理查·奎斯特評選全球最棒 9 款客機
The World’s Best Passenger Airplanes — Ranked by CNN’s Top Aviation Expert
理查·奎斯特（Richard Quest）為 CNN 報導航空領域已有 25 年，但他一生都是個航空迷（avgeek）。少有客機是他沒踩過足跡的，無論是以乘客身份還是參觀博物館。「航空業永不停止腳步，因為人們總在尋求改進過去的事物，」他說。
He’s been reporting on aviation for CNN for 25 years, but he’s spent a lifetime as an avgeek — a lover of all things aviation. There are few airplanes CNN anchor Richard Quest hasn’t set foot on, either 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.
但是哪些客機是他的最愛？從童年搭乘 BAC 1-11 的回憶，到超大型客機時代的輝煌，他帶我們回顧了他心目中史上最偉大的客機，並講述了那些上榜機型的難忘飛行經歷。
But which are his favorites? From childhood memories on the BAC 1-11 to the glamor of the superjumbo era, he walks us through his top aircraft of all time, recounting memorable flights on the ones that made the list.
✈️ 經典客機名人堂
The Best Passenger Airplanes of All Time
9. 英國航太 BAC One-Eleven (BAC 1-11)
Retired英國航太公司（BAC）成立僅五年，其「One-Eleven」（第一款以 BAC 命名的客機）便進行了首航。這是一個強勁的起點——這款由後置 Rolls-Royce 渦輪扇發動機驅動的飛機迅速融入歐洲全新的噴射旅行時代，成為跨歐洲大陸以及大西洋（美國航空是其忠實客戶）航線的首選客機。儘管噪音巨大，且最終因歐盟噪音限制而在 2003 年淡出，但它依然是民航史上的經典之作。
The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was just five years old when its ‘One-Eleven’ — the first aircraft to bear the BAC name — made its debut passenger flight. It was a strong start — the plane, powered by rear-mounted Rolls-Royce turbofan engines, roared into Europe’s new jetset era, swiftly becoming the aircraft of choice for flights across the continent (as well as across the pond, where American Airlines was a loyal customer).
奎斯特回憶道：「這是一架你搭乘去西班牙度假的小飛機。它的後面有兩具發動機，噪音極大，我想它可能不太環保。但我還記得小時候搭乘它回到利物浦的斯皮克機場（現約翰·藍儂機場），下飛機時回頭看著它，心想：『它是怎麼飛上天並停留在空中的？』那種驚奇感至今從未離開過我。」
Quest says: It was a little plane that you went on holiday to Spain on. It had two engines at the back and it was extremely noisy and, I’m guessing, environmentally unfriendly. But I can remember coming back as a kid, getting off the plane at Speke Airport in Liverpool — what they now call John Lennon Airport — coming down the stairs, turning around, looking at this BAC 1-11 and thinking, “How did it get in the air and stay there?” And that wonderment has never left me.
8. 道格拉斯 DC-3 (Douglas DC-3)
Retired在 1929 年，如果你想飛越美國東西海岸，意味著必須進行一系列緩慢的飛行，期間還夾雜著火車旅程。這一切在 1936 年 6 月發生了改變，當時美國航空開始使用道格拉斯 DC-3 雙螺旋槳客機。這款「遊戲規則改變者」讓美國航司真正開闢了美國本土航線。它是如此具有代表性，以至於當理查·布蘭森在 1990 年代推出復古主題的 Vintage Airways 時，也是使用 DC-3 客機。
In 1929, if you’d wanted to fly across America coast to coast, it would have meant a series of hops in slow aircraft — interspersed with train rides — on Transcontinental Air Transport, which would become TWA. That changed in June 1936, when American Airlines started flying the Douglas DC-3 twin-propeller plane. This “game changer,” Quest says, “allowed the US carriers to truly open up the domestic United States.”
奎斯特評價道：「它雖然形狀有些奇特，但確實是螺旋槳時代的真正功臣，早在噴射機問世前就大放異彩。它是那個時代不可或缺的飛機，為美國航空業帶來了巨大的進步。」
Quest says: It’s a funny shape, but it was a real workhorse of an aircraft, propeller-driven long before jets came along. It was an absolute aircraft for its time and ushered in tremendous advancement for US aviation.
7. 空中巴士 A320 (Airbus A320)
In Service隨著波音近期面臨的產能放緩，空中巴士正不斷壯大。作為對波音 737 的有力回擊，這款單通道窄體客機 A320 在 2025 年 10 月成為歷史上交付量最多的飛機。根據製造商的數據，全球每兩秒鐘就有一架 A320 起飛或降落。奎斯特稱它與 737 同樣是「工程奇蹟」，是易捷航空和英國航空等短途航線的骨幹。
As Boeing’s recent woes have slowed down its production line, Airbus has been going from strength to strength — and the narrowbody A320, the French company’s answer to the 737, became the most delivered aircraft in history in October 2025. According to the manufacturer, an A320 takes off or lands somewhere in the world every two seconds. Quest calls it, along with the 737, an “engineering marvel.”
