Can someone comment on exactly how the sizes of the big airliner cabins compare?
I examined the Boeing airport planning manual for Boeing 747-400 and 777-300.
It is hard to compare two or three class plane capacities, because the seat count is simply too dependent on how many First and Business seats you install, how much pitch, how many abreast... this is dependent on what the airline wants or what impression the manufacturer wants to leave.
But have a look on the high-density single-class configurations.
Boeing 747 routinely seats 10 abreast on main deck.
Boeing 777 is about 30 cm narrower outside, and often seats 9 abreast. But 10 abreast is quite feasible. Somewhat less comfortable than on 747, but you can do worse - MD-11, DC-10 and Tristar also sometimes seat 10 abreast, and they are narrower.
So, capacity for seats abreast is the same.
What about number of rows in standard 32 or 31 inch economy pitch? Again, rather standard Economy, and you can do worse... Virgin has 30 inches for longhaul Economy.
So. The standard 747-400 one-class seatmap, you can look it up at boeing.com, has 539 main deck seats.
747 has an upper deck. And the cockpit is there, so 747 has the nosecone cabin which other planes lack.
I counted 59 seats in the nosecone ahead of the first doors. That leaves main cabin with 480 seats. There were slightly more than 48 rows, because the toilet and galley blocks were adjacent to some part rows, and tailcone narrowed to 8 abreast.
Looking at 777-300, there was a 10-abreast seat map for 550 seats. Nosecone was for cockpit, lavatory and galley area - no seats ahead of first doors. So, the main cabin of 777-300 has 70 seats more than 747-400.
I realize that 777-300 is longer than 747-400 - 747-400 is 70,7 m long, 777-300 is 73,9 m. But where can you put 70 seats there? Can someone explain where the tweaking was?
And now have a look at the A380 to be evacuated tomorrow.
Yes, it is marketed for spacious 10 abreast economy seating. But the cabin width is 658 cm. 48 cm wider than a 747. Over 70 cm wider than a 777. Over 80 cm wider than DC-10 or Tristar.
Yes, the sidewalls are wide in the window level and curve in at floor somewhat more than on widebodies. But still. This does not eat away all the extra width.
Which looks like enough for an extra seat abreast. I am sure 11 abreast 380 would be at least more spacious than 10 abreast Tristar. Perhaps better than 10 abreast 777, too.
No nosecone seats, sure - the cockpit is on mid-level between decks and blocks the nose for both.
But it is 73,0 m long. Longer than 747. Almost as long as 777-300.
538 passengers are to evacuate the A380 lower deck tomorrow. 315 are to evacuate the upper deck, total 853 seats.
I have not seen seatmaps. But can anyone explain why A380 main deck has fewer seats than B777-300 lower deck? It should be only slightly shorter - and have the extra seat column!
Posts: 1,101
By: chornedsnorkack - 25th March 2006 at 10:56
Can someone comment on exactly how the sizes of the big airliner cabins compare?
I examined the Boeing airport planning manual for Boeing 747-400 and 777-300.
It is hard to compare two or three class plane capacities, because the seat count is simply too dependent on how many First and Business seats you install, how much pitch, how many abreast... this is dependent on what the airline wants or what impression the manufacturer wants to leave.
But have a look on the high-density single-class configurations.
Boeing 747 routinely seats 10 abreast on main deck.
Boeing 777 is about 30 cm narrower outside, and often seats 9 abreast. But 10 abreast is quite feasible. Somewhat less comfortable than on 747, but you can do worse - MD-11, DC-10 and Tristar also sometimes seat 10 abreast, and they are narrower.
So, capacity for seats abreast is the same.
What about number of rows in standard 32 or 31 inch economy pitch? Again, rather standard Economy, and you can do worse... Virgin has 30 inches for longhaul Economy.
So. The standard 747-400 one-class seatmap, you can look it up at boeing.com, has 539 main deck seats.
747 has an upper deck. And the cockpit is there, so 747 has the nosecone cabin which other planes lack.
I counted 59 seats in the nosecone ahead of the first doors. That leaves main cabin with 480 seats. There were slightly more than 48 rows, because the toilet and galley blocks were adjacent to some part rows, and tailcone narrowed to 8 abreast.
Looking at 777-300, there was a 10-abreast seat map for 550 seats. Nosecone was for cockpit, lavatory and galley area - no seats ahead of first doors. So, the main cabin of 777-300 has 70 seats more than 747-400.
I realize that 777-300 is longer than 747-400 - 747-400 is 70,7 m long, 777-300 is 73,9 m. But where can you put 70 seats there? Can someone explain where the tweaking was?
And now have a look at the A380 to be evacuated tomorrow.
Yes, it is marketed for spacious 10 abreast economy seating. But the cabin width is 658 cm. 48 cm wider than a 747. Over 70 cm wider than a 777. Over 80 cm wider than DC-10 or Tristar.
Yes, the sidewalls are wide in the window level and curve in at floor somewhat more than on widebodies. But still. This does not eat away all the extra width.
Which looks like enough for an extra seat abreast. I am sure 11 abreast 380 would be at least more spacious than 10 abreast Tristar. Perhaps better than 10 abreast 777, too.
No nosecone seats, sure - the cockpit is on mid-level between decks and blocks the nose for both.
But it is 73,0 m long. Longer than 747. Almost as long as 777-300.
538 passengers are to evacuate the A380 lower deck tomorrow. 315 are to evacuate the upper deck, total 853 seats.
I have not seen seatmaps. But can anyone explain why A380 main deck has fewer seats than B777-300 lower deck? It should be only slightly shorter - and have the extra seat column!