Really big aircraft

[braumeister]

The only commercial aircraft in the world capable of seating over 800 passengers is the Airbus A380-800 with (technically) as many as 853 seats (although usually only configured with around 500). But the US Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft recently came close with 823 pax on one of its Afghanistan evacuation missions.

Here is an interesting insight into how it works (this is the primary "trash hauler" in AF use today):

The majority of my Air Force experience was with cargo aircraft, from the venerable WW II era C-47 up to the incredibly massive C-5, and especially with my personal favorite the amazingly versatile C-130.

 

[njhowie]

The Antonov AN-225 could easily carry more than the C-17 and the A380 if they loaded it up with passengers.

 

[braumeister]

The Antonov AN-225 could easily carry more than the C-17 and the A380 if they loaded it up with passengers.

All one of it? Stacked like cordwood?

 

[njhowie]

All one of it? Stacked like cordwood?

Well, certainly if they did it like that. But also the same way as they squished them all in to the C-17.

Here are my calculations:
C-17 cargo bay floor dimensions: 88 feet x 18 feet = 1584 sq feet
AN-225 cargo bay floor dimensions 142 feet x 21 feet = 2982 sq feet

So AN-225 has almost twice the amount of floor space, and could theoretically carry just under double what the C-17 did.

 

[Bamaman]

We often see the slightly smaller AN-124 in Huntsville hauling United Launch Alliance rocket stages to Florida and California.