For the aviation enthusiast who thinks they have it all ...
▶ The upper part of a former Qantas jumbo jet is for sale, with potential for a restaurant or cinema, or a bespoke home
It’s got a complete flight deck. For an ex-aviator or aviation enthusiast, to sit in there would be the thrill of a lifetime HOWARD TONKS Falcon Aircraft Recycling
An aircraft recycling firm in Ras Al Khaimah is selling the top deck of a Qantas Boeing 747.
Costing about $200,000 (Dh734,600), it includes the original flight deck, business class section that can seat about 40 people, two toilets and a complete galley.
A chunk of the main cabin is also attached, making the upper deck accessible by a staircase. This could be used as a storage area or garage for about a dozen cars.
The 15-tonne plane segment can be delivered by road and would be suitable for conversion to offices, a restaurant, a bar, cinema or even living accommodation for an aviation enthusiast.
“The imagination goes wild when you see it,” said Howard Tonks, director of Falcon Aircraft Recycling.
“The upper deck is original and untouched from when it was flying for Qantas. It’s got a complete flight deck and is the exact same as when the captain got off the airplane five years ago. For an ex-aviator or aviation enthusiast, to sit in there would be the thrill of a lifetime.”
The top section is known as a “mega-deck” because it was longer than other 747 top decks. It comes from a 300 model of the jumbo jet, a type that entered service at the start of the 1980s.
It first flew with Qantas under serial number VH-EBV in 1985 and finished life with the UAE’s Sayegh Group as XT-DMA.
Falcon bought the plane in 2016 and it was dismantled and recycled at the company’s RAK plant last year. During the process, the upper deck was removed using power saws.
Now this unique second-hand item is sitting at RAK Airport waiting for its next chapter.
“The instrumentation and equipment on the flight deck has all been discreetly mutilated so that nothing could ever be fitted to a live aircraft. But the authenticity and appearance is unchanged,” Mr Tonks said. “It was just too good to turn into Coke cans.”
Falcon has been operating at RAK and Fujairah airports, where dozens of mostly Sovietera aircraft such as Antonovs and Ilyushins have been abandoned, since 2012. These aircraft were mainly used by contractors in conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq, but when the work ran out the planes were parked and never collected.
Ten planes have been decommissioned at Fujairah since Falcon started operating in 2012 and all have been acquired by the company.
Using an old plane for display or accommodation is not uncommon. At Sweden’s Arlanda Airport, a 747 has been turned into a hostel.
And in 2016, businessman David McGowan transported a Boeing 767 to County Sligo in Ireland, where it will become part of a “glamour camping” experience.
The Boeing 747, known as the Queen of the Skies, entered service in 1970.
“It’s only now that it’s giving way,” Mr Tonks said. “It stretched the imagination of airlines and what they can do.”
Many airlines have phased out the planes in favour of more efficient aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. But the jumbo is still used widely for air freighter transport, while Lufthansa and British Airways still have some for passenger services.
“The 300 with extended decks are rare. It’s the last of an era,” Mr Tonks said. “It’s highly unlikely that another will ever be dismantled in the UAE.”