The forward cabin
Concept rendering of a Boeing 747-8 cabin zone.
Boeing’s rendering of the forward cabin zone on the 747-8.
The curve running the length of the ceiling is the clearest inheritance from the 787. On earlier 747s the overhead bins met a flat ceiling panel; here the bins are shaped so the eye reads a continuous arch, which makes a cabin of the same physical width feel larger.
Boeing described the effect as being about perceived space rather than actual space — the 747-8’s cross-section is the same one the aircraft has had since 1969.
More in Interiors
Inside the 747
How the 747 cabin changed — upper-deck lounges and spiral stairs on the early aircraft, a 787-derived cabin on the last ones.
When the hump was a bar
Piano bars, swivel chairs and spiral staircases — what airlines put in the 747's upper deck before seat counts took it back.
Three staircases
Spiral, straight, then sweeping — the 747's stair to the upper deck changed three times, and each change was about floor area.
First class on the 747
Sleeper seats, upper-deck cabins and lie-flat beds — how the 747 carried the front of the aircraft for fifty years.
Galleys and crew rest
Feeding 400 people and resting the crew that does it — the parts of a 747 cabin passengers never think about.
The 747-8 interior
The Boeing 747-8 cabin — 787-derived architecture, a curved staircase, larger windows, LED mood lighting and the VIP concepts.