Africa report
South Africa: spend a night in a hotel-flight
Audio 02:14
Exterior view of the Boeing 737 which was rehabilitated by the Aerotel company into a 6-bedroom hotel, in Hoedspruit, Limpopo province, South Africa, March 25, 2022. © RFI / Romain Chanson
By: Romain Chanson Follow
3 mins
Do you always think you sleep badly on planes?
Not with Aerotel.
This is not an airline, but an upscale hotel housed in an old airliner.
Six bedrooms were built in the cabin.
Price of one night for a couple: 200 euros.
That's not all: it will soon be possible to sleep in a former presidential plane.
The jet of a sitting African head of state is being fitted out.
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From our correspondent in Cape Town,
A Boeing 737 appears to have landed in the middle of the bush.
Visible from the road, the airliner appears intact.
Inside, six cramped but comfortable cabins, in which the double bed sits next to the bathroom.
“
This is what the rooms look like
,” says Simoné Breytenbach, manager of the hotel, showing us around.
“
We kept the original portholes, you can open and close them.
We have transformed the cabin compartments into cupboards to store things like a blanket.
Here a mirror, a mini fridge and a safe
”, explains the manager.
The hotel impresses with its sense of detail and recovery.
But if there is one place that has not been transformed: it is the cockpit.
Customers and “drivers”
A couple shows up there.
“
Go ahead, you can settle
down”, invites Simoné Breytenbach.
“
Are we taking off?
», «
We fly to Bali
», imagine Willem Marais and Ivanda Swiegers.
This couple from Johannesburg takes the place of the pilots.
The dashboard at 40 years old.
“
That's great!
It's very original to have transformed a plane into a hotel, I must say
”, enthuses Willem Marais.
"
I travel a lot, so I often have to face my fear of flying, but here it's different, I can take advantage of it
," says Ivanda Swiegers.
View of the presidential room of the Boeing 727 which belonged to the government of Djibouti and which will be rehabilitated into a VIP hotel room by the Aerotel company.
Hoedspruit, Limpopo province, South Africa, March 25, 2022 © RFI / Romain Chanson
Presidential plane
It was a couple of real estate developers who had the idea of converting old planes into hotels.
The first opened in 2020 after 18 months of work and a second was acquired in June 2021. Not just any plane: "
He was not very happy to lose his plane, but it was that of the President of Djibouti
“says Tracy den Dunnen, the owner.
It was therefore the official plane of Ismaïl Omar Guelleh.
A Boeing 727 purchased in 2001.
The aircraft was in South Africa for a full overhaul, except there is a dispute over charges which resulted in legal action and resulted in the aircraft being seized to cover unpaid bills.
It's very beautiful inside, there are these superb lounges, these large cream-coloured leather armchairs.
I would love to travel in these conditions (laughs).
Once refurbished, the aircraft can be reserved in its entirety.
Three VIP rooms for family rent.
A question should soon arise: who is sleeping in the president's bed?
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