Originally Posted by
bwiadca
I think he was flying on IL-86 of Pulkovo from the description.
Indeed! Somehow I managed to forget about Il-86. Though by no means it may be called 'converted bomber'.
Originally Posted by
KQ321
which indeed has wide stairs going down from the main passenger deck (I thought they were at the front of the Y cabin, rather than in the C cabin, but I might be mistaken, or maybe it varied depending on individual operator's layouts). I think this design was to facilitate passenger embarkation at remote strips with no airbridges nor high enough stairs.
Actually, it has 3 staircases, in every cabin.
They were made in an attempt to save on installing baggage handling systems in airports. It was supposed that passengers in smaller airports would bring their baggage with them, leave it on shelves in the lower deck, and then walk up to the upper one.