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A double-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 and ULD containers, but a few have two decks for passengers, typically above or below a third deck for cargo.
Many early flying boat airliners, such as the Boeing 314 Clipper and Short Sandringham, had two decks. Following World War II, the Stratocruiser, a partially double-decked derivative of the B-29 Superfortress, became popular with airlines around the world.
The first full double-deck aircraft was the French Breguet Deux-Ponts, in service from 1953. The first partial double-deck jet airliner was the widebody Boeing 747, in service from 1970, with the top deck smaller than the main deck. Relocating the cockpit to the 747's distinctive bubble-top upper deck permitted nose doors with unobstructed access to the full length of the hold. Most 747s are passenger jets, and a small percentage are cargo jets with nose doors.
The first full double-deck jet airliner is the Airbus 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.
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Canceled projects for double-deck passenger aircraft
