only thing is that I felt it was a little noisy, but then I was sitting behind the wing. To be honest, and despite what I say above, Delta's layout of the cabin did make a difference as regards how modern this old bus felt but still...a nice plane to fly in. On the home leg there was some turbulence mid-Atlantic which woke me from my sleep but apparently the 757 has a fairly solid wing, it does not flex as much as other equivalent jets, and thus this passes on the effects of turbulence to the cabin. Not sure how true this is but I did feel it!

Flying on an MD-90 prior to that leg on the 757 was different. It did seem a little dated inside, I'm not sure has it stood the test of time as well as the 757 (but then I don't know how old either one was etc...). I was seated in the first row behind Business Class and what a quiet ride that was. It was so interesting to hear the engines spool up but to hear that happen far behind you. It was amazing during the climb, so quiet! Not to mention it was a beautiful take-off. There's something about that high tail design that really gets me too, lovely plane. Kent Wien did a nice video of the MD-80 cockpit on youtube actually. I don't have a link but do a Google of that and you'll find it in his "Cockpit Chronicles" series of vids from the front seats.

I love the A330 to fly in simply for the space. There's a sense of grace to the widebodies as well I feel, just getting all of that metal into the sky.

Anyway, what are your favourites to fly in?

crosstownk

I don't fly all that often but I did find the EI/Air Contractors B757 service from DUB to YYZ quite pleasant. I'd two children with me and they were happy out also. IFE was excellent.

18MonthsaSlave

Favourite passenger aircraft to fly on...???
The one that's flying home.

fleet_admiral

Flew on a 757 from Madrid to Heathrow in 2000. It was a beautiful plane and flight

highlydebased

Flew on an A310 once subbing in for some charter crowd. Incredibly comfortable in bad weather.

Also enjoy the ATR for a more "raw" experience!

L1011

There's a decent chance the MD90 was newer than the 757, Delta have MD90s from as late as 2000 and 757s as old as 1985 although the international ones are significantly newer

American even have MD80s that are 1999 builds

I've always liked the Saab 340 as smaller planes go. Probably the best comfort to size ratio of anything I've been on - except in poor weather I'd take the personal space in it over most widebody economy class layouts these days!

fits

After today's experience, its definitely not a Boeing 717. Although I think it must have been the first officer's first day on the job.. I dunno.

man98

MYOB wrote: »

I've always liked the Saab 340 as smaller planes go. Probably the best comfort to size ratio of anything I've been on - except in poor weather I'd take the personal space in it over most widebody economy class layouts these days!

I remember over the winter there was 43kt winds in DUB. 50 or so aircraft circling, some even heading back to London etc. I listened to LiveATC, the Loganair Saab 340 was the only one with the balls to land in it!
More on topic, I've only ever flown a 737-800… I fly very little.

Irish Steve

From a passenger point of view, the nicest aircraft to fly on was the DC10, simply because it was pressurised to a much lower level, so not as uncomfortable to travel long distances on. Have memories of a number of long haul on them, (GatwicK to Dallas, and Gatwick to Denver) the best being a trip from Orlando to Gatwick with Laker's second time around in a DC10-30, it was a charter flight, but the cabin was set up for first, club and economy, but they sold it all as economy, so some of us got a VERY nice trip back from Orlando in a first class cabin, with most of the trimmings, for a fraction of the normal price for such a flight. It was a long time ago now, but I seem to recall that we paid the princely sum of £125 for a 2 week fly drive in October, and the car we got on arrival ended up as a Jeep Cherokee, because by the time we'd got to the desk, there wasn't any smaller cars left.

In terms of comfort, they are much of a muchness, I didn't like Delta's 777, there was too much junk hanging off the bottom of the seat for the IFE, which meant it was almost impossible to get comfortable, and way too many wide body jets are too darn cold for comfort if you are sitting in a window seat. The EI Airbus that was on the LAX service a few years back was nice, even in economy, and a long flight.

Noise level wise, the 737-200 was a pain in the ears if you were behind the wing, the best in that respect are the DC9/MD80 family, or the BAC 1-11, unless you're right down the back.

Turboprops can vary, the Dash 8 400 isn't too bad, but they can be hard on landings, a Swearingen Metro one time from Amsterdam to Brussels was a horrible little noisy beast, the F50's that Aer Lingus used to have were not bad, and to be fair, on a good day the Shorts 360's (ideally row 1 or alternatively row 11) had an amazing view out of those big windows, though bad weather wasn't so nice in them.

