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Adouble-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 andULD containers, but a few have two decks for passengers, typically above or below a third deck for cargo.
Many earlyflying boat airliners, such as theBoeing 314 Clipper andShort Sandringham, had two decks. FollowingWorld War II, theStratocruiser, a partially double-decked derivative of theB-29 Superfortress, became popular with airlines around the world.
The first full double-deck aircraft was the FrenchBreguet Deux-Ponts, in service from 1953. The first partial double-deck jet airliner was thewidebodyBoeing 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] 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 arecargo jets with nose doors.
The first full double-deck jet airliner is theAirbus 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.[1]
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Canceled projects for double-deck passenger aircraft
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