The world’s finest passenger airplanes — based on CNN’s high aviation skilled

He’s been reporting on aviation for CNN for 25 years, however he’s spent a lifetime as an avgeek — a lover of all issues aviation. There are few airplanes CNN anchor Richard Quest hasn’t set foot on, both as a passenger or in a museum. “Nothing ever stands still in aviation because you’re always trying to improve that which went before,” he says.

But that are his favorites? From childhood recollections on the BAC 1-11 to the glamor of the superjumbo period, he walks us by way of his high plane of all time, recounting memorable flights on those that made the listing.

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First passenger flight: April 9, 1965

Current standing: Retired

The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was simply 5 years previous when its ‘One Eleven’ — the primary plane to bear the BAC title — made its debut passenger flight. It was a powerful begin — the airplane, powered by rear-mounted Rolls-Royce turbofan engines, roared into Europe’s new jetset period, swiftly turning into the plane of alternative for flights throughout the continent (in addition to throughout the pond, the place American Airlines was a loyal buyer).

Updated into an extended model in 1967, it continued to accumulate purchasers throughout the globe, and rivaled the Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737 in recognition. While it made a number of noise, each actually and reputationally, finally these noisy turbofans led to its demise. In 2003, it fell foul of EU noise restrictions. It rumbled on, however in 2010 its European security certificates was revoked and the final mannequin — owned by US aerospace firm Norfolk Grumman — was retired in 2019.

Quest says: It was just a little airplane that you just went on vacation to Spain on. It had two engines on the again and it was extraordinarily noisy and, I’m guessing, environmentally unfriendly. But I can bear in mind coming again as a child, getting off the airplane at Speke Airport in Liverpool — what they now name John Lennon Airport — coming down the steps, turning round, taking a look at this BAC 1-11 and considering, “How did it get in the air and stay there?”

And that wonderment has by no means left me.

It’s the identical right this moment. Flying again to New York and sitting on an plane, taking off in London, abruptly, I feel… “Can I tell the moment when we’re going to take off?” I strive nonetheless to do it.

It nonetheless has me completely enthralled, the entire enterprise. I can not consider one thing extra thrilling to cowl than aviation.

First passenger flight: June 25, 1936

Current standing: Retired

In 1929, in case you’d wished to fly throughout America coast to coast, it could have meant a sequence of hops in sluggish plane — interspersed with prepare rides — on Transcontinental Air Transport, which might turn into TWA. That modified in June 1936, when American Airlines began flying the Douglas DC-3 twin-propeller airplane. This “game changer,” Quest says, “allowed the US carriers to truly open up the domestic United States.”

American Airlines’ introduction of the DC-3 on a New York-Chicago route was the airplane’s first step towards dominating air journey within the US. More than 13,000 of the airplanes would finally be produced, based on the National Air and Space Museum. Designed as a rival to Boeing’s 247, which may fly 10 passengers at 160mph, the DC-3 swiftly took the lead in significance and recognition. It grew to become so iconic that when Richard Branson launched his short-lived retro-themed Vintage Airways, which flew between Miami and Key West from 1992 to 1995, he used DC-3 plane.

Quest says: It’s a humorous form, but it surely was an actual workhorse of an plane, propeller-driven lengthy earlier than jets got here alongside. It was an absolute plane for its time and ushered in super development for US aviation.

Memorable flight: I did really get to fly on the DC-3 on Vintage Airways. Richard Branson ran the plane in conventional livery. The flight attendants wore outfits impressed by the Forties. The music of Glenn Miller from that period was performed on board. The meals that you just bought was of that point and even the magazines had been from that interval. So it was very a lot a vacationer attraction.

First passenger flight: June 26, 1988

Current standing: In service

As Boeing’s latest woes have slowed down its manufacturing line, Airbus has been going from power to power — and the narrowbody A320, the French firm’s reply to the 737, grew to become essentially the most delivered plane in historical past in October 2025.

