I’ve flown on a Boeing 747 multiple times, from Philippine Airlines to Lufthansa. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed during boarding, it’s that no one boards the upper deck directly via an air bridge. Unlike the Airbus A380, where people can board both the upper and lower decks directly, the only way to the 747’s upper deck is to take the stairs from the lower deck. I haven’t seen any airport provide direct access boarding. So why can’t you board a Boeing 747’s upper deck directly? There are three reasons why.
It’s Not Feasible
If you notice among commercial airlines that use the Boeing 747, the upper deck is where some first-class or business-class seats are located. You barely see them crammed with economy-class seating. During the 1980s, some airlines had a lounge on the upper deck of the 747. Since the upper deck contains only a small number of seats, it wouldn’t be feasible for airports to build an extra air bridge that leads directly to the upper deck.
Unlike the 747, passengers can board the A380’s upper deck directly via an air bridge. That’s because the second deck of the superjumbo stretches all the way throughout the cabin, unlike the 747, which takes up barely half of the cabin. Hence, it might take longer to board passengers on an A380 if boarding is only done via one deck and the rest take the stairs. Just think of 400 to 600 passengers. Therefore, providing direct access to the upper deck would speed up the boarding process and would also be more feasible for airport authorities to construct an air bridge that leads to the upper deck.
Other Reasons
The second reason you can’t board a 747’s upper deck directly is that the doors on the upper deck are just there as emergency exit doors, which can deploy a slide. There’s a slide in the door’s mechanism that would block the air bridge. Last but not least, since the upper deck door is primarily an emergency exit door, it swings upwards, not sideways. This makes boarding via air bridge directly more complicated.
So I hope this gives you a simple explanation as to why boarding on a Boeing 747 is limited to the lower deck only. The 747 is definitely missed, and I personally miss seeing them in the sky. Seeing a 747 is definitely a treat; however, some carriers continue to fly the Queen of the Skies’ latest passenger version, the 747-8 Intercontinental.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
