Airlines across the globe fly thousands of commercial aircraft daily. The millions of passengers who take to the air each year experience a variety of aircraft types from manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus.
The Boeing 777 is a long-range wide-body jet aircraft flown by such major commercial airlines as British Airways and United Airlines since 1995. The model, one of the latest in the line begun in 1954 by U.S. manufacturer Boeing with its 707, can fly more than 11,000 nautical miles without refueling when unloaded, so it can carry passengers nonstop from Hong Kong to London. Passenger flights range from 5,240 to 9,450 nautical miles. This 242-foot-long jet can cruise at altitudes above 43,000 feet and has powerful enough engines to race from zero to 60 mph on the ground in less than six seconds, according to the Boeing website. The cabin, divided into three class sections, will seat as many as 368 passengers.
The flagship aircraft of European manufacturer Airbus is the A380, the largest of Airbus jetliner as of 2010. The double-decker wide-body jet made its first commercial flight in October 2007. Its standard configuration seats 525 passengers but provides 50 percent more floor space than any other jumbo jet, according to the Airbus website. The jet has wider seats, larger storage space and more headroom than other Airbus models and features 220 windows. The aircraft is more than 238 feet long and has a loaded range of 8,200 nautical miles. Airbus notes that the aircraft has the lowest emissions per passenger and offers the lowest cost per seat of any large aircraft. Air Austral has an all-economy-class model that can seat 840 passengers. Airlines flying the standard A380 include Air France and British Airways.
McDonnell-Douglas launched the narrow-body MD-80 two-engine jet aircraft in 1980. Boeing took over the MD-80 line---MD-81, MD-82, MD-83, MD-87 and MD-88---when it merged with McDonnell-Douglas in 1997, and production continued until 1999. The MD-80 models stretch nearly 148 feet in length and seat 172 passengers, except for the MD-87, which is slightly longer than 130 feet and carries 139 passengers. The midsize planes have a wingspan of nearly 108 feet and can fly up to 2,700 nautical miles before refueling. Carriers such as American Airlines, Swissair and Austrian Airlines fly MD-80 aircraft, as of 2010.
