An abandoned jumbo jet at Sweden's biggest airport will open this month as the world's first aeroplane hotel. According to report in The Independent (UK) by Stina Backer, the "Jumbo Hostel" – a disused Boeing 747 at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport – has 25 rooms, each measuring 65 sq. ft. They are spartanly furnished with bunk beds, overhead luggage compartments and flat-screen televisions offering entertainment and flight information. A reception area and café are at the front of the jet and toilets and showers are at the rear. The Boeing's upper deck "bubble" is being converted into a conference room, while the cockpit is being transformed into a wedding suite.
The hostel is the brainchild of Oscar Diös, 36, a Swedish entrepreneur who hopes the relatively cheap and novel accommodation will attract a varied clientele of flying enthusiasts and budget travellers. The Boeing, built in 1976, first saw service with Singapore Airlines. It was later sold to Pan Am, which eventually passed it on to a Swedish leasing company, Transjet, which went bankrupt in 2002. Since then, it has been parked on the perimeter of Arlanda airport. |