Stansted Airport hotels with parking
There are lots of hotels around Stansted Airport where you can book a room with holiday parking included. This is sometimes known as a park & fly package. As well as being cost effective, it’s also really convenient. In the morning, you don’t have to worry about driving anywhere, you just leave your car at the hotel and make the short journey to the airport terminal by shuttle bus or taxi. Many of these hotels are about 5 minutes from the airport, in comparison to the official long stay car park for Stansted, which is a 20 minute shuttle bus ride away. Here is a guide to all the hotels with long-term parking near Stansted Airport.
Express by Holiday Inn London Stansted ***
This hotel has on-site parking for up to 175 cars. There is a charge for overnight parking and further nights can be added at an extra cost, subject to availability. The hotel shuttle bus will take you to the terminal building, which is 5 minutes away. The hotel has a bar and restaurant.
DeSalis Hotels London Stansted ***
Most bookings at this hotel come with a day’s free parking and other parking packages are available. You can take the 24 hour shuttle bus to the airport, which is 2 miles away. There is a restaurant on site with Italian and English menus.
Residents are given 2 days free parking and additional days can be booked at a charge. The guest house provides free transfers for the 3 minute journey to the terminal. It is set in the countryside and there is a pub serving meals a short drive away. Rooms are en suite and a self-service breakfast is provided.
Car parking is free during your stay and extra days are available for a charge. The owners provide free transport to the terminal. The guest house is a 17th century cottage in a village setting 2 miles from the airport. Breakfast is served in your room and there are places to have your evening meal a short drive away.
Radisson SAS Stansted Airport ****
There’s a large car park alongside the Radisson. If you want to leave your car there for the duration of your holiday, the best idea is to book the parking along with your room. If you don’t do that it will end up being very expensive. The hotel is just a 2 minute walk from the Terminal along a covered path. The guest rooms have free Wi-Fi internet access.
Long term parking is available when staying at this B & B, if you arrange it in advance. The drive to the airport takes about 5 minutes and they offer free transfers from 6 am; otherwise, a taxi will cost about £7. Taphall has an English Tourist Board rating of 3 diamonds.
Here the parking for the first day is free, but after that you have to pay. You can book a room and parking package together. The lodge has free Wi-Fi in the public areas. It’s 5 minutes from Stansted.
There is space to park your car overnight and if you need long term parking, ask in advance and they can organise this for you. The house is equipped with a free Wi-Fi connection and is a mile and a half from the Terminal.
You can book a room and holiday parking package at this manor house. Wi-Fi is available throughout the building. It’s about 3 miles from the terminal.
One night’s accommodation can be booked with up to 7 days parking included. The guest rooms have wireless internet access and the airport is about 2 and a half miles away.
This guest house offers long stay parking at a cheap per-day rate. They provide free transfers to the airport between 4 am and 11 am and 4 pm to 10 pm. Outside of those times, a taxi costs about £10. Wi-Fi internet access is available. They are about 2 miles from the airport.
This B&B, also known as Aspens, offers parking and transfers on the same terms as Avalon. It has free wireless internet access and is also a couple of miles from the airport.
This guest house offers holiday parking rates with its rooms. They can arrange transfers to the airport for you, which is just over 3 miles away.
This is a country house restaurant with two en suite bedrooms available. It offers free airport parking for 3 nights and charges per day after that. The airport is around 4 miles away.
Jolly Brewers Travel Lodge ***
This hotel can provide long stay parking whilst you are on holiday and can organise transfers to the airport. The guest rooms have internet access. It’s a 10 minute drive to the terminal.
You get free parking at this inn during your stay and airport parking is available at an additional cost. They run a transfer service to the airport; it’s about 3 miles away.
This B&B offers long term parking at a cheap daily rate, and provides complimentary airport transfers. It’s about 4 miles from the terminal and takes 12 minutes.
Airport jobs
If you’re looking for a new career, your nearest airport is a great place to start, especially at this time of year. A lot of the work is seasonal, so keep an eye out for summer vacancies, which are advertised in the spring. If you look beyond the obvious roles there are lots of different opportunities to be found – they even employ people to scare the birds off the runways!
