CMU School of Drama


Monday, February 14, 2022

Photos: See Inside a Retired Boeing 747 'Party Plane'

www.businessinsider.com: The iconic Boeing 747 jumbo jet has been an unfortunate casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many airlines speeding up its retirement over the past two years.

7 comments:

Jeremy Pitzer said...

Look, I get that I will never be able to rent this plane out, but lord almighty I want to. It kind of sucks that it's in a boring place because its at an airport, but I imagine it would still be a blast to get all your friends together and get a luxury private plane experience without having to actually fly somewhere. Perfect for friends you want to bring along but are afraid of flying. That is, unless they are afraid of planes themselves which would be unfortunate for that friend and for you who invited them and if they freak out then it will be unfortunate for everyone. So, on second thought, ask all your friends if they are cool with planes before you rent this. Anyway, i kind of wish it still had airplane style seats, because those stools do not look comfortable enough for a movie night as I know them.

Olivia Curry said...

While it’s impressive that the interior of the plane has been so extensively remodeled, unfortunately I think the whole draw of a party plane would be to go inflight while partying. Of course, after a few seconds it’s obvious that there are quite a few barriers to this, but nonetheless the novelty of the plane is, for me, outweighed by the drawbacks. Not having working toilets is a major con; at a party, especially if it’s cold outside, nobody wants to deplane and ruin the illusion just to answer nature’s call. The seats with working screens would be a big plus; if guests got too inebriated they could be strapped into a seat and be distracted with a slightly old movie until they sleep off the night. I also appreciate that they assist in students getting their pilot’s license, so the business can give back to the community at least in a small way.

John Alexander Farrell said...

Arriving at this article feels like going on a YouTube video and clicking on the first suggested video a few times in a row. Am I interested in planes? You ask. No. Was I intrigued by the idea of a retiring plane? Also no. But that doesn’t mean the pictures are not fascinating. Yea, you caught me. I kind of just wanted to see the pictures. And let me just say, the Retired Boeing 747 'Party Plane' is huge! Although I guess all planes are. As the article points out, it’s just different to see a plane with no seats. It feels empty and spacious. A fact which raises the question of what does it mean to look at a “known space” through new eyes? Most of us have been to a place before, but seeing it “decorated” in a party style is definitely thought-provoking. Something to consider as a set designer, for sure.

Gaby F said...

Would I ever be able to afford this? Probably not. Am I willing to sell a limb to party in this bad boy for a week straight? Abso-flipping-lutely. I also think this is a wonderful example of the good that came come out of devising a solution to re-purpose something instead of throwing it away. Though this is not applicable to everything, I always feel better when I reuse something or do my best to keep it functional even after it should be discarded. I also think that the solution to flip the entire plane was genius. It would be a disservice to the craft that saw generations of travelers going in and out of it to sit in a museum in the name of longevity. I thought the little bit about the toilets was funny, it really was the last thing on my mind when I started reading this article.

Sawyer Anderson said...

Wow this is genuinely a shame. It may be my personal style but I think this was a huge waste of money and aesthetically disgusting. It's a plane. And they put faux plants and wood in it. What correlation do fake plants and wooden beams have to do with a boeing 747? Absolutely nothing. What would have been cool is if they had retained the first class seats with the high back and put swivels on them, retained the cockpit, taken down the doors, opened the bar, and used original glassware from an older jet. Off topic but refurbished vintage jets are always truly stunning. Also the way they hung the lights is hideous. It looks like a DIY project where someone didn’t know what they were doing. Another really cool option would have been to gut the entire thing aside from the cockpit so that people would stand in the hull and they could have stairs leading up to first and the cock pit and it would be more metallic, they could even show the engine.

Liberty Lapayowker said...

I found this article particularly interesting because whenever something is repurposed before being disposed of is a step in the right direction for improving the way we look at waste. The author of this article explained how a retired Boeing 747 has been retired and transformed into a venue that can be rented out for events. I appreciate the fact that they are keeping some parts of the plane in its original form and trying to incorporate simple experiences like watching movies in those parts of the plane. I see parallels between this and the theatre industry because our goal is to often immerse the audience in a completely transformed environment and components of a show are often reused or admired by setting up display cases. I like how the purpose for this retired plane, although versatile, was mainly to “preserve the Queen of Skies’ legacy and beauty”. Which we do not see often as the main incentive of many companies is to make a profit.

Megan Hanna said...

Honestly, I’m a little disappointed in the outcome of the party plane. I was expecting so much more when I heard that it was a retired plane, but to me it doesn’t really look designed or innovative. The furniture kind of looks like they got it from wayfair which is upsetting because you have so much creative freedom when it comes to redesigning a plane especially since that plane doesn't even have to fly. I guess I might be missing the full lighting and sound experience which is essential when creating a party venue. Personally, I would never pay for this because why would you want to be partying on a plane when you aren’t actually going to end up somewhere unless there was something really special about the design. I’m also someone who is a strong supporter in upcycling and creating new purpose for things so I wish I was more excited about this project.