According to the US "Business Insider" website reported on the 13th, the British Cotswold Airport purchased a British Airways Boeing 747 aircraft for $1.35 and converted it into a "party plane". The modified aircraft includes a dance floor and bar and rents $1,350 per hour and $16,000 for 24 hours.
Boeing 747 aircraft Image source: foreign media
The Boeing 747 megajet has unfortunately fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, and many airlines have accelerated their decommissioning over the past two years. Boeing previously announced that it would stop production of the model.
British Airways will take its Boeing 747 aircraft to The Cotswolds Airport in the United Kingdom for storage in 2020, and the aircraft will be officially retired by October of the same year.
However, while most of the aircraft were sent to recycling yards for dismantling, Cotswolds Airport did not want to scrap them all.
Cotswolds Chief Executive Suzannah Harvey asked British Airways if she could keep a Boeing 747 and modify it.
Interior of the modified cabin Source: Foreign media
British Airways agreed and sold it to the airport for £1 ($1.35). The airport invested £500,000 to convert the plane into a 'party plane'. Of that, £200,000 was used to build the concrete slabs that would house the huge aircraft.
Inside the plane, economy class was converted into a dance floor with lights, seats and a DJ station, while the galley was converted into a bar.
In addition, the lighting system on the aircraft has been reset to replicate the lighting system used by the aircraft on the ground, which costs around £80,000.
Harvey said the rest of the plane, including the upper deck, was intact. She added that the airport initially intended to keep the onboard displays up and running a monthly movie screening, but it proved difficult to fix the systems. These playback systems are expected to be fixed in the next six months or so.
While many aviation enthusiasts want to get into the cockpit, Harvey says some systems are still operational, so no one is allowed to touch the control system. However, a screen is set up at the cockpit door so that interested people can still see the inside of the cockpit.
Harvey revealed that the plane's event space can be used for large events such as weddings, and she receives dozens of inquiries every day. "From events at big automakers to individual birthday parties, we get all sorts of inquiries," she says.
Harvey said the level of interest in the plane is exciting, and she expects the investment to pay off within a few years. Part of the proceeds will be used for the airport's annual scholarship program and to pay for the student's pilot's license.
(Editor: ZLQ)