According to the producer, an A320 takes off or lands someplace on the planet each two seconds. Quest calls it, together with the 737, an “engineering marvel.”

It is in fact sturdy in its homeland, Europe — KM Malta Airlines opted for a fleet of A320s when it launched in 2024, for instance, whereas the A320 household is the spine of short-haul flights for the likes of easyJet and British Airways. But it’s rightly beloved throughout the globe. In the US, American Airlines is the plane’s greatest fan.

It triumphed over its inauspicious beginnings. The first passenger flight — an illustration flight on the Habsheim Air Show for Air France, on June 26, 1988 — led to a crash which killed three folks.

Quest says: Airbus knew what it needed to do — create a household of planes. It’s a beautiful plane. It does have a really unusual noise once you park on the gate — it’s the turbine beneath. But it’s a completely spectacular plane. And one among my favorites just because it was an achievement to construct it and to get it going.

First passenger flight: October 26, 1958

Current standing: Retired

The 707 was the primary passenger jet to be designed and produced by Boeing’s industrial arm. Another coup for Pan Am meant the airline was capable of launch the airplane’s first service. It even persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to attend the plane’s baptism on October 17, 1958. Nine days later, it made its first industrial passenger flight from Idlewild, NY, to Paris Le Bourget. The 707 swiftly captured the market.

Quest says: The 707 was the plane that allowed Boeing to achieve supremacy. It grew to become the one you needed to have. Pan Am had it, TWA had it — you weren’t a participant throughout the Atlantic until you had the 707. It was a narrowbody, with a single aisle. It had 4 engines — hellishly noisy. If you have a look at the gross sales literature and the journey movies of the time, serving roast beef off the trolley and soup out of the terrine, the 707 was the way in which to go.

Memorable flight: The time that I used to be beginning to fly was the tip of the 707 period. I flew on it from Manchester in northern England to Tel Aviv. And it was once more, extremely noisy. But this was state-of-the-art! Those who may afford it, those that knew what they had been doing, they traveled on the 707. It very quickly grew to become the workhorse of the transatlantic.

First passenger flight: September 8, 1982

Current standing: On the way in which out

A gentle employee who will get the job accomplished with out fanfare, Boeing’s 767, which debuted for United in 1982, left the glamor to the 747. Boeing’s first widebody twin-jet grew to become the US producer’s workhorse. It’s an uber-popular airplane that Quest calls “an absolute mainstay of the fleet.” It’s been produced in every kind of iterations — longer, and prolonged vary fashions — and constructed a legion of followers because of touches of luxurious in financial system class. Its 2-3-2 configuration meant nearly all of seats had been both a window or an aisle.

Most airways have phased them out, although United and Delta plan to fly theirs till 2028.

Quest says: In a sure manner, the 777 is much like Airbus’s A330. It’s an plane that does wonders for the economics of the airline, however passengers are by no means going to rapturously fall in love with it.

My love of the 767 is private as a result of I typically fly United between New York and London, and so they use 767s. It was the plane that grew to become the usual widebody jet for crossing the Atlantic. On United 767s, enterprise class stretches again past the wing — a worthwhile use of area different airways now emulate.

Memorable flight: On one among my latest journeys on a 767, the airplane was 34 years previous. Thirty-four! Now, in fact, it’s going to fly safely, it’s going to fly magnificently — however that’s getting up there by way of plane age.

First passenger flight: June 7, 1995

Current standing: In use

Is this essentially the most stealthily in style widebody ever constructed? Quite probably. The center youngster between the jumbo jet and the 767, the “triple seven” swaggered throughout an ocean for its first industrial flight, skimming over the Atlantic from London’s Heathrow to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. The world’s largest twinjet, maybe its recognition is likely to be right down to the way in which Boeing crowdsourced a part of its design course of, asking launch airways for enter. After its profitable 1994 take a look at flight, it debuted for United the next yr.