Flew from Paris to Bristol one time on a Fokker 100, which did nothing but dutch roll the entire trip, and was very unsettling to travel in.

The 757 is a nice aircraft to travel in, even on long haul routes, maybe it was just that there was more space than some other types, but even on charter flight operators, they were reasonable.

That said, so much depends on who's in front, beside or behind you, the wrong shape or personality in close proximity for a long flight can make it hell, the worst problem being free range kids that the parents don't control in the seat behind you. I have been sorely tempted to launch a full bottle of water over the top of my seat on a couple of occasions........

dogmatix

I always loved the BAe 146 that british airways flew Dublin-Gatwick in the late 1990's. Before that BA used ATR's I think - not such a nice aircraft. I also really liked the A310 I was on from the Azores to Lisbon about 10 years ago - a surprisingly comfortable aircraft. And finally I have a soft spot for the old 737-200.

All of the above as a passenger of course.

Rawr

The 757 is indeed very nice to fly in. Feels like a larger and heavily upgraded 737.

I've also flown on an A300, which was quite nice and is comparable to the A340 I have also flown in. However on the A340 I was stupid enough to take a window seat, which contained the IES computer in the foot-well. So that eventually became an uncomfortable 14 hours.

Lately my favorite is the A320. I flew with SAS a few weeks ago into Copenhagen, and whatever seating they were using made that flight by far the most comfortable I've ever been on a flight. There was ample legroom in Economy and the fly itself was smooth all the way. Certainly a lot better than the 737s I usually end up on!

Long Time Lurker

Fokker 70. I honestly never flew on a smoother aircraft. Possibly just lucky but every flight was a delight.

MuffinsDa

1. MD11 (PH-KCA): feels like from a different (more comfortable) era of flight, don't know why or how.
2. 747-100 (EP-IAA)
3. Embraer E-Jet

Generally I prefer planes that have a 2-2, 2-3 or 2-4-2 config, so don't mind A330 and A340s either. MD-11 was an exception (3-3-3 and still nice) though.

Naked Lepper

A380 by far
feels like an apartment block taking off, so smooth and big and can still barely hear the engines

least fave has to be MD80

Stinicker

A380 is the best for long haul, Emirates and Etihad's Boeing 777-300ER with ten a breast seating is by far the worst I've ever been on, especially emirates if you get the window seat with the IFE box underneath, practically zero legroom and I'm just 5ft 7. British Airways 747's are a second close behind for worst category with limited space.

Cosmo Kramer

Managed to bag a two seater by the window on the upper deck of an A380 from CDG to JFK back in 2011. It is a fantastic aircraft, feels completely different during take off to any other I have flown on.

PukkaStukka

highlydebased wrote: »

Also enjoy the ATR for a more "raw" experience!

Seconded! Can't beat 'em for back to basics flying. Anything Boeing or Airbus is equally fine if a little "common".

I cannot abide being at the rear of an MD80 in between the engines. An utterly attoricious experience to subject anyone to.

Rawr

Stinicker wrote: »

A380 is the best for long haul, Emirates and Etihad's Boeing 777-300ER with ten a breast seating is by far the worst I've ever been on, especially emirates if you get the window seat with the IFE box underneath, practically zero legroom and I'm just 5ft 7. British Airways 747's are a second close behind for worst category with limited space.

That's what happened to me on an A340. Being an unknowing eegit I booked a window seat thinking "Brilliant! I'll get a view!". Sure I did...but the price was a serrated metal box pinching my leg.

What annoyed me the most was that I could have booked an aisle seat with easy bathroom access and still had a good view via the cameras on the IFE!!

I'll know better in future

Henry Ford III

A340 for quietness and B757 for runway acceleration.

I was on a Ryanair B737-800 recently and it was so smooth. Weather was perfect.

scudzilla

In all my years of travelling i have never flown on a 757 or a 767 :eek:

Locker10a

I must say i like the classic 737s, MD-80s and ATR, I like something noisy and where you can actually feel you are flying/on a plane! ( maybe not for longer flights!!! ) :P

L1011

scudzilla wrote: »

In all my years of travelling i have never flown on a 757 or a 767 :eek:

Took me until May and a few hundred total flights to get a 757 - its nothing to be ashamed of

Only had one MD11 r/t with the way out being after being told I was put on standby (with a booked, confirmed, paid ticket) and getting the last seat and the return (despite being Premium Economy as an apparent apology for the first leg) being shoved between the two parts of a Quebecois couple who yapped and passed stuff over me for the entire flight so it wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been...