The glamour and excitement of an airport job can definitely be attractive and some roles can bring great personal and financial rewards. But you have to bear in mind the downsides of this type of work, which is often demanding and usually involves being “at the office” when your friends and family are at home, in the pub, or asleep. To help you weigh up the pros and cons, here’s an airport jobs guide with all the facts about the most desirable roles.
Pilot
The Job
A pilot spends his working life in command of an aircraft and can fly up to 900 hours a year. Beyond that, it’s not really possible to talk about a typical job, because the conditions vary so much depending on what kind of plane he flies. Those working for charter airlines will fly more during the summer, while those in charge of scheduled flights will have their work spread evenly across the year. They can work up to 12 hours a day, or they might only be in the cockpit for 3 or 4 hours out of 24. All of them work shifts, but short-haul pilots have a fairly regular schedule, whilst the working patterns for long-haul pilots can be erratic and unpredictable.
The Money
There are huge differences in salaries as well. A pilot with a small regional airline might only make £18,000, but the annual salary of an experienced long haul captain could be as much as £140,000.
The Way In
Getting into this profession isn’t easy, because it’s very competitive and expensive. Training can cost up to £70,000, and scholarships and sponsorships are few and far between. Having a degree is an advantage, although not strictly speaking necessary. The minimum requirement is 5 good GCSE’s, including Maths, English and a science. It’s still very much a male-dominated profession, although a few women are starting to break in.
Air Cabin Crew
The Job
You might think that the cabin crew spend all their time up in the air, but in fact about half of their working life is spent on the ground, preparing the aircraft, writing reports and attending briefings. As with pilots, unsociable hours, long shifts, and fatigue are par for the course, but vary in intensity according to which airline they work for. For an insider’s view of the job, check out The Flying Pinto. It’s a fun blog about the adventures of Sara Keagle, a flight attendant with a major US airline.
The Money
Salaries are not high – they start at about £12,000 and rise to about £25,000 after a decade or more of work. But because of the other things the job has to offer, there’s always a lot of competition for posts.
The Way In
Training is given by the airline, but to get in you’ll have to conform to certain standards. As a general rule you’ll have to be fit, healthy and slim, and taller than 5’2. The Mohican haircut and facial piercings will have to go. Graduates in languages and nursing will have an advantage, and you will need at least 4 or 5 good GCSEs to be considered.
Air Traffic Controller
The Job
Again, this is shift work, but it usually follows a predictable pattern. This is generally 2 days on the early shift, 2 days on the late shift, 2 nights and then 4 days off. It’s a very high pressured role; you’ll have lots of planes in the air at once and they’ll all be looking to you for direction. The safety of everyone on board is in your hands. Because of this, you won’t be allowed to sit at the screen for more than 2 hours at a time and you’ll have to submit to random drug and alcohol tests.
The Money
You start earning straight away in this job, although not much! You get £10,000 during your first year of training and this can go up to £18,000 when you get your first appointment. When you finally qualify (after 2 more years) there is a massive hike in salary up to £50,000. Senior managers with many years of experience can earn up to £94,000.
The Way In
If you want to do this job you should apply to the National Air Traffic Services student air traffic control scheme, which takes place at their college in Hurn, near Bournemouth. It’s very competitive. Most applicants are university graduates, but the minimum requirement is five good GCSEs, including English and Maths. Good eyesight and hearing are vital, as is a clear speaking voice.
Check-In Officer
The Job
The check in desk is the front line of passenger services at the airport, and if you work here you can expect to come under heavy fire from the people you’re trying to help. When a passenger misses a plane, you’ll be the one standing in front of them, having to face the full force of their anger. To get an idea of the kind of thing you’ll have to put up with, check out my post on funny airport videos. That said, it can be an excellent learning experience and a great entry level job with an airline. It’s possible to work your way up from here to senior management roles at the airport.
The Money
A new passenger services agent will earn about £11,000, with the potential to add a couple of thousand on to that by becoming a team leader. Although the starting salaries are low, you could be on the path to a very well paid job. From here, you can take on more senior roles within passenger services, and those who progress to management level in airport operations or flight safety can earn up to £50,000.
