I peruse another message board which is Aviation/Airline industry centric.
Basically armchair CEOs arguing about all sorts of minutiae.
Often, the comment is made that the average Joe doesn’t know the difference between a A-340 and a CRJ. Let alone a 737max and a 737-800. Or a 777 with a PW engine.
Other than a preference for larger planes, do you know or care what plane you are on?
I do, but I am interested in planes so I’m not sure if I count as an “average Joe”.
I even look at the aircraft type when I book flights and, if other factors are about equal, tend to favor planes I’ve never been on before.
I haven’t been on an airplane in decades, but if I was I would confidently be able to tell you whether it was an airliner or a fighter jet.
I’m on a small one, a medium one, or a big one. Sometimes I’m on an even smaller, skinny one. I can also tell if I’m on the small one with the engines in the tail. That’s five types. Back in the days of turboprops, I could tell when I was on one of them.
Of course, I flew a lot for business. I couldn’t expect the casual traveler to be that knowledgeable.
Same here, on both counts. 
I’m somewhat of an enthusiast, so I can definitely tell the difference between all the big ones (787 vs A350, etc.)
The small ones, like all the little Embraers, are beyond me and I do not bother with those.
I wouldn’t call myself an aviation enthusiast but I am at least somewhat familiar with all of the major Boeing and Airbus models, and I do at least know what a CRJ is.
As far as what I care about when flying, I mostly care about how much room I have and how comfortable it is. The golden age of aviation is long gone. The way that they pack everyone in, flying is absolutely miserable these days.
I also care about a window seat. If I’m going to be packed in like a f-ing sardine, at least give me an interesting view.
I think planes are interesting from a technology point of view, but from a passenger’s point of view I hate them all.
I’ll glance at the little emergency exit card to see what type of plane it is. And I pick seats beforehand so either my Wife or I get aisle seat/s. I’m quiet tall and window seats are a bad situation for me. Even with ‘stretch’ seating which we always get.
I like to know what aircraft I’m on but just out of curiosity, I wouldn’t say I care that much, it wouldn’t be a factor in deciding which flight I take
Same.
Regarding the 737max, while I probably wouldn’t seek them out even though it is a plane I’ve never been on before*, I’d have no qualms about booking a flight on one if it happened to be the best option.
*Mostly just because it’s just another boring 737.
Not at all a fan of CRJ-200s, but that’s a seat space thing, not an airplane thing. I wasn’t even flying Spirit or Frontier; just some sardine-can USAir flight out of Charlotte.
Been 8-10 years since I’ve flown. I doubt the experience has greatly improved.
Same here. I am aware of the type and most often of the series as well, and I visit seatguru to figure where I should sit.
Same. But 95% of my flights are on Alaska Air, and they only have versions of the 737. But I like to know if it’s a 900 or a 700, for example. I don’t care, but I’m curious.
I don’t think I’ve ever even tried to find out what kind of plane the flight will be on as I’m buying the ticket. While I’m on the plane, I’ll look at the little safety information card, and will be able to tell you “Oh, this is a Boeing 767” or “This is an Airbus 330”–I guess I’d even be able to tell you “This is a 767-300” or “767-300ER”, if that level of information is on the card in the back of the seat. I wouldn’t have any idea what kind of engines the plane has.
I don’t keep a planespotting log; the last time I flew anywhere was in August 2018 (Atlanta to Anchorage), and I haven’t the foggiest what kind of plane I flew on then.
I fly frequently (3 trips on the calendar right now) and I have never paid attention to what kind of plane I’m on. I’ll occasionally find out by accident by some means or another but I’ll promptly forget. Just not on my list of things to worry about or be interested in.
I used to be an airline pilot. I normally know the basic type I’m on as a passenger, i.e., B737, A320, B777, but not the specific variant. The exception is that I know all the specifics of the type I flew, so I know an A320 CEO from an A320 NEO, and an A320 from an A321, but I don’t know a B737 400 from a B737 700 unless I read it on the safety card.
I certainly wouldn’t know if I was on a PW powered B777.
I’m an AvGeek, so I would know the type of plan and variant as I might use it as a factor when choosing my specific airlines and times.
I wouldn’t know the engine type as it doesn’t affect the passenger experience, assuming the engine the plane took off with is still present and operational on landing.
I haven’t flown on any commercial aircraft for a looooong time – over 20 years I think. Prior to that, I hardly ever flew. But I always knew what kind of plane I was on. That kind of thing has always fascinated me.
My first flight (since I was old enough to remember) was from L. A. to Honolulu in 1966, which I was 15 years old, aboard a Boeing 707. I was fascinated by the whole experience. I got interested enough that I learned the whole product line of Boeing jets at the time.
Flying commercially has all gone to shit since then. All the Security Theater especially. Fuck that shit.
But . . .
You’re just looking in the wrong places. In recent years, I’ve flown aboard all the airplanes shown in this picture or ones just like them, and I’ve always known exactly what kind of aircraft it was. It was interesting and even helpful to know all I could about those planes seeing as how the pilot(s) let me do most of the flying, often including taking off and landing.
That’s the kind of thing you need to do to make flying fun these days.