Edwin Remsberg / VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Boeing 747 is beloved in the aviation industry, though high costs have forced some airlines to retire the plane.
However, the iconic Queen of the Skies' legacy is being kept alive through tourist attractions across the world.
Airlines, airports, and tourism companies have repurposed several retired 747s into things like hotels and dive sites.
Most aviation enthusiasts adore the Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which debuted in 1969 as the world's first widebody plane.
A Turkish government Boeing Business Jet 747-8i.
The Queen of the Skies was built to meet the growing demand for air travel and was the first jetliner to make international flying affordable.
Air India Boeing 747
The jumbo jet was the first of several 747 variants and featured four engines and two levels.
The Japanese government's former Boeing 747-400 aircraft,
After triumphantly serving airlines as a long-haul workhorse for decades, the 747 started falling short of its twin-engine competitors that could operate the long journeys more efficiently.
An Etihad Airways Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner nicknamed the "Greenliner" at the Dubai Airshow 2021
Specifically, airliners like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 were more cost-effective for carriers and, as a result, the new planes slowly started taking over markets historically served by the 747.
Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The retirement of the Queen of the Skies started before the pandemic when airlines like Delta sent its 747s to the boneyard.
Delta Air Lines Boeing 747
However, the COVID-19 crisis exacerbated the cost issues surrounding the jet, forcing several other carriers to retire it during the pandemic, like Qantas …
Qantas 747.
Instead, several organizations have scooped up the jet and repurposed it into flightless hotels, event spaces, and tourist attractions. Here are six recycled Queen of the Skies that can still be enjoyed by fans.
Atlas Air 747s.
Cotswold Airport bought the plane from British Airways for £1 ($1.35) and rents it out for £1,000 per hour ($1,340) or €12,000 for 24 hours ($16,100).
British Airways 747 "party plane."
The jet is unique because it features the company's old Negus livery that was painted in 2019 for the company's 100th anniversary.
Boeing 747 "party plane."
Renovation of the plane cost £500,000 ($670,000), which included transforming the economy cabin into a dance floor with a DJ stand and bar.
Boeing 747 "party plane."
The rest of the plane has remained untouched, including the upper deck ...
Boeing 747 "party plane" upper deck.
Cotswold Airport
... and the cockpit, which has been sealed off from the public via a transparent door because there are still some working controls.
Boeing 747 "party plane" cockpit.
Another 747 converted into a tourist attraction is the Queen of the Skies parked outside the Corendon Village Hotel in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Corendon 747 in Amsterdam.
Corendon Tourism Group is a leisure travel brand that has an airline based out of Turkey called Corendon Airlines. But, the 747 did not come from the company's fleet.
Corendon Airlines is based in Turkey.
The jumbo jet is actually a retired KLM aircraft named "City of Bangkok" that flew for the Dutch airline for 30 years. It was taken out of service in 2018 and acquired by Corendon.
KLM Boeing 747.
To get the 160-ton plane to the hotel, it was transported via highway and through fields on a 200-ton trailer with 192 wheels.
Corendon 747 being transported to the hotel.
The aircraft has been adorned in Corendon colors and put on display so the public can walk around or sit underneath the jet. Visitors can also tour the 747's interior to see its seats, cockpit, and galleys.
Corendon 747.
Moreover, the 9th floor of the hotel has a lounge called SkyBar where guests can admire the parked 747 as well as other planes flying over Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
Corendon SkyBar.
Jumbo Stay Hotel is a retired Queen of the Skies that opened in 2009 and is parked next to a busy taxiway at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, giving guests panoramic views of the airfield.
Jumbo Stay 747 reception area.
The plane flew for a number of airlines before finding its home at Arlanda, including Singapore Airlines, Pan Am, Canadian carrier Nationair, US charter company Tower Air, and Swedish airline Transjet Airways.
Jumbo Stay 747 entrance.
Edwin Remsberg / VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Another Queen of the Skies converted into a tourism site is Dive Bahrain's sunken 747 to attract diving enthusiasts.
Boeing 747 submerged off the coast of Bahrain.
The jet, which spent most of its life with Malaysia Airlines, was submerged off Bahrain's coast in 2019 by Falcon Aircraft Recycling.
Falcon Aircraft Recycling specially modified the structure of the 747 to sink it.
The plane is part of Dive Bahrain's "underwater theme park" that will house the jet, boats, and several other structures when it is complete.
Boeing 747 sunken off the coast of Bahrain.
There are two must-see 747s that are permanently on display in the US. One is part of Delta Air Lines' aviation museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
Delta Flight Museum 747.
The first-ever 747-400 ever built went to Northwest Airlines in 1989 but was taken over by Delta in a 2008 merger between the two carriers.
Northwest's 747-400.
The jumbo jet, called Ship 6301, was retired in 2015 after flying over 61 million miles. The plane's final flight was from Honolulu to Atlanta, where it has remained ever since.
Delta's first 747-400 last flight.
For its retirement, the historic jet was transformed into "The 747 Experience" and welcomes guests who want to learn about the history of the Queen of the Skies and see its inner workings.
Delta Flight Museum 747 opening.
Visitors to the theme park can go on the Backlot Tour to see the broken-up jet, which was destroyed to create an airplane crash set for Steven Spielberg's movie, "War of the Worlds."
Broken up 747 at Universal Studios California.
Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images
The plane cost the production team $60,000, which was just a third of what transporting the decommissioned All Nippon Airways jet to Universal cost.
ANA 747 being broken down in Victorville.
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