How Many Seats on a Boeing 737 and Airbus 380

An aircraft that is designed to transport humans can accommodate from 10 to 850 air passengers (the crew is not included). These numbers are purely statistical, and the real numbers can vary, as three major factors influence them:

1. The construction of the aircraft (Airbus, Boeing, ATR, Bombardier, etc.);
2. The type of the airplane - how narrow or wide its body is;
3. ‎The service that it offers - all-economy/coach or business and first-class.

Counting on the three factors above, Airbus and Boeing airplanes stand out from the rest. Taking into consideration the types of planes, Airbus 320s and Boeing 737s, which have narrow bodies, can have on their boards up to 200 passengers. On the other hand, their cousins like Boeing B767/757s and Airbus A330, that have a wider body, can travel with 200-300 passengers on their boards.

Considering the service that is offered by the airline, the seat configuration can be changed, and consequently, the numbers stated above can increase or decrease significantly. When an airplane offers only first-class or business-class seats, it lowers the number of seats, eventually. And on the contrary, the number of seats gets higher, in case the airline decides to set only economy seats on the aircraft.

It is necessary to list the biggest commercial airplanes in history, so you have a better understanding of how many seats can an aircraft accommodate, and we'll help you with that.

Talking about people on board and not about the number of seats, the greatest number of air passengers is 1,086. The aircraft which held this major number of people was none other than Boeing 747. It took a flight from Ethiopia to Israel as part of Operation Solomon. In fact, there were 1,088 humans on board when the plane landed, as a result of two women giving birth.

Speaking about non-emergency flights, a low-cost airline named Corsair (France) configured their Boeing 747 that resulted in a seat map of 524 chairs. This caused cheap airfares, but truly cramped seating.

The list make Boeing 777-300/200 planes, which have on their boards 550 and 440 seats respectively in a one-class configuration. Airbus A340 Family can fit in up to 475 passengers in a single-class arrangement. And Airbus 350-900 has a capacity of a maximum of 440 seats, according to its seating plan.

Although these numbers can seem high, the winner in this category is the Airbus A380 - an aircraft designed to transport a large number of passengers, a true miracle of construction. It was manufactured back in the 2000s, and its first flight dates 14 years back. The aircraft itself is a double-deck wonder, which can accommodate 853 passengers on its board in a single-class configuration. In the three-class arrangement, the aircraft can fit in up to 550 seats, which surpasses in number other aircraft of the same make, including its cousin Boeing.

In February 2019 it was announced, that the company manufacturing Airbus A380 planes will stop its work on this aircraft for some substantial reasons. Taking into consideration that the plane holds four engines, not two like its rivals, it accommodates more people than any other airplane can. In general, this is an enormous machine, the costs of whose maintenance gets absolutely high.

Therefore, the last plane of this family of giants will be crafted in 2020. But don't get upset too soon about not having the possibility to fly on this plane anymore. The future is unpredictable, and who knows, maybe big airplanes will have a comeback soon.

Last Updated on September 5, 2019.