The Way In
Some vacancies are advertised by the airlines, but some are looked after by ground handling agents. Competition is fierce and you will need to have some GCSEs, including English and Maths. Foreign languages are an advantage. Once accepted, you’ll be given training in the basic procedures and paperwork involved in the job. They’ll also send you on a manual handling course so you know how to lift heavy bags without injuring yourself – which is definitely useful for anyone handling one of my suitcases! There are lots of opportunities for further training as your career develops.
Picture Credits
1 – My Net Bizz
2 – Concorde SST
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Airport arrivals
When you’re collecting someone at the airport, it’s a good idea to check the details of their flight online before you leave the house. I learned this the hard way after being despatched to an airport to pick up a friend’s mother. We had never met before and we spoke different languages, so it was never going to be an easy task. Unfortunately, when I got to the airport, I discovered my friend had told me the wrong flight time and the wrong airline, which led to a lot of panic and running around as I tried to work out how I was going to find this woman! I succeeded in the end, by a process of luck and guesswork, but it would have made life a lot easier if I had taken a few minutes to check out one of these internet sites for airport arrivals information.
Flight Arrivals.com
This site allows you to search for travel information by flight number, airline, arrival airport or departure and arrival airport. This is perfect if you’ve been given incomplete or erroneous information by your lovely friends and family! It gives you a list of all the flights with details of when they’re due to land, when they’ve landed and if there are any delays or cancellations. British and international airlines and airports are covered by this feature. The site also offers more detailed information on weather and delays at American airports.
Flight Stats.com
The homepage of this site has a map which shows you, at a glance, which airports are suffering from delays. This is indicated by green, yellow or red dots on the map, according to the amount of disruption to flights. You can click on the dots for more information on the airport, weather and so on. The site covers airports all over the world, but the map feature works best for Europe and the United States. As with the previous website, you can search for arrivals information by flight number, airline, airport or route. You can also register to have alerts sent to you by email or text message when the plane lands, or if it’s delayed or cancelled.
Flight Wise.com
If you want to track the progress of your friend’s flight across the world and imagine what sights they can see out of the window, this site is the place to go. You can search by airport, airline, flight number or aircraft type, and call up a map with a drawing of the plane’s position and its route. You can do this for any aircraft or flight on an IFR flight plan anywhere in the world (that means most scheduled airline flights). You also get a wealth of other information including flight plans, altitude, speed, time elapsed and time to go before landing. So there’s no excuse for not being prepared to meet them when that time finally comes!
Airport Hotels.com
When you’re planning your journey to the airport to pick up your friend, you might find it helpful to take a look at the guides right here on Airport Hotels.com. We’ve put together useful information on 28 UK airports, including public transport options and details of short stay parking arrangements, for those travelling by car. In the current climate, most airports have done away with pick up and drop off areas right outside the terminal, so you will probably have to make your way to a car park even if you’re only stopping for a minute. Many airports offer a brief period of free parking for this purpose. We cover all the main British airports, including Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Airport.
Picture Credits
1 – John Wardell
2 – Flight View
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Have you found these websites to be useful? Are there any other good ones we should know about?
Airports in the movies
Airports are dramatic places. All those hellos and goodbyes, greetings and partings, some setting out on adventures and some arriving home at last. In the past, airports conveyed a sense of glamour; today they can conjure up a sense of tension or fear. With their great potential as a setting for emotion and action, it’s not surprising that airports are featured so often in the movies. Let’s relive some of the most iconic airport scenes of all time.
Casablanca, 1942
This film is set in Africa, in the early days of World War II. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick, an American expat, and Ingrid Bergman, Ilsa, his former lover. The pair had an affair whilst living in France, but she is now fleeing the war with her husband. The dramatic airport scene comes at the end, when Rick convinces her to get on a plane to safety. He sends her off with the famous line, “We’ll always have Paris”.
The film became a classic, and in the late 1980’s, an attraction called the Great Movie Ride was built at Walt Disney World in Florida. It contained a tableau of the famous airport scene, with what was said to be the actual Lockheed Electra 12A plane that was used in “Casablanca”. However, the movie was filmed just a few months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, when military security was at its height. Filming at an airport was absolutely out of the question. The crew had to shoot the scene on a soundstage, and it wasn’t big enough to hold a real plane. They built smaller model aircraft and hired dwarfs to move around them in the background, to give the illusion that they were full size. (You can see them in the clip above.) So the plane at Disney World cannot possibly have been used in the film, despite what the staff might tell you.
