I just read a book titled “747″ by the guy who led the 747 design in the mid to late 1960s. PanAm had asked for a plane that would at least double the 707′s capacity and most everyone assumed the answer would be a double-decker. That’s the assumption Boeing started with but then opted for the wide, single deck instead. Reasons included planning for double-duty as a cargo plane (easier to load / unload than a double decker), avoiding closed-in feeling on upper deck where fuselage curves in, and gaining more room in cargo hold on passenger version for air freight. Maybe A380 will be a commercial success by hauling more people per plane, but it’s interesting that Boeing began designing the double-decker and then rejected the idea 40 years ago.
