B744 seating capacity

[sailor joe]

Can someone please tell me the maximum certified passenger capacity of the B747-400? Thanks in advance.

[mavrik1]

I think around 420-450 would be a ball park once the sling shot mod is carried out. All e/y seats installed at minimium pitch between seats,
not much left to put in the holds.
QF moved 476 out of Darwin in the 80's as part of a vacuation before cyclone tracey hit.
Someone will have a exact number im sure.

[sailor joe]

Thanks. It must be more. I hear JAL fits about 520 on domestic routes.

[Rainboe]

You are correct. I seem to recall figures of 550 being mentioned? I think Qantas had the record lifting out of Darwin after the great cyclone.

[mavrik1]

Darwin must of been with a 200 series

[Fatter Bastard]

Cyclone Tracy was on Xmas Eve 1974. The -400 did not grace the skies until around '89.

[Rainboe]

Yes, one is aware of that having flown the thing for 8 years, and the 100/200 for 10 years! It was merely a conversational quip out of interest, but as ever the forum is always ready to pounce on the merest whiff of perceived factual error! I wasn't saying the 400 did the Darwin business, just that an identical size fuselage carried a good deal more, once, in the long past. It's called 'chat'.

The A380 is the machine now, anyway.

[sinkingship]

Maximum Number Of Occupants
PASSENGER
The total number of persons carried, including crew, shall not exceed 678, and
shall not exceed the number for which seating accommodation approved for
take-off and landing is provided.
Children who are under the age of two years, and who are carried in the arms of
passengers, may be left out of account for this purpose.

From FCOM3.

[Capn Bloggs]

Rainboe,

This is tech log, where one would reasonably expect the answers given to be correct (unlike in other Prune forums)... And no, a 744 fuselage is not "an identical size fuselage" to the DRW QF rescue machine due to the differing lengths of the big bit on the top at the front! :} :ok:

[chornedsnorkack]

The official maximum number of adults allowed on board may be 678, but I am not sure what it exactly corresponds to.

Boeing 747-400 airport guide suggests that 550 is allowed on main deck - obviously exit limited. And they offer a seatmap with 539 actual seats installed.

But the maximum seat capacity of upper deck is given as 110. Obviously tied to exits rather than actual space available. Since their seatmap shows 85 seats (6 abreast coach seats on upper deck) I do not see where the extra 25 could go.

[thenaturallevel]

Domestic? Combi?

[Stickies]

Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin Christmas day (or was it Boxing day?)1974 and,from memory,QF evacuated 676 on one flight although I am not sure how many of those were children.

[Swedish Steve]

TUIfly has a french registered B744 operated by Corsair that flys out of ARN with 586 seats fitted.
And it goes non stop to BKK!

[Intruder]

AFAIK, as far as the US FAA is concerned, the evacuation test done for certification sets the upper limit. That may be the source of the number cited by sinkingship.

[BelArgUSA]

Corsair did have a 747-300 configured for 577 pax.
Main deck, maximum 498, upper deck 79 seats.
That is the same fuselage as a 747-400... so make it 577.
xxx
:)
Happy contrails

Sorry Steve - Did not know they did beat that number with their 400...
:ok:

[ACMS]

Whilst on the subject of Cyclone Tracy in Darwin.

An Ansett 727-200 ( VH-RMV ) lifted 313 pax to ADL 3 days after the cyclone and was one of the first jets out.

Just after that in March 1975 World lifted 330 on a 727 from Dan Nang to Saigon.

So the record didn't last long.

[18-Wheeler]

Corsair did have a 747-300 configured for 577 pax.
Main deck, maximum 498, upper deck 79 seats.
That is the same fuselage as a 747-400... so make it 577.

Yep, I've flown one.
And an old ex-JAL -100 with something like 508 POB.

[archae86]

Not the answer to the original question, but on the topic of very large souls on board count in an evacuation, I think an El Al 747 flying Ethiopian Jews flew from Addis Ababa to Ben Gurion with 1087 aboard, captained by Aryeh Oz as part of a mass evacuation May 24-25, 1991.

Many references state there were 1087 evacuees--if true the actual souls on board was still more.

It was a Combi, but fitted with seats. The evacuees were small, and with arm rests raised, the expected capacity of 760 was greatly exceeded.

I don't think they asked Mr. Boeing for his permission.

[18-Wheeler]

FWIW I once worked out that you could carry something like 1200 people legally* in a 747 freighter.



* In terms of weight, not seats!

[Dan Winterland]

The JAL and ANA domestic aircraft are 747-400Ds. They have a lower MTOW, no centre tank, no wingtips and a few other mods. They fly domestic short haul around Japan, have mostly high density seating and no galleys.


The 744s my old company flew were certified for 660.

[chornedsnorkack]

you could carry something like 1200 people legally* in a 747 freighter.



* In terms of weight, not seats!

How many lower deck seats?

It is lowish - 163 cm high containers go there, so floor to ceiling is about 170 cm. But people enjoy sitting in Learjets, 150 cm floor to ceiling. So, what would a 747 be like with no cargo holds and seats installed throughout lower deck?

[lomapaseo]

Don't forget that you need evacuation doors and flight attendants to handle all these extra seats. They may be SLF but they often need a kick out a door in an emergency

[Old Fella]

Just to get it correct. Qantas lifted 673 passengers out of Darwin after Tracy hit Darwin. At the time that was a record pax load for a B747-200.

[B772]

Re Cyclone Tracey evacuation from Darwin:

An Ansett F28-1000 departed with 128 pax.

I thought a Qantas B747-200 departed with 712 pax.

[CargoOne]

FWIW I once worked out that you could carry something like 1200 people legally* in a 747 freighter.


That sounds like a innovative answer to the fuel price rise! Just double number of revenue pax and keep the fuel burn the same. :ok:

Now, how MOL can fit 378 seats into 737-800? :}

[parabellum]

I remember being on the Apron at Guam, (Civil), back in 1978 when a JAL B747, (100 or 200, can't remember now), called for start and was asked number on board, it was in the order of 530 and I'd never heard that large a load before on a commercial flight.

Apparently Guam was a favoured honeymoon destination for the Japanese and these happy little people weighed in at around 50kgs each with hardly any baggage.

[NSEU]

FWIW I once worked out that you could carry something like 1200 people legally* in a 747 freighter.

Would pax/crew be sharing oxygen masks? :bored:

[Old Fella]

B772 The figure of 673 pax out of Darwin on a Qantas B747-238 comes from the Qantas history web page and others. The first of my post-Tracy flights into Darwin was on 27Dec74 in what I understand is now the only C130A with three bladed props still flying worldwide. (ex RAAF A97-212)We never carried a record number of pax, but we did arrive into Sydney on one evacuation flight with more on board than we had had on departure. (A litter of rabbits born en route). I have never before, or since, witnessed devastation such as we saw in Darwin.

[SeenItAll]

Just one other thing to note, Darwin is close to sea level. Addis Ababa is at 7656 feet. El Al probably didn't carry too much fuel.

[Just a spotter]

well, you could always try this ...

The New York Times > Business > Image > Graphic: A Balance Between Economics and Comfort (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/04/25/business/20060425_SEATS_GRAPHIC.html)

the story (and correction) are here

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/business/25seats.html

JAS