Where do airplanes go to die? While some of them are being dumped in deserts some get a friendlier afterlife by being turned into strips and then sold as scrap metal. But designers all over the world are reusing aviation parts and sometimes the whole plane, maximizing time, money and resources to make some innovative, high-fly designs. Click through our 6 favorite examples including a hotel, boat, restaurant and furniture pieces all made from discarded airline stuff.
Plane as hotel suite
Standing on the edge of a national park in Costa Rica, the amazing Costa Verde Resort has a unique hotel suite made from a 1960s Boeing 727. A former South Africa airplane, this jungle retreat provides high-fly accommodation overlooking the rainforest and Atlantic Ocean.
Plane as a hostel
Located at the Stockholm-Arlanda airport, this retrofitted 747-200 is now the low-cost Jumbo Hostel. The former Pan Am Jet has kept many of its original parts and features 25-rooms and a first class lounge bar.
Plane as a restaurant
Located in a hangar right across the Zurich International Airport in Switzerland, the bar and restaurant Runway 34 provides a unique dining experience. Its interior is made from a retired Soviet Iluyshin IL-14 plane where the airline seats can be found throughout the restaurant and the main cabin is now used as a first-class cigar lounge.
Plane as a boat
Based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Dave Drimmer’s Cosmic Muffin is an old Boeing B-307 turned into an iconic ‘plane-boat’. With a completely rebuilt hull, updated interior, restored cockpit and new fitted motors, this unique machine has nonprofit fundraising projects among its many sailing plans.
Plane as a house
Standing at the edge of a cliff in Malibu, the amazing 747 Wing House by David Hertz Architects was made from reused airplane parts. While it’s fab floating roof is a chunk of a wing, other parts like the plane’s fuselage and cockpit are being used for building guesthouses, a meditation pavilion, an art studio and even a barn.
Plane as a lamp
Parisian designer Paul Coudamy transformed the walls of an old Airbus A30 into stunning F-lights. Perfect for a family table or an inventive group meeting at the office, its natural aerodynamic shape ads a warm comforting glow to any interior.
