Giving Aircraft Interiors a New Life
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What happens to airplanes when they retire? While some become boutique hotels, others have their parts upcycled into fashion – or even furniture, like the albatross float tank couch from MotoArt. You’ll find more from MotoArt and Fallen Furniture in our feature story on refurbished plane parts in The Architecture Issue of APEX Experience, but here is a bonus selection of upcycled airplane products, just in time for holiday gift shopping.
- Looptworks laptop bag
If you’re looking for a unique holiday gift, Portland’s Looptworks has partnered with Southwest Airlines to offer leather handbags from Southwest’s former airplane seats. Together, they’ve upcycled over 80,000 seats since the airline decided to upgrade their passenger cabins. They also sell duffle bags and tote bags.
For fashion and design fiends, there is an Austrian firm called Flug zeug. Armed with a clever knack for upcycling airline accessories into trendy accessories, their site declares they are “for people who want to experience the magic of airline travel with all its rituals in their everyday lives.” So if you ever thought the catwalk and the landing strip were worlds away, think again. The most popular accessory is their belt made from an aircraft seat buckle, which starts at roughly $110 USD. They’ve also made use of airplane life jackets by turning them into iPads and iPad mini sleeves, which start at $82 USD.
- Cosmic Muffin
One retired airplane has even been converted into a boat. Once a Boeing 307, it’s now co-owned by Dave Drimmer and Jeff Gibbs. They call it the “Cosmic Muffin.”