Where can you eat and sleep on an airplane without paying for a
ticket? At airports, retired hangars, rural farmlands, and on bustling
city streets, dining and sleeping are elevated to new heights with
airplane
restaurants and hotels across the world.
See Airplane Restaurants and Hotels around the World Slideshow
Whether it’s your fantasy to sleep in the cockpit, pretend you are flying a jumbo jet, or eat
gourmet food
in first class, airplane restaurants and airplane hotels around the
world give travelers the chance to live their aviation dreams for a few
hours or for the night.
The decommissioned planes, from small turboprop planes to Boeing
747s, have storied pasts that include hauling manure, carrying cargo,
and playing a role in covert missions in Southeast Asia,. Many of the
aircraft have been claimed by airplane enthusiasts and turned into
fanciful airplane restaurants and
hotels.
One of the planes, a DC-3 that has been retrofitted to look like the
space shuttle, still logs miles, on the road, that is. And should you
decide you want your very own airplane, the mobile
kitchen is for sale.
Link - by Jon Dunbar and A. AbramsThe first Jumbo Jet to be flown commercially - rusting away, haunted by kitchen smellsWe've seen "Airplane House & Boat
Conversions",
now it's time to check out converted-aircraft eating establishments -
which lure customers inside the decommissioned planes (in hope to
distract them from the quality of food?) Anyway, one such
super-fast-jumbo-sized joint apparently is not in use any more:
all images copyright Jon Dunbar, used by permission Jon Dunbar, whom you might remember from his "Abandoned Amusement Parks in Asia"
article,
sends us another account of his urban exploring in South Korea. This
time it's an abandoned Boeing 747 restaurant, looming huge over the
highway, and yet dwarfed by a swarm of apartment buildings all around.
Jon says: "Thanks to the helpful people at
Urban Exploration Resource I discovered that this was
the second Boeing 747 ever made and apparently the first to be flown commercially." Here is the photo of its better days (see more
here) -
(image credit: Marc Lehmann)Then
later it was disassembled and partially reassembled over here to be
used as a restaurant. It clearly was closed up very quickly and now just
sits next to a railway wasting away.
On approach, one can see the apartment buildings, which in Suwon look somewhat like milk cartons:
Here it is, a strange sight in the neighborhood...
This
is somewhat surreal shot: it almost looks like this Jumbo 747 landed on
a poor little building, which still tries to be cheerful with all these
painted Pokemons and a satellite dish:
The jet engines don't look very authentic, however:
Look at its proud cockpit, and try to reflect on this unique aircraft's history:
Inside the plane, the cockpit is no longer a cockpit - but a seating space with a view:
The menu, and typical restaurant bar trinkets are still there -
When
airliners fall into disrepair, they spawn some unusual-looking mushroom
growth on their wings... On the right, nicely-used landing gear:
On this photo the airliner looks like it's ready to join the flow of city's traffic -
all images copyright Jon Dunbar, used by permission In
its day, this particular Jumbo Jet (the second ever built, and the
first one to be flown commercially) was subjected to rigorous testing -
here is a "Tail Strike" Test
video, plus its history holds some minor
accidents and damage. Here it is shown being disassembled before reaching Korea - and a Boeing employee talks about its
history:
(image credit: Duncan Stewart)Then Humpty Dumpty was put together again, to host the hungry customers and thirsty bar drinkers.
Airliners used as restaurants seem to be quite popular in South Korea: there is one in Daegu, and here is another on in Mokpo:
(image via Cary, more info)One more aircraft "cafe" was one time in Seoul, but is gone now (more
info, the place now is used for screen golf)
El Avion: Iran-Contra-Cargo Plane Converted Into a Bar in Costa RicaThis
cargo plane was apparently delivering supplies to the Nicaraguan
Contras and was shot down in 1986... leading to the Iran Contra scandal
and investigation of Reagan administration' involvement - for the full
info and directions to get there
click hereUPDATE:
Andrew Hoskin writes: "Actually, this is the sister to the plane that
got shot down. The US government had purchased and was running two of
these planes. When the one that sparked the Iran Contra affair was shot
down this one was abandoned at the San Jose airport in Costa Rica. It
was many years later that the derelict plane was purchased and moved to
its new location."
(images credit: Scott)A plane inside a restaurant might be a better idea -...
then the unique (and often historic) aircraft is spared the wear and
tear and spilled food from many customers, plus it's protected from
weather elements. One restaurant owner in Switzerland -
map - decided to put an old Russian Ilyushin-14 into his restaurant and called it
"Runway 34":
(images credit: Runway 34)
Um... I'll pass, I eat 'enough' airline food to want to go eat in 'another' airplane... :-)
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling....for the same reason I will not drink airplane coffee;) unless they bring it on in in a thermos
ReplyDeletecome home jumbo, america needs ya.
ReplyDelete