Sizes of big cabins

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chornedsnorkack
Posts: 428
Joined: 21 Oct 2005, 00:00

Sizes of big cabins

Post by chornedsnorkack »

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.

Boeing 777-300 has 675 cm from nosetip to front door (and no seats in front of front doors), 52,9 m from front door to rear door (and no seats behind rear doors), 14,2 m long tail behind rear doors. Total 73,9 m.

The 747-400 has 9,50 m from nosetip to first doors, seats in nosecone, 45,6 m from first to last doors, then 15,5 m tail behind the last doors, no seats behind last doors. Total 70,7 m

So, that´s why the 777-300 has so much extra capacity... 730 cm longer between doors is enough for 70 extra seats (747-400 has 480 seats in 45,6 metres), which is more than the 747 nosecone can hold.

And now have a look at the A380 evacuated on Sunday.

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.

Airbus 380-800 has 633 cm nose in front of first doors (no seats there), 47,3 m from first to last doors and 19,1 m tail behind last doors - no seats behind last doors.
538 passengers were to evacuate the A380 lower deck on Sunday. 315 were to evacuate the upper deck, total 853 seats.

This means the main cabin is 170 cm longer than 747 main cabin. Yet it held 58 seats more. Wouldn´t this be consistent with 11 breast seating?

I mean, it is two days now from the evacuation test. 853 passengers got out in 79 seconds. Only one broke his leg. At least one wrote a blog.

Will someone tell now, how a 853 seat A380 interior looks and feels (with all seats occupied - at least none of the lap children cried, being dolls)? Pictures? Seatmaps? I hear the lavatories were all out of order... Was it 11 abreast or not? And how many seats abreast on the upper deck?

Ovostar
Posts: 939
Joined: 09 Jul 2005, 00:00
Location: GVA&LCY

Post by Ovostar »

I think these 800 signed a confidentiality paper, not to write about it on the intenet, or something like that...

KLM671
Posts: 175
Joined: 16 Jan 2006, 00:00

Post by KLM671 »

i dont think thay signed a confidence paper, as i know an article will soon come out in an aviation magazine, and that article is made by a guy who went in the evacuation test, from the top floor, if i am not wrong.

Regards
KLM671 :wave:

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earthman
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Joined: 24 Nov 2004, 00:00
Location: AMS

Post by earthman »

Was he the one who broke his leg?

KLM671
Posts: 175
Joined: 16 Jan 2006, 00:00

Post by KLM671 »

nope

regards
KLM671 :wave:

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