Airport, 1970
This film follows the action at an American airport which is struggling to remain open in the middle of a blizzard. At the same time, a passenger on board a Boeing 707 is planning to blow himself up mid-flight, so that his wife can benefit from an insurance policy. The movie was filmed on location at Minneapolis St-Paul Airport. It has many scenes showing the day to day running of the airport and reminds us of a more innocent time, before the current era of suicide bombers. “Airport” was a massive box office hit and paved the way for later disaster movies. Airodyssey has an article with much more information and trivia about the film.
Die Hard 2, 1990
This action film stars Bruce Willis as John McClane. The character is waiting for his wife at Washington Dulles International Airport when terrorists take over the air traffic control system. The scenes weren’t actually shot at Dulles, but at many other locations including LAX and Stapleton International. The airport setting in the film is brought alive with fantastic stunts and special effects. The last scene, where McClane lights a leaking fuel stream and blows up the baddies’ plane, was groundbreaking. It was the first to combine live-action footage with a traditionally painted background scene on a computer.
Catch Me If You Can, 2002
This film dramatises the true-life story of Frank Abagnale Junior, a master forger and con artist. By the age of 19, he had successfully posed as a pilot, doctor and prosecutor, and made millions of dollars. The story begins in 1969 and the airport scene is a reminder of the bygone glamour of air travel. Frank parades through Miami Airport, surrounded by a team of beautiful air hostesses, to the sound of Frank Sinatra singing “Come Fly with Me”. This is a turning point in the plot, as a bystander remarks, “I should’ve been a pilot,” showing that Frank has now reached a position where he is envied and respected. These scenes were actually filmed at Ontario Airport in California, in a terminal which is no longer in use. Many other directors have shot scenes here, for a range of movies including “Blow” (2001) and “Zodiac” (2007).
Love Actually, 2003
This film follows the lives of 8 couples in London in the run up to Christmas. They all have their problems and we watch their comic and touching struggles to resolve them. The movie opens with a montage of real scenes from the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. It shows family and friends being reunited, embracing each other with great love and joy. The scene sets out the film’s heart-warming, if slightly cheesy premise – that love actually is all around. The story returns to an airport near the end, when the youngest character chases after his sweetheart, who is leaving for America. The movie closes with another montage from Heathrow Airport.
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Airport myths
Airports are often the setting for strange stories and fascinating facts – but are they just urban legends or is there evidence to back them up? We’ve investigated some of the most famous tales to find out if they’re true or false.
A man lived at a Paris airport for 18 years
It may sound like the plot of a movie, but it is absolutely true. A man lived at Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 until 2006. Merhan Karimi Nasseri was expelled from Iran in 1977 for his political views. This left him without a passport and he travelled across Europe, attempting to claim asylum. Finally he was granted refugee status and was allowed to travel to England. This was in 1988 and he got as far as Paris, but his documents were stolen with his briefcase in the train station. He boarded the plane to London anyway, but was sent back to Charles de Gaulle Airport. He was initially arrested, but because he had no documents, there was no country to return him to.
He ended up in a legal limbo, unable to leave Terminal 1. Court battles ensued over many years, whilst the staff of the airport all got to know him and his regular sitting place. They even received letters for him. He lived on the generosity of staff and visitors who would give him clothes, meal vouchers and money for food. In 1999, he was finally given an international travel card and a French residency permit which would allow him to leave the airport, settle in France, or fly to any other country that would accept him. But after 11 years of living in the airport he seemed to be too scared to leave. In the end, he only exited the building when he was hospitalised in 2006. Afterwards, he was placed in a homeless shelter. His story has inspired many books and movies including “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks.
STATUS: True
An 83 year old grandmother beat up 6 airport security guards
Security in our airports has been tightened in recent years, and this has led to delays and frustration for many passengers. With tensions heightened all round, we’ve heard many tales about rude, unreasonable and overzealous security staff. However, a rumour began to surface in 2002 of an elderly woman who had fought back against unfair treatment. A rough and overweight guard refused to let the woman on board unless she submitted to a search.