It’s nonetheless going sturdy — so sturdy, in reality, that N777UA, the plane which made that first industrial flight, continues to be in United’s fleet.

Airlines all over the world, together with Emirates, Singapore Airlines and American Airlines, nonetheless have 777 fleets. And as this era grows previous, the legend will proceed through the forthcoming 777X. Designed to problem Airbus’ much-lauded A350, the 777X’s launch has repeatedly been delayed, however has been promised for supply in 2027.

Quest says: I bear in mind speaking to the CEO of Continental Airlines. We had been at a reception and so they had been about to do away with their 747s for 777s, and I used to be saying, “Oh, but we love the 747.” And he rotated and mentioned, “The 777 is a game-changer.” And it was, and it nonetheless is, in a way, as a result of it gave you vary, it gave you numbers of passengers, and it gave you variance.

I used to be on the 777-200LR when it bought the Guinness World Record for the longest industrial flight. There had been 34 of us onboard, and we flew from Hong Kong to London, however we went the great distance, three-quarters of the way in which across the planet, nonstop. It was wonderful. The 777, I feel, is a airplane that really deserves its accolade as among the best, as a result of it allows new routes and extra folks to fly. It was implausible and nonetheless is — and the identical will probably be true of the 777X.

First passenger flight: October 25, 2007

Current standing: No longer in manufacturing, however nonetheless in service on a number of airways

Often dubbed “the whale,” the world’s largest passenger airplane was Airbus’ try to problem the Boeing 747’s dominance.

Planned because the Eighties, its conception was introduced in 1990, and avgeeks feverishly awaited its maiden flight with Singapore Airlines in 2007. To date the one absolutely double-decker plane within the sky, it immediately grew to become a passenger favourite.

But by the point the airplane was in manufacturing, airways had been on the lookout for smaller plane. The A380, which was able to accommodating greater than 800 passengers in an all-economy configuration (although it often carried round 500 throughout a number of lessons), was now not what airline CEOs wished.

In February 2019, Airbus introduced the tip of this system, with the final A380 delivered to Emirates — maybe its greatest fan, provided that it had round half the worldwide fleet on the time — on December 16, 2021. Today, 10 airways nonetheless fly the A380, from staunch long-haul specialists Etihad, Qatar, Qantas and Singapore Airlines, to European airways Lufthansa and British Airways.

Quest says: It’s essentially the most extraordinary piece of engineering. Some folks say it was 20 years too late, some say it was 20 years too early, by way of when it was constructed. By the time the A380 got here alongside, there wasn’t the identical want for large plane that might carry massive numbers of individuals. What was wanted extra had been smaller planes that would function with higher frequency and open up new routes — in different phrases, the 787s and the A350s.

But passengers adore the A380. You and I may very well be sitting on the wing subsequent to the engines at full takeoff energy and be speaking like this — a traditional dialog as a result of it’s so fantastically constructed. And sure, I’ve taken the Emirates bathe, and it’s fairly an expertise.

First passenger flight: January 22, 1970

Current standing: Being phased out

The bulbous hump of the Boeing 747 made her an instantaneous icon when she debuted for Pan Am on a New York-London route, utilizing one of many 25 plane ordered whereas the airplane was nonetheless in growth. The hump, Quest notes, was rumored to have been designed to make conversion right into a cargo plane simpler if the passenger model failed.

Fail it didn’t. TWA swiftly adopted Pan Am. American Airlines was so eager to hitch the membership that it leased a few of Pan Am’s 747s earlier than its personal arrived. Soon she’d earned the nickname, “queen of the skies.”

Boeing’s long-haul flagship was the primary widebody passenger plane, introducing generations of vacationers to the glories of seating rows that stretched from seat A to Okay. And for elite flyers, its first-class passenger lounge on the higher deck added status.

But it couldn’t final ceaselessly. After 1,574 planes, the final 747 rolled off the manufacturing line in December 2022. The gasoline guzzler has regularly been phased out of service, however not all are gone. A couple of stay within the skies, operated by airways together with Lufthansa, Korean Air and Air China.