奎斯特表示：「空中巴士非常清楚自己要做什麼——建立一個飛機家族。它是一架極佳的飛機，在停機坪時，底部的渦輪會發出非常奇特的噪音。但它絕對是一架出色的客機，也是我最喜歡的機型之一，因為建造它並讓它成功運營是一項了不起的成就。」
Quest says: Airbus knew what it had to do — create a family of planes. It’s a lovely aircraft. It does have a very strange noise when you park at the gate — it’s the turbine underneath. But it’s an absolutely spectacular aircraft. And one of my favorites simply because it was an achievement to build it and to get it going.
6. 波音 707 (Boeing 707)
Retired707 是波音民航部門設計和生產的第一款客用噴射機。它與泛美航空的合作，讓這款飛機得以開啟首航，甚至說服了艾森豪總統親自出席洗禮。不久，它便迅速佔領了市場。在當時的宣傳片中，乘客在客艙裡享用手推車上切下來的烤牛肉和湯品，波音 707 成為跨大西洋旅行的終極代名詞。
The 707 was the first passenger jet to be designed and produced by Boeing’s commercial arm. Another coup for Pan Am meant the airline was able to launch the plane’s first service. It even persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to attend the aircraft’s baptism on October 17, 1958. Nine days later, it made its first commercial passenger flight from Idlewild, NY, to Paris Le Bourget. The 707 swiftly captured the market.
奎斯特回憶道：「這架飛機讓波音贏得了統治地位。它成為了所有大航司的標配，泛美和環球航空都擁有它。它是一架噪音極大的四引擎窄體機，但它是當時最尖端的技術！那些負擔得起的人，那些懂行的人，都會選擇 707 跨越大西洋。」
Quest says: The 707 was the aircraft that allowed Boeing to gain supremacy. It became the one you had to have. Pan Am had it, TWA had it — you weren’t a player across the Atlantic unless you had the 707. It was a narrowbody, with a single aisle. It had four engines — hellishly noisy. But this was state-of-the-art! Those who could afford it, those who knew what they were doing, they traveled on the 707.
5. 波音 767 (Boeing 767)
On the way out作為一個低調、默默付出而不張揚的默默工作者，波音 767 於 1982 年在美聯航首次亮相。它是波音第一款寬體雙引擎噴射機，憑藉其獨特的 2-3-2 經濟艙座椅佈局，確保了大多數乘客不是靠窗就是靠走道，備受旅客喜愛。美聯航和達美航空計劃讓其服役至 2028 年。
A steady worker who gets the job done without fanfare, Boeing’s 767, which debuted for United in 1982, left the glamor to the 747. Boeing’s first widebody twin-jet became the US manufacturer’s workhorse. It’s an uber-popular plane that Quest calls “an absolute mainstay of the fleet.” Its 2-3-2 configuration meant the majority of seats were either a window or an aisle.
奎斯特透露：「在某種程度上，它就像空巴 A330。這款飛機為航空公司的經濟效益創造了奇蹟，但乘客可能永遠不會瘋狂地愛上它。我對 767 的熱愛是基於個人的，因為我經常搭乘美聯航往返紐約與倫敦，它成為了橫跨大西洋的標準寬體客機。」
Quest says: In a certain way, the 767 is similar to Airbus’s A330. It’s an aircraft that does wonders for the economics of the airline, but passengers are never going to rapturously fall in love with it. My love of the 767 is personal because I often fly United between New York and London, and they use 767s. It was the aircraft that became the standard widebody jet for crossing the Atlantic.
4. 波音 777 (Boeing 777)
In Service這是否是史上最受歡迎的寬體飛機？很有可能。作為巨無霸與 767 之間的「中生代」，這款被稱為「三七」的飛機在其首次商業飛行中跨越了大西洋。作為全球最大的雙引擎客機，它的成功源於波音大膽地邀請啟動航司共同參與部分設計過程。如今它依然強勁，並即將由 777X 續寫傳奇。
Is this the most stealthily popular widebody ever built? Quite possibly. The middle child between the jumbo jet and the 767, the “triple seven” swaggered across an ocean for its first commercial flight, skimming over the Atlantic. The world’s largest twinjet, perhaps its popularity might be down to the way Boeing crowdsourced part of its design process, asking launch airlines for input.
奎斯特讚嘆道：「我曾搭乘 777-200LR 參與了創下金氏世界紀錄的最長商業飛行，僅搭載 34 人，從香港不落地直飛倫敦，繞了地球四分之三圈。這絕對是一架名副其實的偉大飛機，它開闢了全新的航線，讓更多人得以便利出行。」
Quest says: I was on the 777-200LR when it got the Guinness World Record for the longest commercial flight. There were 34 of us onboard, and we flew from Hong Kong to London, but we went the long way, three-quarters of the way around the planet, nonstop. It was amazing. The 777, I think, is a plane that truly deserves its accolade as one of the best, because it enables new routes and more people to fly.