The 83 year old responded by running him down with her motorized wheelchair, before dealing out a series of blows to other guards who tried to apprehend her. One was hit with an oxygen bottle, one was stabbed with a knitting needle, one was set on fire with a cigarette lighter and another was punched in the face. It’s easy to see why this story about a ninja nana appealed, but it is not true. It was a fictional piece written by a man called Bob Wallace and posted on his website, before it was picked up and passed around by email, posing as a real anecdote.
STATUS: False
Denver Airport is a secret UFO landing strip, underground military base or civilian detainment camp
There are a lot of rumours around about strange goings-on at Denver Airport. Suspicions were raised right from the beginning. It was built in 1995, despite the fact that Denver already had an airport. The new complex had fewer gates and runways, but much more space. It was alleged to be an unsuitable location for an airport because of wind and terrain troubles, but apparently the new facility HAD to be built and HAD to be built in that position. Why, and why did they need so much space? It’s said that contractors were repeatedly fired during the construction, apparently so that none of them could get the “Big Picture”.
Supposedly, the airport has 8 sub-basements, and includes several buildings and a runway which were buried because they were “built wrong”. It also has several barren, fenced off areas with barbed wire along the top – facing inwards. Once the airport was complete, disturbing murals were painted on the walls, including African and Native American women lying dead in coffins, along with a blonde girl holding a Bible and a Star of David. Some say that they are Masonic symbols, Nazi propaganda or that they that hold secret messages about world domination. All very odd. But the conspiracy theorists argue about what it all means, so for now you’ll just have to make up your own minds.
STATUS: Not proven
Elvis landed at Prestwick Airport
Many Elvis fans will tell you he never visited the UK, but others claim he made a fleeting stop off at Prestwick Airport. The truth is that it did happen and this was the King’s only visit to our shores. He changed planes at the airport on his way home from doing military service in Germany, in March 1960. Sergeant Elvis was met by hoards of screaming teenagers. He posed for pictures and signed autographs before asking, “Where am I?”
He spent some time at the local NCO club and Teenage Club where they played his hit “Heartbreak Hotel”. The embarrassed superstar called for them to, “Turn it off!” On returning to the plane he said that he liked the idea of Scotland and he would visit the country again on a forthcoming European tour. But the tour never took place and Elvis would never return to the UK.
STATUS: True
Secret flights took Bin Laden’s family out of the US after 9/11
It is claimed by some that members of Osama bin Laden’s family and other Saudi Nationals were flown out of the US immediately after 9/11. This was said to have happened while a ban on air travel was in force, and before the FBI could question them. After the terror attacks, all flights were grounded and the ban stayed in place until 13 September.
During that time, only the military and specially authorised flights carrying medical supplies were allowed in the air. The 9/11 Commission established that there was no truth to the allegation of secret flights. All planes carrying Saudi nationals were accounted for, and they only took to the air after the ban was lifted. The passengers were all screened by the FBI and interviewed before departure.
STATUS: False
Picture Credits
1 - Saint Martin under GNU Free Documentation License
2 – Tofu Photography
3 – Izakovic
4 – Rockmine
5 – Michael D Brown under Creative Commons
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Have you heard any strange airport stories that you’d like us to check out? Got any other evidence to add to the cases we’ve looked at? Please leave your comments below.
World’s Biggest Airports
King Fahd International Airport
This vast airport is spread over 301 square miles of land in Damman, Saudi Arabia. That is an area bigger than many cities – in fact, 3 times the size of Edinburgh – and even bigger than some countries, including the neighbouring Bahrain. In comparison, Heathrow Airport covers less than 5 square miles. Despite its vast size, King Fahd Airport only has the capacity to handle 7 million passengers a year, and actually receives many less. Heathrow, on the other hand, has nearly 68 million travellers passing through each year.
King Khaled International Airport
At 87 square miles, this is another huge airport in Saudi Arabia. It is just outside Riyadh and is actually the main gateway to the country, seeing up to 14 million passengers a year. It has one of the world’s tallest air traffic control towers at 265 ft and the terminal buildings contain a mosque that can hold 5000 worshippers. The airport is also an emergency landing site for NASA’s space shuttle.
