Retired Airplanes as Airport Bars?

by Alex A. Kecskes

Here’s a novel approach to the traditional airport bar—old aircraft gutted and refitted as bars and restaurants. This would be one hospitality job to tell your friends about. It could even start a trend in dining and bar service. So far, five airports around the world have these unique “flight-inspired" bars:

Jumbo Bar, Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport, Sweden. Here you’ll discover a retired 747 that’s been converted into a hostel. What’s more, the tail section of the airplane has been turned into a bar. You can even walk outside on the left wing.

Runway 34, Zurich International Airport, Switzerland. This sports bar, designed on the wing of a decommissioned Soviet Ilyushin IL-14 plane, boasts a restaurant below and an events space above the other wing. The airplane is completely enclosed in a small hangar structure at the end of Zurich Airport's Runway 34.

DC6 Diner, Coventry Airport, England. This Douglas DC-6 seats 40 for meals in the fuselage. The cockpit cocktail bar takes you back to the flight days of yesteryear.

Solo's Airplane Restaurant, Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, U.S. This U.S. Air Force Boeing KC-97 half sticks out of the restaurant. It seats a total of 275 for dinner with 42 inside the plane itself. To set the mood, the area is filled with classic aviation memorabilia.

Alta Quota Pizzeria, Rome Fiumicino International Airport, Italy. This decommissioned Italian Air Force Convair CV-440-96 Metropolitan features a greenhouse ambiance. You’ll find it at the intersection of Via Alberto Brondi and Via Trincea delle Frasche.

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