Airbus has patented a double-decker aircraft design that looks as though it could have been based on a children's toy. Airbus is famous for its double-decker passenger planes, most notably the A380.

The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger aircraft ever built. It typically seats between 400 to 600 passengers, can fly almost 8,000 NM (15,000 KM), and the superjumbo makes even the iconic Boeing ...

To serve this market, Airbus designed a giant double-decker aircraft, the A3XX, which evolved into the A380. When Airbus secured promises to buy from six launch customers, manufacture of the ...

Airbus' dream to build the largest commercial aircraft lasted just 14 years. That said, the A380 will continue to fly the skies well into the 2030s.

The impact on the A380 was immediate: After delivering its first A380 to Singapore Airlines in 2007, Airbus followed with a dozen more in 2008, just 10 in 2009 and 18 in 2010 — well below ...