BeardySi

A DC-3! Would love the chance to have another go.... It's an odd feeling walking uphill to your seat!

Wicklowleaid

A380. The low noise level at take off is amazing for an aircraft if the size it is. Very smooth and effortless.

jasT1981

MD80 and Tri-Star would be my two favourite, 747 close behind.

Simon_Gunson

Viscount was a sweet darling with huge big windows and a huge cabin. Always gave you a sense of security fling in those.

dogmatix

Simon_Gunson wrote: »

Viscount was a sweet darling with huge big windows and a huge cabin. Always gave you a sense of security fling in those.

Thanks for reminding me - I must add this to my list of pleasurable flight experiences. I flew on a Ryanair Viscount back in 1990 from Liverpool to Dublin (flew out in a BAC 1-11). I was surprised at how smooth and comfortable it was for such an old aircraft.

wildefalcon

BAC 1-11: Takes off like it was stolen! Most other aircraft - I go to sleep as soon as it rotates.

Davidth88

Flew a lot on DC9-80s to Sardinia. Great if you were up front . If you were behind the wings it was deafening. Now I loved the Tristar too.

Simon_Gunson

dogmatix wrote: »

Thanks for reminding me - I must add this to my list of pleasurable flight experiences. I flew on a Ryanair Viscount back in 1990 from Liverpool to Dublin (flew out in a BAC 1-11). I was surprised at how smooth and comfortable it was for such an old aircraft.

Mine was a National Airways Corporation (NAC) Viscount 807 in New Zealand October 1968 from Dunedin to Christchurch. I was later fortunate to get a ride on one in 1972 for some crew training including some exciting emergency descents.

Yeah they were silky smooth and I still remember looking out at those RR dart engines bouncing as the wings flexed in turbulence. The old girl just took it in her stride.

Fokker Friendships had the same big oval windows but were not quite as nice as the Viscount.

ldnboy87

Embraer E190 from LCY to BSL - had that nice biz-jet feel and the fast take off from LCY is great.

Either that or my first long haul experience on a Singapore Airlines 747-400 in 1997 (LHR-SIN, SIN-SYD). I was amazed at the size of it and the personal IFE TVs with super nintendo games included kept the 9 year old me entertained for the duration of the flight. Don't think I slept the whole time I was on board.

owenc

The 757-200 and the 737-800.

I hate the A320/A319, I am flying Easyjet a319 next week and I am not looking forward to that.
Everyone whines about Ryanair but at least their seat pitch is acceptable!

folbotcar

dogmatix wrote: »

Thanks for reminding me - I must add this to my list of pleasurable flight experiences. I flew on a Ryanair Viscount back in 1990 from Liverpool to Dublin (flew out in a BAC 1-11). I was surprised at how smooth and comfortable it was for such an old aircraft.

Ryanair? I don't think they ever operated any. I'm guessing it was a British Air Ferries wet lease for Ryanair.

But I completely agree I flew on a Virgin Airways Viscount (again BAF, I think) and it remains the most pleasant airliner I ever flew in. Comfortable with great views out of those oval windows.

To me all modern airliners are the same, uncomfortable and forgettable.

owenc

Fabio wrote: »

Regardless of airline service/livery/entertainment etc what is your favourite aircraft to fly in?

I flew SNN-JFK within the last few weeks on one of Delta's Boeing 757-200s and it was really pleasant despite the fact it is single-aisled. Fair enough you don't really have anywhere to stretch your legs but the 757 just "feels" solid and the take-offs are always fun. Smooth landings too. The only thing is that I felt it was a little noisy, but then I was sitting behind the wing. To be honest, and despite what I say above, Delta's layout of the cabin did make a difference as regards how modern this old bus felt but still...a nice plane to fly in. On the home leg there was some turbulence mid-Atlantic which woke me from my sleep but apparently the 757 has a fairly solid wing, it does not flex as much as other equivalent jets, and thus this passes on the effects of turbulence to the cabin. Not sure how true this is but I did feel it!

