The Invincible! ...everything else is re-god-damn-diculous!
I happened upon this thread whilst searching for Final Fantasy IX images. Now, I understand that this thread may be "older than dirt" however I couldn't help but put my "two cents in."
MY personal favorite airship was in fact the Invincible from Final Fantasy IX. Some of you may argue that it had poor turning, and it "looked like something from the 50's." All that aside, I wish to argue why it is better than the rest.
First, it was wicked fast! It didn't use mist or steam engines, and possessed a seemingly--and unknown--limitless power source. Granted it didn't have the best turns...but it was in the FREKKIN air! I highly doubt that it's handling would be the best IN THE AIR!
Second, It's power! Any who played Final Fantasy IX and paid attention to the FMV's and story knew of it's destructive capability, in fact they SAW IT for themselves! Tell me--as I know of no others--what Airship could destroy massive cities in seconds with a single blast, or even steal and/or vanquish summons in seconds?
Third, the ship's integrity. What airship--save the Ragnarok--could withstand different atmospheres of pressure? The Invincible even showed the ability to travel through water. Though it was for only a short period, it possessed no problems from the pressure transition nor was it even remotely affected by the water. In addition, at the end of the game in the fight with the silver dragons, only once does the view screen flicker and in all the various angular views of the ship it suffers NO damage--not even superficial! And after the battle when using the aircraft there are NO changes in the way it handles and no one says ANYTHING about the ship's status.
Finally, the design of the ship. It was built to be a flying fortress. Not only is it a very large airship but it is also a castle as well. Personally I loved the color and metalwork. The interior design of the ship was damn near breathtaking and the bridge ROCKED! Though it possessed no windows, the bridge did possess a massive view screen made of pure energy--ultima high-definition--that gave you a sufficient view from the cock-pit.
In my honest opinion, the only downside to the ship was that it possessed no other offense beyond its "eye-weapon" on the underside.