Al Maktoum International Airport
When Dubai’s new airport is finished, it will be the third biggest in the world in terms of land mass. It will cover 54 square miles and receive over 120 million passengers a year. It is due to open in 2010 and will be capable of handling all the new-generation aircraft like the A380 superjumbo. This model shows what the finished site will look like.
Denver International Airport
At 53 square miles, Denver Airport just misses out on third place in the size stakes. It’s still huge – twice the size of Manhattan Island and the largest in the USA. It has 6 runways and is the 10th busiest in the world in terms of passenger numbers. Its distinctive fibreglass roof mirrors the peaks and valleys of the surrounding Rocky Mountains.
Beijing International Airport
Another way of measuring the largest airport is to look at the size of its terminals. The world’s largest terminal complex is now at Beijing International Airport, after its development for the 2008 Olympics. With a floor space of 10 million square feet, the third terminal is also the largest freestanding structure in Asia. It was designed by Norman Foster, who also built the Gherkin in London and the Millennium Bridge. The new terminal is nearly 2 miles long and from the air, it is supposed to look like a giant red dragon – the traditional symbol of China.
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Credits
Photo 1 – Leslie E. Robertson Associates, R.L.L.P.
Photo 2 – airport-technology.com
Photo 3 – Imre Solt under GNU Free Documentation License
Photo 4 – Call 2 Web
Photo 5 - Gabriel Lai
Strange smuggling stories
Airport security checks are pretty thorough these days, but there are still some people who try to sneak illegal items onto aeroplanes. From drugs to dead bodies, here are 5 of the strangest stories of smuggling I’ve ever heard.
Need a fix
Drugs are a common type of contraband to turn up in airport security checks, but the smugglers sometimes find unusual ways of transporting them. You might think a 66 year old man with a broken leg would be unlikely to arouse suspicion, but officials at Barcelona Airport were onto him. On being examined, they found that his plaster cast was made entirely from cocaine. He had flown in from Chile, and the police pay close attention to travellers arriving from South America, because this is one of the main routes for cocaine coming into Europe. X-rays showed that the man really did have an open fracture of the tibia and the fibula, which might have been inflicted upon him deliberately to assist with the plan.
Something fishy
Exotic animals are another favourite for the smugglers, because they can be sold at high prices to Western pet owners. A woman was arrested at Melbourne Airport in 2005, carrying 51 live tropical fish. Officials became suspicious when they heard a “flipping” sound coming from underneath the woman’s skirt. When they lifted it, they found a special apron containing bags of water and her strange cargo.
Bag of bones
In 2008, horrified security staff at Munich Airport stopped a woman at the baggage scan who was found to be carrying a skull and other bones in her luggage. The 62 year old and her friend were taken into police custody. She explained that the skeleton belonged to her brother, who had died 11 years ago in Sao Paulo. She was trying to fulfil his final wish, which was to be buried in Italy. After she produced the correct papers, she was allowed to continue to Naples, bones and all.
Heavy car-go
Baggage handlers at Manchester Airport were put on alert after struggling with a suitcase that weighed in at 68 kg. That’s more than 3 times the personal baggage allowance and over double the maximum weight for a single piece of luggage. When they demanded to see what was inside, they found that the passenger was trying to transport half a car engine in his suitcase. Surely there must be a better way to bring a motor vehicle back to your home country!
Monkey business
Sometimes the security checks miss something. Officials in Lima, Peru, obviously failed to look under one traveller’s hat. During the flight, the other passengers were surprised to see a monkey climb out and perch on his ponytail. The animal spent the rest of the flight under the man’s seat and behaved well. The man was taken away for questioning when he landed in Florida, and the monkey was prepared for a new life in a zoo.
Picture credits
These pictures are for illustration purposes only and the websites named below have nothing to do with the smuggling!
1 – Rugby Rescue
2 – Dogs Pets Cats New Zealand
3 – Toptenz
4 – Car Spare Finder
5 - Look At This
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Aeroplane hotels
Have you ever wished you could bring your bed on board the aeroplane? Stretch out and get a sound night’s sleep on a long flight? The dream of a floating hotel is not as far-fetched as you might think. There’s a new generation of aircraft in development that could change the way we travel forever. But, for the moment, the closest thing you’ll get to that experience is an aeroplane hotel; the only problem is, you won’t have moved anywhere when you wake up!
