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Franzose will ausgedienten Airbus A380 in Hotel verwandeln

Franzose will ausgedienten Airbus A380

Franzose will ausgedienten Airbus A380 in Hotel verwandeln

Airbus Hotel
Immer mehr Airbus A380 werden ausgemustert. Einen davon will ein französischer Luftfahrtingenieur „retten“ und daraus ein Hotel

The era of the Airbus A380 is coming to an end. More and more airlines, including the German Lufthansa, have already completely removed the A380 from their fleet, and new ones are no longer being produced. For the decommissioned machines, this usually means that they are first parked and then scrapped at some point. The Frenchman Frédéric Deleuze wants to save at least one of them from this fate: He plans to turn an A380 into a hotel.

energizers, e.g. German span width is the name of the unusual project that Frédéric Deleuze has been working on for months. The idea came to the 38-year-old, who has been working as an aeronautical engineer at Airbus in Toulouse for 15 years, when he had to work short-time due to the corona crisis. “I asked myself what I could do if I had to leave the company,” he says in an interview with protravel. “At the same time, I learned at a business meeting that A380 aircraft were being scrapped and I thought it would be a shame not to reuse these machines in the spirit of the circular economy.” The idea of ​​turning an Airbus A380 into a hotel was then quick emerged – especially in such an important aviation location as Toulouse .

An Airbus hotel with 31 rooms and two suites

“Then, over time, the somewhat crazy idea turned into a credible project,” says Deleuze. According to the project website , the plan envisages converting one of the legendary superjumbos into an upscale hotel with 31 rooms. Two suites are also to be built, one in the cockpit area, the other in the rear part of the aircraft on two floors. A 60-seat restaurant is also planned next to the Airbus Hotel “to complete the experience,” according to the website.

Airbus Hotel
This rendering shows what the Airbus Hotel could look like one day. A restaurant is to be built in the building next door, which will be connected to the aircraft via a ramp.

When asked whether he already has the prospect of an Airbus A380 that has been sorted out, Deleuze remains silent to TRAVELBOOK. When it comes to financing, the 38-year-old reveals that this is “supported in part by private investors”. Deleuze and his project partners are currently still looking for a suitable area for the Airbus Hotel. “We envisage a location in the Toulouse metropolis, and if possible in the area of ​​the Aeroscopia museum and the new Toulouse exhibition center (the MEETT).” Practical: the envisaged location is only a few 100 meters from the A380 production facilities.

Standard of a 3 to 4 star hotel

According to Deleuze, the approximate price for a standard double room will be between 110 and 150 euros and the comfort of the rooms will correspond to that of a 3 to 4 star hotel. “I imagine the target group to be a mixture of aviation enthusiasts, curious tourists and business people who are staying in Toulouse,” says Deleuze.

But how concrete is the ambitious plan really? In any case, there is no concrete timetable for implementation. Deleuze is nevertheless optimistic in this regard. “Today I am completing the technical and economic feasibility study with the help of the DUVAL Group, a property developer,” he reveals. The tourist offices of the Toulouse metropolitan region were also enthusiastic about the plans for his Airbus hotel and could become potential partners.