Best Air Craft

[Hong Kong Layover]

could you guys who have been flying for some time on different air craft types ,tell about the best air craft type/experience you had,and why?

Hong Kong Layover.

[MinimumRest]

757-200 - Not too big, not too small, nice amount of crew, decent sized galleys, can do long and short haul - lovely!

Worst was the Embraer 145 - too small, used to hit my head on the ceiling daily (and I'm 5'2''!) small overhead lockers, climbed like a rocket so ears ALWAYS popped, no door at the rear crew station, no reverse thrust so a bit jolty on braking after landing, and the rear crew seat folded away behind last row, meaning when you pulled it out you were sat in the aisle inbetween pax, like you were on a sofa with them :ooh: Saying that it's a fab jet from a pax point of view.

MR XxX :p

[flyblue]

B777 anf A340/330 get my vote. They are the latest generation of aircraft. They have all that gizmos that make your life easy (C/C and pax) inside, like electronic panels from which you can control absolutely everything in the cabin (lights, temperature, entertainment system, fires, inoperativities, doors etc), and a personal screen with movies, games, etc on each seat, economy included. And let's not forget the spacious crew rest bunks, especially on the Airbuses.

[rupetime]

"like electronic panels from which you can control absolutely everything in the cabin (lights, temperature, entertainment system, fires,"


A control panel that controls fires - wouldnt you just want to put it out not control it ?

[homesick rae]

QR Classic 747s!!! (ha ha) For the space any way!;)

[flyblue]

rupetime!

I meant fire detection of course!:D

[lagerloutflyer]

have to agree with MinimumRest 757 was a fab aircraft to work on. Loved my No2 position down the back. Having said that the old MD 87 was a fun aircraft, depending on who crew was. Its amazing how many hiding places there was!

Worst had to be J31....need I say more!

[Tomb Raider]

Have a bit of a soft spot for the ol' Tristar,as it was the first I ever worked on,also liked the 757 too.
777 is pretty good,but for me,the 747-400 is the "Daddy". Size matters,as they say!

[qfmike737]

I have a soft spot for the old DC-10 I think they look soo beautiful...there is some amazing footage of some older DC-10s flying around. Oh and Greg Normans 737 that is Fantabulous! and good old Air force 1!!! I'd love to ride that thing!

[TightSlot]

I'll take 767-200 any day - buckets of power, goes like stink! take off and land anywhere: goes nice ,n high where it's smooth. Not too long so nice ride throughout in light turb. Quiet cabin with reasonably good aircon. Love it!

767-200 :ok:

[transponder]

I always liked the main deck galley on the SP. Out of view of pax and with its own windows. We'll never see that again... unless someone knows something about how the A380's galleys will be set-up?

[hottowel]

Hi Guys

Well it's got to be the B757 - only because I knew the Monarch services and drills back to front, but for fond memories was the A330 for good trips and a laff with the crew on the night flights. That rear Galley was vile tho and the 8/9 crew positions in the rear were vile too.

[MinimumRest]

Good point TightSlot, the 762 is pretty nice. Always liked the 'work from four corners and meet to finish' type cabin service, which even I couldn't get wrong :p And there is plenty of workspace in both galleys, no need to pull those stupid tables out that stow away! Plus drinking fountains! Oh, I'd forgotten the joy of sending the pax there each time they ask for water!

MR XxX

[PAXboy]

Any comments from those that worked on Concorde?

He says, clasping his precious, newly arrived, ticket to his heart ;)

[Thunderbird One]

All the Airbus fleet are quite nice to work on. Worst HAS to be the ATP!

