What if the first wide-body airliner split classes a different way?
What if wide-body airliners split different classes of passengers left and right of the twin aisles?
When Boeing introduced the first wide-body airliner, they were the first airliners with two aisles.
What if first class passengers got the right side of the airplane, while economy class could only walk along the left aisle (assume boarding through the left, front cabin door)?
First class passengers could pay for a wide personal cabin (3 plus 5 seats wide) or a narrow personal cabin only 3 seats wide. These luxury cabins would resemble private compartments on long-distance railroads.
Luxury features (e.g. cocktail lounge, sleeping berths, yoga salon, etc.) would only be accessible via the right aisle.
When Boeing introduced the 747, they bulged the cockpit upwards to allow cargo to slide into the main deck easily. Engineers suggested a crew rest lounge in the fairing behind the cockpit.
As soon as marketing men saw mock-ups, they wanted to install a cocktail lounge for high-paying, first class passengers on the short upper deck.
Later versions of Boeing 747s doubled the length of the upper deck to accommodate more and more rows of passengers. These double-decker 747s are especially popular on short-haul routes between the Japanese home islands where they carry up to 600 passengers.
Similarly, when Lockheed introduced the L-1011 wide-body, tri-jet, marketeers suggested installing a gymnasium or piano bar in the forward lower deck. They wanted to partition the front of the lower deck to separate it from the baggage hold and charge extra for access to a lounge that included extra windows to look down at the passing scenery. Lockheed probably adopted the idea of a scenic lounge from passenger-carrying Zeppelins.
Now that many long-range airliners (e.g. Boeing 787) fly 14 or 16 hour long routes to the far side of the planet, they need two complete crews. Senior crew handle take-off and landing, but disappear into cramped crew-rest bunks hidden above the (main cabin) ceiling. Junior cruise pilots monitor the auto-pilot during mid-flight, but relinquish control as they approach destinations 10 time zones away from their departure airport.
What if wide-body airliners split different classes of passengers left and right of the twin aisles?
When Boeing introduced the first wide-body airliner, they were the first airliners with two aisles.
What if first class passengers got the right side of the airplane, while economy class could only walk along the left aisle (assume boarding through the left, front cabin door)?
First class passengers could pay for a wide personal cabin (3 plus 5 seats wide) or a narrow personal cabin only 3 seats wide. These luxury cabins would resemble private compartments on long-distance railroads.
Luxury features (e.g. cocktail lounge, sleeping berths, yoga salon, etc.) would only be accessible via the right aisle.
When Boeing introduced the 747, they bulged the cockpit upwards to allow cargo to slide into the main deck easily. Engineers suggested a crew rest lounge in the fairing behind the cockpit.
As soon as marketing men saw mock-ups, they wanted to install a cocktail lounge for high-paying, first class passengers on the short upper deck.
Later versions of Boeing 747s doubled the length of the upper deck to accommodate more and more rows of passengers. These double-decker 747s are especially popular on short-haul routes between the Japanese home islands where they carry up to 600 passengers.
Similarly, when Lockheed introduced the L-1011 wide-body, tri-jet, marketeers suggested installing a gymnasium or piano bar in the forward lower deck. They wanted to partition the front of the lower deck to separate it from the baggage hold and charge extra for access to a lounge that included extra windows to look down at the passing scenery. Lockheed probably adopted the idea of a scenic lounge from passenger-carrying Zeppelins.
Now that many long-range airliners (e.g. Boeing 787) fly 14 or 16 hour long routes to the far side of the planet, they need two complete crews. Senior crew handle take-off and landing, but disappear into cramped crew-rest bunks hidden above the (main cabin) ceiling. Junior cruise pilots monitor the auto-pilot during mid-flight, but relinquish control as they approach destinations 10 time zones away from their departure airport.