Jumbo Hostel, Arlanda Airport, Sweden
This plane had a long life in service, ferrying tourists around the world and flying Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. But by 2006 it had been reduced to a mouldy wreck, abandoned at Arlanda Airport in Sweden. An entrepreneur saw an opportunity and snapped it up, transforming the Boeing 747 into a 25 room hostel. The interior was completely cleaned out and refurbished, with new wiring and plumbing, and the space divided into bedrooms and bathrooms. It has kept some original features, like overhead cabins for storage and repositioned airline chairs in the lounge. The hostel has a view of the landing strip at the airport and those not staying overnight are welcome to come in for a coffee or a walk out on the wing.
This is budget accommodation – you can expect to sleep on a bunk bed in a room about 6 metres square. You can opt to share with others, dormitory style, but private rooms for up to 3 guests are available. The most luxurious space is the cockpit suite, which sleeps 2 and is the only bedroom with a private bathroom. It’s being billed as the honeymoon suite, with marriage ceremonies to take place on the wing outside. You might not quite qualify for the mile high club, but it’s the next best thing.
Have a look around and see what you think!
727 Fuselage, Costa Rica
This plane looks like it has crash landed in a tropical paradise, but it was really brought here bit by bit from its prior resting place at San Jose Airport. It’s another plane that came to the end of its working life and was given a makeover by a hotelier with an eye for unusual accommodation.
This one is at the more luxurious end of the market. The whole Boeing 727 has been turned into one exclusive suite. Set on a 50-foot high pedestal, it has views over the ocean and the jungle. A hardwood deck has been added to the outside and there is a dining area, kitchenette and 2 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. The interior has been covered in teak panelling, giving it the feel of a top-class treehouse.
Airplane Suite, Teuge Airport, Holland
This plane was being used as a village restaurant when it was bought and brought to the edge of the runway at Teuge Airport in Holland. It has been transformed into a 5 star hotel suite and meeting room, complete with Jacuzzi, sauna, bar and kitchen, as well as all mod cons like flat screen televisions and wireless internet.
The four engine plane was built in 1960 and was used by the East German government, to carry officials like Erich Honecker around the world. It’s an Ilyushin 18, which was a popular Soviet Union aircraft. Its Cold War-era owners could hardly have imagined that the plane would one day be kitted out as a playroom for wealthy capitalist businessmen.
Manned Cloud
If you really want your hotel to get off the ground, you’re going to have to wait a little longer. The Manned Cloud won’t be launched until 2020. It’s still in development, but a flying hotel is an exciting prospect and could be part of a revolution in the way we travel. The technology hasn’t been fully worked out yet, but it’s an airship that will be fuelled by some kind of gas. It will be huge – the length of 2 football pitches – with 20 bedrooms for up to 40 guests. It will have all the features you would expect in a quality hotel such as a restaurant, bar, spa and gym. But it will be able to take you places you have never been before.
The idea is that it could land in beauty spots such as Thailand and the Caribbean, stay there for a week or so and then take off again. This would allow tourists to visit these destinations, whilst leaving the natural landscape unspoilt by permanent building.
Aeroscraft
And there’s another airborne hotel on the horizon, with a prototype expected as early as 2010. It will be the cruise ship of the sky. Travellers who choose to sail around the sea are more interested in the journey than the destination, and it will be the same for those aboard the Aeroscraft. They will travel at a leisurely speed, with time to relax and enjoy the unrivalled and ever-changing views of the earth below. If they tire of that, they can entertain themselves in the casino or restaurant.
The Aeroscraft is a cross between an airship and an aeroplane. It has electric engines, which are both quiet and environmentally friendly. It takes off vertically, so it doesn’t need a runway, and it will be able to land on earth, snow or water, making it a very flexible means of transport.
Credits
Picture 1 – Travel Anecdotes
Picture 2 and 3 – Mr Vincent Costello
Picture 4 and 5 – Hotel Suites
Picture 6 – Groovy Green
Picture 7 – Air Voila
Picture 8 – How Stuff Works
Picture 9 - Elite Choice
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What do you think of these aeroplane hotels? Would you like to stay in one? Please leave your comments below.
