Newsletter
ES
Sign in

Aviation glossary

Combi

Also: combi aircraft, mixed passenger-cargo aircraft

The aircraft

Aircraft that carries passengers and cargo together on the main deck, separated by a partition, and fitted with a large cargo door.

What it is

A combi splits the main deck into two zones: one with seats and another, behind a bulkhead, for containers or pallets, loaded through a large side cargo door. Depending on the type, the cargo goes at the rear, as on the Boeing 747 Combi, or at the front, as on some Boeing 737s. Often the bulkhead can be moved to change the balance between seats and cargo to suit demand.

The layout makes sense on routes with too few passengers and too little freight to fill two aircraft, such as those supplying remote communities in northern Canada and Alaska. It has largely disappeared from big jets but survives in a few isolated regions. It should not be confused with a convertible aircraft, which can switch between passenger and cargo layouts but does not combine them on the same flight.

On Vuelopedia

Boeing 747 Boeing 737

Related terms

FreighterAircraft used solely to carry cargo, with no passenger cabin, a strengthened floor and a large cargo door on the main deck. Cabin configurationInterior layout an operator chooses for its aircraft: seat count, classes, seats per row, seat pitch, galleys and lavatories. Cargo holdCargo compartment, usually located beneath the cabin floor, that carries checked baggage, freight and mail on a passenger aircraft. ULDStandardised container or pallet in which baggage and freight are consolidated so they can be loaded onto an aircraft as a single unit.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Combi. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/combi

MLA

“Combi.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/combi. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Combi.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/combi.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Combi. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/combi (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_combi,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Combi}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/combi},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/combi}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/combi |title=Combi |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}

Explore the encyclopedia

Homethe record of every aircraftAirlinesdocumented fleetsModelsfrom the Airbus A220 to the Boeing 747Compareup to three aircraft, side by sideManufacturerswho builds the aircraft, and their enginesIVCA Rankingair quality, from 0 to 100Newsthe latest from the recordsOn this dayaviation, day by dayVideosone aviation story a day, on videoAirportsthe world's leading onesAccidentswhat every accident changedTimelinethe whole century, 1903 to todayPeoplewho made all of this possibleOn Screenwhen the airliner was the plotTriviaa daily aviation challengeMemoriesa name in an aircraft's historyPresspress releases and Vuelopedia in the mediaYour profilesign in or create your accountAboutwhat Vuelopedia is and who makes it