The upper deck on the original 747s were built with only a few windows along each side, as it was expected to be used as a first class lounge, rather than filled rows of seats. American Airlines 747s also had a separate coach lounge, complete with electric piano.
Even after the lounges were removed long haul fights might still be so lightly loaded that there were entire rows with no one in them, arm rests moved out of the way so you could lay across them, or sleep on the floor; of an empty row in the darkness no one would notice you there.
Today, even though the planes may be full and the lounges long gone, on the larger planes there are still private rooms for the crew to use. The 767 has a sleeping closet for the pilot, the 777 flight attendant area looks more inviting
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| Actual Boeing photo |
One of the perks of frequent flyer is knowing the schedule when those rooms are unoccupied, so that on our flight, just before morning, we can slip out of our seat belts and explore the range of accommodations in there - grab bars, carpeted steps, angled surfaces, not to mention the extensive soundproofing... A nice reward to refresh us before we land.
