When booking your next flight there are a mind-numbing selection of aircraft types and others. You may think flying on one airline or another that it will all be the same experience. However, all aircraft are not created equal. Here I’ve compiled my top 3 and bottom 3 favourite aircraft to fly on if you want to be comfortable. Next time you’re booking a flight be sure to keep this in mind to make sure you can get the best flight possible. So in this article, I ask the question: What are the most comfortable aircraft to fly on?
Top Three
3. Airbus A380
My number 3 pick for best aircraft is the legendary Airbus A380. This mammoth double decker aircraft can seat over 500 passengers, which may sound overcrowded. The aircraft has so much space though that it actually feels quite room. With a wide cabin and plenty of space to walk around it is a pleasant environment to be stuck in for a long haul flight. And don’t forget the fact that airlines such as Emirates and Qatar offer a whole suite in first class and even a shower on some aircraft. No other airliner can boast that feat.
Despite being the largest passenger aircraft in the world and having 4 engines the A380 is actually very queit. Pilots even complained the aircraft was too quiet! When trying to sleep in the crew rest area they complained of being kept awake by the sound of passengers talking in the cabin. This combined with it’s large cabin and relatively spacious seats makes for a very comfortable flight experience.
2. Boeing 787
The Beoing 787 is one of my favorutie aircraft and is, in my opinion, the best looking long haul airliner. Especially in the Vietnam Airlines livery below. I would have chosen it as my number one pick if not for one big caveat! The economy cabin has to be 2-4-2 like Japan Airlines. Most airlines such as British Airways or United have configured their 787s in a 3-3-3. This means more passengers for the airline but less comfort. If you want a window seat you’ll have to clamber over 2 people to access the aisle. This complaint may not bother some people, however, as someone who will always choose the window seat and likes to regularly visit the loos, it bothers me.
Being Boeings most modern aircraft design it has all the niceties you would expect, including some of the largest windows on any aircraft. The modern engines are also designed to be very quiet.
The 787 is comfortable on pretty much any airline as far as I’m aware. But Japan Airlines has the best in my opionion. With a 2-4-2 configuration and a surprising amount of legroom every seat has easy access to the aisle. The cabin feels spacious with high ceilings and ambient lighting adds an extra layer of comfort. I tookthe 12.5 hour flight from London to Tokyo on their 787 and it flew by.
1. Airbus A350
One Mile at a Time made an article about why the Airbus A350 is their favourtie aircraft to fly on and I would have to agree. It just feels very spacious with plenty of seating room in all cabins. Large (though not as large as the 787) windows let plenty of natural light in and they have physical window shades rather than the electronic ones found on the 787. Whilst not as high tech this also means you don’t have to faff about with tempermental touch controls. The cabin is also one of the quietest I’ve flown on thanks to the efficient engines.
Flying business on the A350 also feels especially spacious as (at least on all I’ve flown on) the overhead lockers are removed in the central ceiling giving the feeling of a lot more room. Like the 787, ambient cabin lighting can help adjust the mood in the cabin, helping for a better sleep on long haul flights. And finally the cabin is pressurised to a lower altitude vs more traditional aircraft like the 777 and A330. Whilst in cruise the cabin is pressurised to ~5,500ft, vs 6,000ft on the 787 and 8,000ft on older aluminium aircraft.
Overall I love flying on the Airbus A350. The passenger experience in both economy and business is fantastic and I actually find it a relatively comfortable way to face a 12 hour flight. It also earns extra Avgeek points by having a tail-mounted camera which gives you an external view of the aircraft throughout the flight.
Bottom Three
3. DeHavilland Dash-8 (Q400)
Now don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love flying on the Dash-8, and any turboprop for that matter. Something about being able to see the propellers spin just speaks to me for some reason. It feels like very traditional way of flying. That doesn’t change the fact that the aircraft is small and cramped. Not to mention how loud the engines are. The sound of the engines during cruise in this plane feels (to me at least) as loud as takoff in say the Boeing 787.
With just 76 seats and a range of 2,500km these aircraft are just used for short, low demand routes.
The Dash-8 is also popular thanks to it’s short takeoff roll. This means it can takeoff from tiny airports which larger aircraft wouldn’t be able to service. In fact it’s for this reason that Luxair operates them from Luxembourg to London City Airport. I’ll incidently be making this flight next week on a business trip so will be sure to write a review and Youtube video shortly. Stay tuned!
2. Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 was introduced in the 1990s as a 4-engine version of the much more popular Airbus A330. A very unlucky aircraft, it was originally intended for long ocean crossings before twin engined planes were allowed to do this. However, with the advancement of ETOPS allowing aircraft such as the A330 and Boeing 777 to fly up to 3 hours on one engine, the A340 essentially became redundant before it even launched. Obviously with 4 engines its fuel efficiency is terrible, making it uneconomic to operate. This plane is notoriously sluggish, taking an age to get off the ground thanks to it’s weak engines. And of course, double the engines means (almost) double the noice.
All that being said however the A340 does boast some impressive stats. The stretched A340-600 variant held the title of longest commercial aircraft in the world until the introduction of the Boeing 747-8 in 2011. At a whopping 74.77 m (245 ft 3 in) in length. For a long time the A340-500 variant also held the record for longest range airliner. At 16,670 km (9,000 nm) it was the first aircraft to be able to fly direct from Singapore to New York.
I actually flew the Airbus A340 with Iberia back in 2015 from Madrid, Spain to Lima, Peru. It was in business class admittedly so of course it was still good. However, I still remember the aircraft feeling small, noisy, and outdated. However, it is one of my favourite looking aircraftOnly a few airlines fly the A340 nowadays, notably Lufthansa and Swiss, so fly on it whilst you still can!
1. Boeing 737
Admittedly my number one pick for worst aircraft to fly on is probably influenced more by the type of airlines that fly it rather than the plane itself. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of flying Ryanair or Wizzair you’ll know what I mean. Being said, it is the best selling airliner in history so it can’t all be bad can it?
It is undeniable that the plane itself leaves a lot to be desired. The outdated 1960s airframe just cannot compete in terms of space and comfort with its main rival, tha Airbus A320 and A220. The cabin feels claustrophobic, and leg room tends to be lacking. This is because the fuselage on the 737 is fractionally smaller than the A320. Even for me at 5′ 6″ (165cm) I feel hemmed in. Frankly I think the 737 has outstayed its welcome.
Finally, I don’t want to be fearmongering, but it is worth mentioning Boeing’s bungled development of the new 737 Max and frankly gross negligence. There’s a good documentary on Netflix about it and countless Youtube videos such as this one by Plainly Difficult. I won’t fully avoid Boeing but I will make a point of flying Airbus out of principle. And it has really given me a negative impression of Boeing management and culture.
Final Thoughts
Obviously your in-flight comfort is largely dependant on the airline rather than just the aircraft. But the aircraft being used sets a benchmark for comfort which the airlines can only adapt so far. If you don’t agree with anything on my list or have a better idea, please feel free to leave a comment!
Some airlines manage to turn this list completely on its head. For instance Singapore Airlines reportedly have a great Boeing 737 Max product, that even includes a lay flat business class seat. So if you want to find out what I think are the top 5 airlines in the world, click the link below: