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Originally posted by PhiPsiRuss
Boeing really missed the boat on this one.
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Not quite... plans have been floating around at Boeing of a full double-decker 747 for many years. (Only the upper deck has been stretched on the 747-300 and -400 models, though some late-model -100s and 200s have had the stretched upper deck as a retrofit.) Wouldn't take very long for Boeing to dust off the plans and offer it for sale, if they get any takers.
While the 747-400 may look nearly identical next to its older 747-100, -200 and -300 siblings, it's a completely new build with newer technology that wasn't around when the 747 first took flight in 1969. Plus, it would be able to use the existing 747 airport infrastructure in many large international airports.
Early 747s used to have a first-class lounge on the upper deck - originally Boeing wasn't even going to use that space for passengers, until the late Juan Trippe of Pan American insisted otherwise. (Easy way to tell on short upper deck 747s: the early 747s had a 3-window upper deck; later aircraft have 10.) Lounge areas extended also to business and economy classes on the main deck. However, 747s turned out to be too big of an aircraft for most domestic routes, and the lounges gave way to additional fare-paying seats. The upper deck now is used mostly for business class seating and a crew rest area.