Since the thread is back, I'll chime in.

One poster mentioned that one should avoid Russian aircraft. Why?
I've had my time on 154s and 96s - they're not bad at all. Sure, the interior may not be on par with some of the better western and Asian carriers but some people are just plain spoiled.
Especially I love the 96's lack of center bins - it makes it feel spacious, REALLY spacious.
I gotta admit, the 86 was a bad plane (boarding through the bottom air strairs WITH the bags, then leaving them down there and then going upstairs to the seat... ugh). Let's hope none of the western carriers get any money-saving ideas like that... self-service bag handling!