[Xenia]

Convair 580! :p
But maybe some of you are 2 young to know it ...
Ahhhh ... that incredible feeling of riding with Indiana Jones I'll never forget!!! :E

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=103519&WxsIERv=Q29udmFpciBDVi01ODA%3D&WdsYXMg=QXZlbnNh&QtODMg=Q2FyYWNhcyAtIFNpbW9uIEJvbGl2YXIgSW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbCAvI E1haXF1ZXRpYSAoQ0NTIC8gU1ZNSSk%3D&ERDLTkt=VmVuZXp1ZWxh&ktODMp=Tm92ZW1iZXIgMTEsIDE5Nzc%3D&WNEb25u=Sm9obiBQLiBTdGV3YXJ0&xsIERvdWdsY=WVYtNTND&MgTUQtODMgKE=&YXMgTUQtODMgKERD=NzA4&NEb25uZWxs=MjAwMC0wOC0xOQ%3D%3D&static=yes

[TightSlot]

:p
Come on then, wicked moderator - tell us all how it is that you worked on the Convair? Assume you also made coffee for the Wright Bros?

[Xenia]

I did indeed!I flew on the CV580 .... Must confess I was a very young chick then http://digilander.libero.it/doniuccia/faccine/Varie/11baby.gif
Aviation nostalgia http://digilander.libero.it/doniuccia/faccine/Felici/tao2.gif

[Hong Kong Layover]

What about the good old lockheed tristar'? although I ve been flying on one of the latest fleets now,I still miss those wonderful air crafts. best out the lot was the -500 series, so big and spacious! on -100' enjoyed working in the under flow gally a lot and a smoke too!!!

Apart from that, A-340 and the A-330 are fab! although not yet flown on B-777 as crew,heard a lot about the air crafts user friendly systems.

However,for me,any day the "fly by wire" Air bus technology is the best,and no comparison to the rest!

Hong Kong Layover.

[go flyer down the back]

me thinks airbus a321

[Cliff]

I didn't like the B737-800/900 and the Airbus A310, the B737-800/900 galley is too small and there are only two toilets in economy class. The business class toilet is behind the cockpit so passengers have to walk through the front galley. I am so glad I don't work on the B737 anymore and the A310 left the KLM fleet in the mid 90's.

I like the B767-300, it is not too small and not too big. There are three galley's on the KLM B767-300. One in the front for Business Class, for Economy Class there is one galley in the middle and one in the back. Two cabin attendant work in each galley. The only things I don't really like about the B767 are the smaller luggage bins.:bored:

[idgas]

Best Aircraft...?

The one I'm not working on!!

Cheers, :cool:

PS Tristar (L1011-200)

[Hong Kong Layover]

idgas,

I agree with you. L1011 tristar-200 is a good air craft to work on too!

[cabinboy]

Biccy chucker,

Would love to come and do a days work experience on the 762 with you, love the sound of the QF pratt and whitney engines they have on them - it will be sad to see them go so soon.

Gotta love the Dash 8-100/200 - no other f/a in the galley to get in your way ! Dash 8-300 not so good to work on, the rear galley it hot and when there is 50pax on board there is absoloutley nowhere to put anything down or nowhere to move !:ok:

[corsaman]

I just loved the Dc9-15 series - it really sounded like a jet when it screamed into the air, it pointed nose down to the ground on finals, had an aisle so wide you could turn a cart round in it, and seats like armchairs. The seatbelt/no smoking signs were engravings onto a metal plate on the bulkhead - an orange light came on to light them up. Finally, it poured condensation over the two c/s at the back constantly - pure class. Makes the B737NG seem utterly boring now!

[Xenia]

Me think B737 No Good :suspect:

[Hostie from Hell]

My fav has got to be the BAe 146.

Also liked working on the Tristar although found it rather spooky, especially the UFG:uhoh:

[qfmike737]

Although I actually get ringing in my ears when I spend alot of time on the tarmac I love the sound of the 727s! they have older jet engines which totally scream! :-) On the other hand the 717s are so awesome because they are sooo quiet! From a catering point of view....they are also FAB to work on! really quick and easy to clean and coz they use fresh air..they dont smell so much.

[Evacu8]

Hmmm ...favourite would have to be the B747 -SP . Great main deck galley (windows !!), not too big and not too small.

