Seating layouts
Airline seat maps and original historical reconstructions reveal how 747 cabins changed across five decades.
Seat maps as the airlines actually configured them. A 747 is not one cabin but two, and where you sat mattered more on this aircraft than on most. This collection now includes both airline-issued maps and original, source-linked historical reconstructions.
In this section
- Air France - the 1970 salons and the 432-seat final -400
- Air India - a 423-seat -400 with business across the whole upper deck
- ANA - the 569-seat domestic -400D and the 287-seat long-haul cabin
- BOAC and British Airways classic - the Monarch Lounge and the -200
- British Airways 747-400 - 747-400 maps by cabin
- Cathay Pacific - the -200, -300 and the final 359-seat -400
- El Al - the 408-seat original and 403-seat refurbished -400
- Japan Airlines - the 563-seat 747SR and Executive Express
- KLM - the -200, the -400 and the Combi
- Korean Air 747-8 - 368 seats with Prestige on both decks
- Lufthansa classic - the first European 747 and the -200
- Lufthansa 747-8 - both decks of the last passenger 747
- Northwest - Regal Imperial Service and World Business Class
- Pan Am - the launch cabin, Clipper Class and the 747SP
- Qantas 747-400 and 747-400ER - four documented configurations from 307 to 371 seats
- Saudia - a 424-seat -300 with the whole upper deck as economy
- Singapore Airlines - the 747-412 across both decks
- South African Airways - the 331-seat "Millennium" -400
- Thai Airways - the 389-seat original and 374-seat final -400
- TWA - the Penthouse lounge and Ambassador Class
- United Airlines - international layout with lie-flat first class
- Virgin Atlantic - 394, 424 and 455-seat Upper Class layouts
- Vintage 747 seat maps - Pan Am and United in 1970, plus Qantas 747-200B and 747SP layouts from 1986
Why the upper deck was different
Downstairs a 747 is a wide-body: usually 3-4-3 in economy, ten abreast, with two aisles.
Upstairs it is narrow and quiet - typically 3-3 in economy or 2-2 in first, in a cabin holding a few dozen people with its own galley and its own stair. Airlines used it for first or business class from the 747-300 onwards, and frequent flyers went out of their way to be in it.
On the earliest aircraft it was not a cabin at all but a lounge.
Where the seat count came from
The 747-8 Intercontinental seats 467 in three classes. The high-density Japanese domestic variants went far further: the 747-400D was certified for up to 660 passengers in a single-class layout, and the 747-300SR flew with more than 600.
Related
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the primary and institutional references below.
- 747-8 Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning - Boeing
- Boeing 747 - Wikipedia
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In this section
Vintage Boeing 747 Seat Maps
View original Pan Am, United and Qantas Boeing 747 cabin maps from 1970 to 1986, including upper-deck lounges and high-density seating.
Qantas Boeing 747 Seat Maps
Compare four documented Qantas Boeing 747-400 and 747-400ER cabin layouts, including 307-, 353-, 364- and 371-seat configurations.
British Airways 747-400 seat maps
British Airways Boeing 747-400 seat maps by cabin - First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.
Lufthansa 747-8 seat maps
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 seat maps for both decks - the launch customer and largest operator of the last passenger 747.
Singapore Airlines 747-412 seat map
Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-412 seat map across both decks, from a fleet of 93 - the third largest 747 operator ever.
United Airlines 747-400 seat map
United Airlines Boeing 747-400 international seat map, with a key to the symbols and the lie-flat first class bed.
Korean Air 747-8 seat map
Korean Air's Boeing 747-8I cabin: 368 seats across both decks, with First, Prestige business and economy, and Prestige on the upper deck.
Pan Am 747 Seat Maps
How Pan Am configured its Boeing 747s - the 362-seat 1970 launch cabin with its upper-deck lounge, the later eras, and the 233-seat 747SP.
TWA 747 Seat Maps
TWA's Boeing 747 cabins over three decades - the 346-seat 1970 layout with its Penthouse lounge, the 432-seat Ambassador Class era and the 747SP.
Northwest 747 Seat Maps
Northwest's Boeing 747 cabins - the 400-seat Regal Imperial layout of the 1980s and the 403-seat World Business Class configuration of its 747-400s.
KLM 747 Seat Maps
KLM's Boeing 747 cabins - the 353-seat 1971 -200, the 408-seat -400 and the 268-seat -400M Combi that closed the airline's jumbo era in 2020.
Air France 747 Seat Maps
Air France's Boeing 747 cabins - the 1970 three-class flagship and the 436- and 432-seat two-class 747-400 layouts that closed the airline's jumbo era.
BOAC and BA classic 747 seat maps
The first British 747 cabins - BOAC's 362-seat 747-100 with its Monarch Lounge, and the 319-seat British Airways -200 that succeeded it.
Lufthansa classic 747 seat maps
Lufthansa's classic Boeing 747 cabins - the 361-seat -100 that flew the first European 747 service, and the 389-seat three-class -200.
Japan Airlines 747 seat maps
JAL's Boeing 747 cabins - the 563-seat domestic 747SR, the 568-seat 747-400D and the 286-seat Executive Express business shuttle.
ANA 747 seat maps
ANA's Boeing 747 cabins - the 528-seat domestic 747SR, the 569-seat 747-400D and the 287-seat long-haul 747-400.
Cathay Pacific 747 seat maps
Cathay Pacific's Boeing 747 cabins - the 363-seat 1980s -200, the 415-seat -300 and the 359-seat final -400 retired in 2016.
Thai Airways 747 seat maps
Thai Airways' Boeing 747-400 cabins - the 389-seat 1990 layout, the 375-seat 2011 retrofit and the 374-seat final configuration retired in 2024.
Virgin Atlantic 747 Seat Maps
Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 747-400s flew three documented layouts - a 394-seat original, a 424-seat version and the 455-seat final refit.
Air India Boeing 747 Seat Maps
Air India's Boeing 747-400 kept a 423-seat layout for nearly three decades, with the entire upper deck given over to business class.
South African Airways 747 Seat Maps
South African Airways' refitted Boeing 747-400 carried 331 seats, with First Class in the nose and economy on the quiet upper deck.
El Al Boeing 747 Seat Maps
El Al's Boeing 747-400 flew two documented cabins - a 408-seat original and a 403-seat refurbishment, both with business class on the upper deck.
Saudia Boeing 747 Seat Maps
Saudia's Boeing 747-300 seated 424 with the entire upper deck as economy, while its later 747-400s carried 434 in business and economy.
Delta Air Lines 747 Seat Maps
Delta's Boeing 747-400s, inherited from Northwest, flew one documented 376-seat layout: 48 Delta One suites, 42 Comfort+ and 286 main cabin seats.
Air New Zealand 747 Seat Maps
Air New Zealand's Boeing 747-400 flew two documented cabins - a 380-seat two-class layout and a refit seating 379 with Business Premier.
Swissair 747 Seat Maps
Swissair's 747-300s and -300M Combis seated up to 396, with first class on the extended upper deck and combi freight behind the main cabin.
SAS 747 Seat Maps
SAS's 'Viking' 747-200Bs seated 353, with a first-class lounge on the upper deck; its Combis carried 209 - 281 with main-deck freight.
Braniff 747 Seat Maps
Braniff's three orange 747SPs were configured to seat 192 passengers in three classes - the most luxurious cabins the airline ever fielded.