Planes are beautiful, and widebodies are just gorgeous. Widebody aircraft are defined as aircraft with two aisles between seating. The first widebody airliner was the Boeing 747, which entered service in 1970. As the years went on, more and more types of widebodies were built, such as the DC-10, Boeing 767, and Boeing 787. But today, with the preference of frequency over capacity, widebodies have decreased in number, and very large aircraft (747, 777-300ER, A340-600, A380 etc.), are an endangers species, especially in the US. That being said, here are the best airports to fly through in order to see certain aircraft types, and other categories of widebodies.
Boeing 747- London Heathrow Airport
This one should be pretty obvious, as LHR is the number one long-haul airport in the world. British Airways operates its largest hub here, and British Airways is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 747. At some times during the day, Terminal 5 looks like a 747 production line!! Many other airlines operate the 747 to LHR as well, because it is the premier long haul destination in Europe.
Boeing 747(USA)- Los Angeles International Airport
This was a tough one, as no US airport really has a hubbing carrier based there with 747s. United at San Francisco might be the only one. But Los Angeles International gets a wider variety of service on the 747. China Airlines, Korean Air, Qantas, Air China, and many others operate flights there throughout the day. Check out the Tom Bradley International Terminal to see most of them.
Boeing 767-Hartsfield Jackson International Airport
This is a bit of an obvious response, as Delta operates its second largest international hub at Atlanta. And the majority of the international service is 767s across the pond to Europe. The International Terminal is just clogged with these babies. Alternatively, Delta operates a significant number of services across the Atlantic from New York JFK.
Boeing 777-Singapore Changi Airport
Again, Singapore Airlines has its largest hub there, and they are a large operator of 777s. They also fly them on mostly short haul intra-Asia routes (unlike Emirates), making this the best place to see them due to the great number of turns. And SQs livery is just plain gorgeous.
Airbus A330-Hong Kong International Airport
Cathay Pacific operates a large number of A330-300, as do their low-cost wing Dragonair. The airlines mostly operate them on sub 3 hour flights, leading to large flight volumes. HKG also has the highest proportion of widebody flights in the world, something that has been true since the Kai Tak days.
Airbus A340-Madrid Barajas Airport
Iberia uses a large number of A340s for its services to Latin American airports, which require the performance of 4 engines due to their altitude and temperature. The aircraft can be seen on the Terminal 4 ramp throughout the day. And the airlines of Latin America operate the A340 there as well.
Airbus A380-Dubai International Airport
This one should be obvious, as Emirates will eventually operate 58 of the type
Douglas DC-10,McDonnell-Douglas MD-11, Airbus A310-Memphis International Airport
FedEx Express operates a large number of these types, as passenger airlines have retired them for fuel efficiency purposes. Memphis is the world's larges cargo hub, and spotters should be able to see them throughout the day.
Airbus A300-Tokyo Haneda Airport
Japan Airlines still operates a decent number of A300, and with short stage lengths (they're mostly used domestically), one can see them all day.
So get out and planespot today (not a word, I know)