Airplane Accommodations
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The last thing we’re used to seeing as we board a plane is a “Welcome” mat. But if you haven’t already heard, KLM, the Dutch airlines, has teamed up with AirBnB to offer a stay in a parked plane in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, where they’ve turned a former MD-11 plane into a temporary hotel they call the “Airplane Apartment.”
Guests were invited to request a free stay from November 28-30 through their website, which is part of a contest. Inside, there are no economy class seats – in fact, they boast 12 meters room for leg space. Everything’s been gutted to look like a private jet – but with an indie, urban twist. The master bedroom with a king-size bed has 1970s fur pillows, the living room is home to a velvet couch, there is a writing desk made from a former seat tray and of course they have Wi-Fi. Naturally, the airplane keeps some of its former furnishings – 116 windows and eight bathrooms.
They even have a library and you can watch planes on the runway in the “backyard.”
This approach is fun, but KLM are not the first to create an airplane hotel. Nearby, there is the Airplane Suite set in the Dutch town of Teuge, is a luxe suite for two (with a Jacuzzi) in a converted 1960 Ilyushin 18. Down in Costa Rica, the Costa Verde Resort features a wood-paneled hotel suite in a 1965 red Boeing 727, parked in the midst of the leafy Manuel Antonio National Park. And the Plane Motel in Otorohanga, New Zealand is built in a 1950s Briston freighter, billed as one of the last allied planes to fly out of Vietnam. There are even airplane-inspired hotels with small windows and low ceilings. While it might seem like your fellow passenger is eager to get off your flight, who knows? They might just be excited to check into an airplane hotel.