Wide-body aircraft

"Jumbo jet" redirects here. For other uses, see Jumbo jet (disambiguation).
Some wide-body jets: a Boeing 777 of United in the foreground, one Boeing 787s and one Boeing 777 of Air Canada, and two Airbus A380s; one of Singapore Airlines and the other of Thai Airways International.

A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft and in the largest cases as a jumbo jet, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast.[1] The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to 6 m (16 to 20 ft).[2] In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast,[3] allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850[4] passengers. Seven-abreast aircraft typically seat 160 to 260 passengers, eight-abreast 250 to 380, nine- and ten-abreast 350 to 480.[5] The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m (20 ft) wide, and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations.

By comparison, a typical narrow-body aircraft has a diameter of 3 to 4 m (10 to 13 ft), with a single aisle,[1][6] and seats between two and six people abreast.[7]

Wide-body aircraft were originally designed for a combination of efficiency and passenger comfort and to increase the amount of cargo space.[8] However, airlines quickly gave in to economic factors, and reduced the extra passenger space in order to insert more seats and increase revenue and profits.[citation needed] Wide-body aircraft are also used by commercial cargo airlines,[9] along with other specialized uses.

By the end of 2017, nearly 8,800 wide-body airplanes had been delivered since 1969, with production peaking at 412 in 2015.[10]

  1. ^ a b Ginger Gorham; Ginger Todd; Susan Rice (2003). A Guide to Becoming a Travel Professional. Cengage Learning. p. 40. ISBN 9781401851774.
  2. ^ Paul J. C. Friedlander (1972-03-19). "the traveler's world; Test of a New Wide-Bodied Airbus". New York Times.
  3. ^ Doganis, Rigas (2002). Flying Off Course: The Economics of International Airlines. Routledge. p. 170. ISBN 9780415213240.
  4. ^ "Dimensions & key data | Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer". Airbus.com. 2012-09-27. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  5. ^ Ajoy Kumar Kundu (12 April 2010). Aircraft Design. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1139487450.
  6. ^ "narrowbody aircraft". Archived from the original on 2017-06-18. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  7. ^ Royal Aero Club (Great Britain), Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom (1967). Flight International. IPC Transport Press Ltd. p. 552.
  8. ^ Eric Pace (1981-05-24). "How Airline Cabins are Being Reshaped". New York Times.
  9. ^ "Wide body cargo screening still a challenge". Impact Publications. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  10. ^ Javier Irastorza Mediavilla (Feb 1, 2018). "Commercial wide-body airplanes' deliveries per year, 1969-2017".