We always thought the Boeing 747 was a huge plane — with the front having two levels of seating. When Airbus unveiled its A380 years ago as a double decker for the entire length of the plane, that redefined the term jumbo jet!

Major airlines like Emirates, Air France, Asiana, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Australia’s Qantas fly the A380 on long-haul international flights. The cabins seat hundreds of people and make a Boeing 747 and 777 look small.

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The current A380s feature a “grand staircase” allowing passengers and crew to move between the two floors of the double decker jetliner. You would think that the A380 is so large, there isn’t a need to think about ways to increase seating capacity.

Think again.

Now, there are reports suggesting that newer models of the A380 may do away with the “grand staircase” in favor or a narrower one that would allow for more seats and reduce the weight of the plane. The combination of less weight would increase fuel efficiency and more seats would allow for extra passengers meaning more money.

Here is more information from stuff:

“The sweeping staircase is one of the first features passengers see on boarding an A380 and captured attention when the A380 was first rolled out as a ‘cruise ship of the skies’ in 2005.

However, sales have fallen in recent years due to advances in smaller twin-engined jets, which cost less to fly and maintain.”