The votes have been cast, the people have spoken -- and Boeing's (BA -0.24%) 777 wide-body airliner is officially the most popular plane in the world. Or at least according to Airfarewatchdog.com it is. Last week, AW announced the results of a poll it had conducted among more than 1,000 fliers, asking which of the world's planes they prefer to fly. The results may surprise you.
51st International Paris Air Show, 2013. Source: Paris Air Show.
For all that Boeing's 787 and 737 airliners are ballyhooed as the "fastest selling" and "best selling" airplanes in history, respectively -- they're not the most popular planes among fliers. To the contrary, both the 787 and 737 rank in the bottom half of planes fliers prefer.
So what do fliers prefer? Well, extra aisle seats, for one thing. By rather wide margins, fliers prefer wide-body planes such as Airbus' new behemoth A380, the venerable Boeing 747, and the Boeing 777, over narrower jets. Travelers also appear to value peace and quiet, giving high marks to the A380 for being "much quieter in flight."
But Boeing investors needn't despair. If fliers are slow in warming up to the 787, the plane's spaciousness may eventually win them over. What's more, Boeing planes remain by far the most popular planes in the sky, with nearly three in four respondents polled saying they'd rather travel with Boeing than in competing models from Boeing rivals Airbus (EADSY) or Embraer (ERJ -1.77%).
Without further ado, here are the winners.