And the original wallpaper that was still in the loos when they left the QF fleet...... it was like something out of Austin Powers --- seriously 'groovey' !!! I liked the staircase too, had some class. Besides, they looked cute :)


I also like the current 3 class B747-400. All seats have individual screens/ games/ phones ....keeps the pax happy and entertained..... it has a good CSM station ( a bit of privacy).... and I love any plane with crew bunks ;)


Worst would easily be the B747-300 :yuk: :yuk: :yuk:. They smell, leak water everywhere, have no individual inflight entertainment in Y/C .... but they are getting revamped with the new ifnlight entertainment system/ new loos/ seats/ interiors etc so they may get better ..... but I still say get rid of em :suspect:

Equal worst would have to be the B767 .... they may be great for domestic flights.... but try bein on them for 10 hrs !!! I avoid flying on them whenever I can.

I am very curious to see the A380, and even more so to see how many crew will work on them !!

[RMC]

76 any day -size does matter.

[Ianj]

Hated working on the 737-200 (the smell from the loo's were absoutley vile!!)

737-800 were nice and modern but just two small, pax staring into the fwd galley when trying to eat!

Now working on the 757-200, love them, not too big or too small! enough space to eat and hide from pax!

:D

[Bodum]

Would have to agree, the 738 up front is not the best, whats with the ovens? Quite enjoy the A330, but not L4 or R4...she sways somewhat :yuk:

Also like the 767-300 Ace. 8 doors, 8 crew, service flows well.

Worked the Dash 8 for years, apart from the noise, enjoyed working the 100/200 on my own. Loved the company on the 300, but that rear galley (should be called kitchenette) is just hideous. And on a 300 minus APU....words cannot describe :{

I too love the sound of the 767-200 engines. Not sure if they will get rid of them just yet. EAM has had a slight cabin refurbishment, with a clean and new seat covers in economy. Like working up the front on those :O

Happy flying all :ok:

[flyblue]

We must consider that every company has a different layouts and configurations for its aircrafts. I have visited ,B777, A330, B737 who looked completely different from the ones I use to fly. Even the galleys and number of toilets may vary. I can remember having visited 2 aircrafts side by side, a B767 and a B777 belonging to different companies, and the B767 carried more pax than the B777 (no First and Business, and minimum pitch on the 767).

[qfmike737]

Yeah Flyblue totally...for example Greg Normans 737 haha ....you'd love crewing in this aircraft guys!!!

The interior colours of aircraft can make a big difference for example...Air New Guinea is sooo refreshing when you first step onboard! It's interior colour scheme from the seats to the headrests! is soooo inviting!....also Air New Zealands long haul aircraft :-) is refreshing rather then sterile environment.

[jace]

777 777 777 777 777 what more can i say just loved it!!!!!

[aeroflirt]

Does anyone remember the deep joy of the DC10s when the chemical lavs down the back used to flood midflight ?

Best to work on are the 777 A series with overhead bunks fitted at doors three. Loads of room in the rear galley with TWO sinks and not too much disturbance from turbulence when the bunks aren't in the tail.

[flyblue]

aeroflirt,
Do you have a particulr reason to prefer the Overhead Crew Rest?I personally prefer Lower Crew Rest because they are less noisy.

[aeroflirt]

The overheads were designed for my airline after the lower lobe version. They have a toilet and seating area as well as bunks. The lower lobes only have bunks which means they are really only useful for sleeping (well I can think of one or two other uses but I don't think the company would approve). They are very cosy though (Lower lobe bunks) and the effect of turbulence seems less down there. However , ours have a pax lav situated just above and every time someone flushes , you can hear it from the bunks so ear plugs are de rigeur unfortunately.

[flyblue]

I have heard Alitalia has the overhead ones on their 777 too. What else do you do in there apart sleeping??? I know if someone attempted to do anything but sleeping or reading here he/she would be shot instantly. I'm beginning to think I'm in the wrong airline :p
No flushing noise though on our LCR, so maybe it depends on the location of the toilets (but it happened a couple of times in the A340 to hear squeaking noises when someone walked on the escape trap above the Cabin Chief bunk).
But do you manage to sleep without earplugs on the overhead? Are they less noisy apart of the flushing?

[aeroflirt]

Only had the pleasure once and I wasn't sleeping ......