Flying on an MD-90 prior to that leg on the 757 was different. It did seem a little dated inside, I'm not sure has it stood the test of time as well as the 757 (but then I don't know how old either one was etc...). I was seated in the first row behind Business Class and what a quiet ride that was. It was so interesting to hear the engines spool up but to hear that happen far behind you. It was amazing during the climb, so quiet! Not to mention it was a beautiful take-off. There's something about that high tail design that really gets me too, lovely plane. Kent Wien did a nice video of the MD-80 cockpit on youtube actually. I don't have a link but do a Google of that and you'll find it in his "Cockpit Chronicles" series of vids from the front seats.

I love the A330 to fly in simply for the space. There's a sense of grace to the widebodies as well I feel, just getting all of that metal into the sky.

Anyway, what are your favourites to fly in?

I flew United 757-200 on 4 sectors a few months ago. They have fantastic seats and service.. I would say that you could fly on their aircraft for 8/9 hours before feeling uncomfortable.

I have flown on airlines where I can't even sit for 2 hours without getting uncomfortable so this is particularly good. Their window shades were a bit tired though..

owenc

Stinicker wrote: »

A380 is the best for long haul, Emirates and Etihad's Boeing 777-300ER with ten a breast seating is by far the worst I've ever been on, especially emirates if you get the window seat with the IFE box underneath, practically zero legroom and I'm just 5ft 7. British Airways 747's are a second close behind for worst category with limited space.

Who is honestly going to get to fly on that though?
Most people aren't going to be going to Australia for a holiday.

owenc

fits wrote: »

After today's experience, its definitely not a Boeing 717. Although I think it must have been the first officer's first day on the job.. I dunno.

I flew on an Air Tran one of those. God awful.. :mad:

billie1b

folbotcar wrote: »

Ryanair? I don't think they ever operated any. I'm guessing it was a British Air Ferries wet lease for Ryanair.

But I completely agree I flew on a Virgin Airways Viscount (again BAF, I think) and it remains the most pleasant airliner I ever flew in. Comfortable with great views out of those oval windows.

To me all modern airliners are the same, uncomfortable and forgettable.

Ryanair operated a BAC 1-11 from 1987 until 1994

ProfessorPlum

Think he was talking about the Viscount.

owenc

I can't see whats so fascinating about small planes. I've flown on 717 and a dash aircraft and both were terrible to fly on!

Constantly bumbing about with very little room to move. It has to be at least 3x3 for me.

billie1b

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

Think he was talking about the Viscount.

Yes most likely, I read it wrongly

Wicklowleaid

While we on retro small planes Aer Lingus Fokker 50 back in the day wasn't a bad spin across the Irish sea.

man98

Wicklowleaid wrote: »

While we on retro small planes Aer Lingus Fokker 50 back in the day wasn't a bad spin across the Irish sea.

CityJet got a load of EI's Fokker 50s... do they ever come into Dublin (except the Cambridge one) ?

Tenger

owenc wrote: »

Who is honestly going to get to fly on that though?
Most people aren't going to be going to Australia for a holiday.

I have been to Oz twice on hols. Also had a family wedding there 2 years ago.

The thread is "fav pax aircraft" not "fav plane to go on holiday on"

owenc

Well most people ain't going to be paying £20,000 + for a holiday. The people on this forum are all business men.

L1011

owenc wrote: »

Who is honestly going to get to fly on that though?
Most people aren't going to be going to Australia for a holiday.

Anyone who needs to fly to where they fly them to. Which is a lot of people every year.

owenc

Well most I know stick to America and Europe for holidays.

People only goto Australia once in a while.

Third_Echelon

B747 has to be my favourite... The queen of the sky!

Closely followed by the B777 and A330.

B757 is a beautiful aircraft to look at, but not great comfort wise for transatlantic. Single aisle on a long flight can be awkward.

Not a fan of the B767. Been on a few of the old American Airlines B767s and they are old and tatty on the inside. Haven't been updated since the 80s I'd say

Still haven't been on an A380, but looking forward to the day when I get a chance to go on one!

L1011

owenc wrote: »

Well most I know stick to America and Europe for holidays.

People only goto Australia once in a while.

And the relevance of this is?

Wicklowleaid

MYOB wrote: »

And the relevance of this is?

Relevance never stopped the nonsense before... Agh well it was an enjoyable quiet and on topic month!

LoonyLovegood

I enjoyed Aer Lingus' A330 going to Boston, mainly for the decent IFE. I've flown on a Delta 767 and it wasn't great. 757s are nice too. I've never been on anything smaller than an MD-82.

lord lucan

Can we all keep on topic please,destination has nothing to do with the topic at hand,only the metal that takes you there.