1 January , 2010
4 January , 2009
Jumbo jet hostel
Jumbo jet hostel rolls into place near Arlanda in Sweden
The plane, which had been resting on Arlanda’s third runway since 2002, was purchased by Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios.
Diös saw the abandoned hulk of metal as a perfect structure for low-budget accommodations near Sweden’s busiest airport.
Plans received a boost December 2007 when Sweden’s airports authority and the Swedish National Roads Administration, approved the idea. Workers towed the massive plane to the future hostel’s final location. Diös, who sat in plane’s cockpit while it was being towed, said the hostel open for business in December 2008.
Diös ripped out the plane’s 500 seats and instead install 80 beds. The cockpit was made into a suite, with some of the equipment will be preserved.
Diös said “The challenge is that nobody has done this before, so there’s no precedent. But essentially it’s like fitting out any kind of metal barracks,”
The plane being used by Diös was previously owned by Swedish charter company Transjet. It has been grounded since the company had its licence revoked by authorities in 2002. It has since then stood by the airport’s third runway.
Diös has said in the past that he plans to start a chain of similar hostels at airports around the world, which he said would be called ’Jumbo Hostels’.
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