3. 空中巴士 A380 (Airbus A380)
In Service這款常被親切稱為「大白鯨」或「空中巨無霸」的飛機，是空中巴士挑戰波音 747 霸主地位的工程傑作。它是天空中唯一一款完整的雙層客機，一推出便立刻成為旅客的摯愛。雖然空中巴士在 2019 年宣佈停止該專案，但至今仍有 10 家航空公司營運 A380，其中阿聯酋航空更是其最大擁躉。
Often dubbed “the whale,” the world’s largest passenger plane was Airbus’ attempt to challenge the Boeing 747’s dominance. To date the only fully double-decker aircraft in the sky, it instantly became a passenger favorite. Although Airbus announced the end of the program in 2019, today, 10 airlines still fly the A380, with Emirates being its biggest fan.
奎斯特評論道：「它是一項非凡的工程傑作。到 A380 問世時，航司對如此巨大的客機需求已不如以往，轉而青睞更高效的中型飛機。但乘客極其喜愛 A380。當它全功率起飛時，你坐在發動機旁，依然可以用日常的音量輕鬆交談，因為它建造得太完美了。當然，在阿聯酋航空上洗個空中淋浴，是極其特別的體驗。」
Quest says: It’s the most extraordinary piece of engineering. By the time the A380 came along, there wasn’t the same need for giant aircraft, but passengers adore it. You could be sitting on the wing next to the engines at full takeoff power and be talking like this — a normal conversation because it is so beautifully built. And yes, I have taken the Emirates shower, and it’s quite an experience.
2. 波音 747 (Boeing 747)
Being phased out標誌性的頭部駝峰設計讓波音 747 在 1970 年首航時便一舉成為藍天中的無可爭議的偶像。它被親切地稱為「天空之后」，是全球第一款寬體民航客機，開創了多座排空間。對於商務艙和頭等艙旅客而言，其上半層的經典螺旋樓梯和酒廊更將奢華的格調演繹到極致。最後一架 747 已於 2022 年底交付，這款油老虎正慢慢退出舞臺。
The bulbous hump of the Boeing 747 made her an instant icon when she debuted for Pan Am in 1970. Soon she’d earned the nickname, “queen of the skies.” Boeing’s long-haul flagship was the first widebody passenger aircraft, introducing generations of disposal seating rows. And for elite flyers, its first-class passenger lounge on the upper deck accessed via a spiral staircase added immense prestige.
奎斯特讚嘆道：「波音從一開始就想設計一款真正引人矚目的非凡客機。攀登那段螺旋樓梯並坐在上層，是那個時代最具代表性的奢華享受。它向世界無聲宣告著：『我成功了。』這真的是一架無與倫比、充滿魅力的飛機。」
Quest says: From the very beginning, Boeing wanted to design a truly spectacular aircraft. Only the early models had the spiral staircase, but climbing it was the epitome of glamor. It said “I’ve made it” like nothing else. If you got to ascend those stairs and sit upstairs, it was wonderful. It was phenomenal.
1. 協和號超音速客機 (Concorde)
Retired全體起立，向超音速革命致敬！當協和號於 1976 年首飛時，它證明了人類有能力以兩倍於音速（Mach 2.04，時速達 1,354 英里）的速度在優雅與格調中穿梭。從倫敦或巴黎飛往紐約僅需 3.5 小時——這在今天看來依然是個無法逾越的奇蹟。雖然極高的開發和營運成本最終導致它在 2003 年遺憾退役，但在奎斯特心中，它永遠是史上最完美的飛機。
All hail the revolution. When Concorde first sailed into the skies on January 21, 1976, she showed that humans were capable of traveling faster than the speed of sound in style — twice as fast, at Mach 2.04. Europeans could now reach New York in around three and a half hours — an extraordinary feat. Despite its retirement in 2003 due to astronomical costs, for Quest, it remains the finest aircraft ever made.
奎斯特動情地表示：「它無與倫比。不論你是通過什麼方式買票，我第一次登上協和號時，臉上的笑容根本停不下來。我有幸搭乘了紐約飛倫敦的最後一次航班。它是如此特別，當客機衝破音障時，你會感到背後傳來一下輕微的推背感。那是一段不可複製的民航黃金歲月。」
Quest says: It was like nothing else. It didn’t matter how you got on board the damn thing, I had a smile from here to here the first time I flew on Concorde. I was privileged to be on the last flight, New York to London. When they took you supersonic, you felt a kick in the back as the plane accelerated and you saw the Mach meter start to tick over. It was phenomenal.