A former KLM Boeing 747 aircraft will spend the rest of its retirement days parked in front of an Amsterdam hotel, where it will serve as a museum, exhibit and 5D experience for aviation buffs.
It would be tempting to imagine that the iconic aircraft took a wrong turn on the Schiphol Airport runway, located just 12 km away.
But after 30 years of service, the aircraft is being grounded permanently in the courtyard of the Corendon Village Hotel as an attraction for both hotel guests and the public.
The installation of the double-decker aircraft coincides with the plane's 50th anniversary which was February 9. Over the last few years, airlines have been retiring the jumbo jet nicknamed "Queen of the Skies" en masse, in favor of more fuel-efficient, modern aircrafts.
At the Corendon Village Hotel, visitors will be able access areas of the aircraft that are normally inaccessible to the public, including the cargo area, wing, aircraft belly and cockpit.
Travelers who normally fly economy will also be able to visit the upper deck, normally reserved for high-flying business and first-class passengers. The highlight of the visit is the 5D flight simulation experience, which promises "flying in all its facets."
Meanwhile, getting a 160-ton aircraft in position required no small feat of planning and engineering: disassembly, reassembly, the building of a special load-bearing road, new bridges, and a backwards parking job into the hotel garden that required 57 movements in total.
All to cover just a distance of 12.5 km from the airport to the hotel.
Corendon is a tour operator, airline and hotel chain in the Dutch and Belgian travel market.