Emirates Wants Triple Decker, 800-Person Jets (POLL)

If you're one of those travelers who might cringe at the thought of flying with 800 other people in a triple-decker plane around the world, you might want to steer clear of Emirates.

In an interview with Arabian Business, Adel Al Redha, the airline's executive vice president of engineering and operations, said:

I think there is no doubt about it, there will be more demand for higher-capacity aircraft, purely driven by the capacity and congestion you have at airports and airspace. It is always difficult to get slots in any international airport today…The only way to fill your need is to operate that kind of aircraft. I think the size we would look at right now is the treble aircraft configuration that goes from 500 to 800 passengers.

A treble aircraft is a three-decker airplane, which, Al Redha admitted, is unlikely to be made by any airline manufacturing companies anytime soon. Emirates, however, is currently flying A380s, which can accommodate roughly 500 people. (The airline also offers WiFi on some international flights allowing cell phone service to be used.)

But is 800 people too many to fly in the friendly skies?