Quest says: From the very starting, Boeing wished to design a really spectacular plane. And it was Juan Trippe, the then-CEO of Pan Am, who decided this plane was going to be his airline’s flagship. It was going to be like nothing else.

Initially, many individuals thought it was too large — how are airports going to manage? But it was effectively structured, effectively thought by way of, and really, in a short time, the 747 grew to become in all probability the jet most individuals wished to fly on, as a result of they cherished it. It was only a magnificent plane.

Only the early fashions had the spiral staircase, however climbing it was the epitome of glamor. It mentioned “I’ve made it” like nothing else. If you bought to ascend these stairs and sit upstairs, it was fantastic. Continental, which I used to fly throughout the Atlantic, operated the 747 with the spiral staircase. British Airways had it too. I walked up and down the spiral staircases many instances. It was phenomenal. It actually set the plane aside.

Memorable flight: The first time I went to the United States, I used to be an change pupil. I used to be flying out of London Gatwick on People Express, one of many first low-cost carriers within the Eighties. I bear in mind waking up within the airport resort, looking of the window and seeing a 747 touchdown. On People Express you paid in your ticket on board the plane. The flight attendant got here together with a type of previous bank card machines that you just rolled backwards and forwards with carbon paper. I can nonetheless bear in mind the film — “Chariots of Fire,” and it was proven on the massive central display in the midst of the cabin.

First passenger flight: January 21, 1976

Current standing: Retired

All hail the revolution. When Concorde first sailed into the skies on January 21, 1976 — with sibling flights, from London to Bahrain and Paris to Rio de Janeiro — she confirmed that people had been able to touring sooner than the velocity of sound in fashion.

Not simply sooner, in reality, however twice as quick. Concorde had a most cruising velocity of Mach 2.04, or 1,354 mph. Europeans may now attain New York in round three and a half hours — a rare feat when you think about the eight-hour transatlantics that we nonetheless endure 50 years on.

A joint UK-France enterprise — with British Airways and Air France because the launch operators — Concorde’s astronomical growth prices had been her downfall. The challenge by no means broke even, and hemorrhaging funds compelled each airways to chop again their preliminary a number of routes to the one hottest one: throughout the Atlantic to New York. After the July 2000 crash in Paris, which killed 113 folks, the plane was grounded for over a yr, and regardless of resuming service, the writing was on the wall. In May 2003, Air France threw within the towel, and British Airways adopted on October 24, 2003. For Quest, who flew on it a number of instances, it stays the best plane ever made.

Quest says: It was like nothing else. It didn’t matter how you bought on board the rattling factor, whether or not you robbed, stole, finagled or purchased your ticket. I had a smile from right here to right here the primary time I flew on Concorde. I used to be privileged to be on the final flight, New York to London.

It was small — simply 100 seats — cramped and noisy. The cabin was divided into two sections — they had been precisely the identical, however folks all the time wished to sit down within the first part as a result of it was perceived to be nearer the entrance. The carpet needed to be specifically made and it needed to have elasticity in it as a result of the fuselage stretched as a result of warmth. And in case you put your finger into the hole by the door, you might really feel the warmth coming off the plane as you went twice the velocity of sound. The seats had been like workplace chairs — they weren’t large, luxurious issues. And after they took you supersonic, you felt a kick within the again because the airplane accelerated and also you noticed the Mach meter begin to tick over.

Memorable flight: On the final flight, there have been 100 of us. And it didn’t actually matter who you had been, the star of the story was the airplane. It was a tragic day as a result of I consider it was the primary time in aviation {that a} technological growth had not been constructed on — we had been really going backwards. There was no Concorde, there was no substitute, the plans weren’t there. It’s solely within the final 5, 10 years with Boom that it’s turn into a possible actuality once more. Yes, I shed a tear. If you ask me what my favourite story of my profession has been, it was the final flight of Concorde.