Funny airport videos
If you’re off to the airport, you’re probably looking forward to having some fun on your holidays, but the process of getting there can sometimes be a bit of a laugh in itself. For some light relief, here are 5 of the funniest airport videos we could find.
Air Rage
Anyone who’s ever missed a plane can sympathise with the way this woman feels…anger, frustration, disbelief…but I think this reaction is more likely to get you escorted from the building than onto the plane!
The scene takes place in Hong Kong International Airport, but there are English subtitles so you can appreciate the full force of this temper tantrum. I feel sorry for the family members, who are clearly very embarrassed!
Yorkshire Airlines
Comedy duo Hale & Pace give us a vivid picture of what it would be like to fly with Yorkshire Airlines.
Passengers could expect mushy peas with everything and an outdoor loo…hopefully they wouldn’t want to travel too far!
Your Attention Please
Aussie tricksters the Chasers have an open mike session at the departure gate for Qantas Airways.
They start making announcements over the tannoy at an unattended desk, expecting to be thrown out immediately. But the joke goes on longer than they had planned!
No Frills Airline
It seems like everything on board costs extra these days. Check out this sketch from the American show Mad TV.
It’s a nightmarish parody of a flight on a low cost airline, where the priority is to rinse the passengers of every last penny rather than to keep them safe!
Rap on the knuckles
This man found a unique way of delivering his complaint about Heathrow’s new Terminal 5…thankfully, things seem to be functioning much better out there these days.
He was one of the unfortunate passengers to travel through the terminal when there were teething problems with the luggage system. On the way to his wedding in Italy, the bags containing his suit and his wife’s dress were lost in transit. This was a real disaster on one of the most important days of their lives – but he’s managed to keep a sense of humour about it!
We’d like to hear from you!
Have you ever felt like throwing a fully-fledged tantrum in the middle of the airport like the lady in the video? Do you know of any other funny airport videos? Please leave your comments in the box below.
World’s most unusual airports
Gibraltar Airport
This airport has a very unusual runway. It’s been built across a busy road, an impractical yet necessary setup because of the lack of space on the narrow peninsula of Gibraltar. When a plane goes for a take off or landing, the main road to Spain has to be blocked off to allow it to pass.
Bilbao Airport
This airport in Spain has an unique and striking terminal building. It’s made of white concrete and steel and is nicknamed “The Dove” because of its shape. It was designed by world-renowned architect Santiago Caltrava and built during the 1990’s. He is both an architect and an engineer and has been praised for bridging the gap between these 2 art forms.
Siemens Airport Centre
This is the most high tech airport in the world…but its passengers never leave the ground. It’s located near Nuremburg in Germany and has the systems and facilities to serve an airport the size of Heathrow, but it’s actually a sophisticated training and testing facility. Passengers are identified with 3-D facial scanners and observed by automatic monitoring systems which flag up emergencies or risky situations, such as an abandoned piece of luggage or a person who has just collapsed. Here, a boarding pass is a barcode in a text message, which the passenger holds over a reader to gain access at the gate. Luggage is transported on conveyer belts travelling at a world record-breaking speed of 10 metres per second. The technology they’re developing here could soon be seen in real airports around the world.
Spaceport Singapore
But if you really want to look into the future, check out this Spaceport. Yet to be built, it will be located near Changi Airport and aims to be the first tourist facility of its kind. It will offer astronaut training and flight simulation experiences as well as actual suborbital space trips on the Explorer Space Vehicle, which can hold 5 passengers. They will be blasted 64 miles above the surface of the Earth and experience about 5 minutes of continuous weightlessness.
Iqaluit Airport
And from the sublime to the yellow submarine…this bright little airport in Nunavut, Canada is certainly eye-catching. But it’s unusual in another way as well. Its geographical location halfway between Hollywood and Europe makes it a busy stopping place for the private jets of the rich and famous, and consequently it’s one of the best airports in the world for celebrity spotting.
Credits
Photo 1 – Mark Ashley
Photo 2 – Wayfaring Travel Guide
Photo 3 – Siemens
Photo 4 – Space Fellowship
Photo 5 – Travel Blog
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What’s the most unusual airport you’ve ever visited? Please leave your comments below.