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Double-deck aircraft

{{Short description|Aircraft with two passenger decks}}

{{More citations needed|date=December 2007}}

File:Airbus A380 cross section.svg double-deck cross-section]]

A double-deck aircraft has two decks for passengers; the second deck may be only a partial deck, and may be above or below the main deck. Most commercial aircraft have one passenger deck and one cargo deck for luggage and ULD containers, but a few have two decks for passengers, typically above or below a third deck for cargo.

History

File:Breguet Br.763 Deux Ponts, F-BASU, Air France Manteufel-1.jpg, the first full double-deck aircraft]]

Many early flying boat airliners, such as the Boeing 314 Clipper and Short Sandringham, had two decks. Following World War II, the Stratocruiser, a partially double-decked derivative of the B-29 Superfortress, became popular with airlines around the world.

The first full double-deck aircraft was the French Breguet Deux-Ponts, in service from 1953. The first partial double-deck jet airliner was the widebody Boeing 747, in service from 1970, with the top deck smaller than the main deck. Boeing originally designed the distinctive 747 bubble top with air cargo usage in mind.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} The small top deck permitted the cockpit and a few passengers and nose doors with unobstructed access to the full length of the hold. Most 747s are passenger jets, and a small percentage are cargo jets with nose doors.

The first full double-deck jet airliner is the Airbus A380, which has two passenger decks extending the full length of the fuselage, as well as a full-length lower third deck for cargo. It entered regular service in late-October 2007.{{cite web |agency=Post Wire Services |date=October 16, 2007 |title=Bed Down on the 'Bus: Jumbo Jets Going to the Mattresses |website=New York Post |url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/10162007/news/worldnews/bed_down_on_the_bus.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019043706/http://www.nypost.com/seven/10162007/news/worldnews/bed_down_on_the_bus.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2007}}

List of double-deck aircraft

{{inc-transport|date=August 2008}}

;Double-deck flying boats

;Partial second passenger deck

File:JAL-Boeing 747-346-JA8177-Fukuoka airport-20090406-172040.JPG 747-300 with the stretched upper deck]]

File:A 380 meeting.jpg]]

;Full second passenger deck

;Cargo aircraft with a separate passenger deck

;Double-deck cargo aircraft

Canceled projects for double-deck passenger aircraft

See also

References

{{reflist}}

{{Lists of aircraft|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Double-Deck Aircraft}}

Category:Aircraft configurations