Turkey’s largest restaurant happens to be the inside of a retired Airbus A340. The plane-turned-restaurant is located in Balikesir, and is currently on sale for $1.4m, according to real estate agent, Huseyin Caliskan.The wide-body commercial aircraft had belonged to Turkish Airlines. The Airbus A340 had its pieces taken apart into eight after completing its time in the air four years ago. The segments were then transported to Burhaniye district, the northwestern province of Balikesir, Turkey. There, the old Airbus reincarnated into a lush restaurant.CGTN reports that a Turkish entrepreneur that had put in $1.5m to convert the aircraft is now facing health problems. As such, he has decided to put the Airbus restaurant on sale.

Burhaniye Uçak Restorant

The Airbus restaurant is located in a relatively spacious area lined with shrubs forming pathways. There is a conveniently located parking lot in the adjacent region, allowing visitors easy access to the restaurant. It is named “Burhaniye Uçak Restorant,” for which “Uçak” means “airplane” in Turkish.

An Airbus A340 has a seating capacity of 270-354 depending on the model, but for this restaurant, it seats a decent 280.

The real estate agent, Caliskan, describes the airplane restaurant as a symbol of the region of Balikesir. As cited in CGTN, Caliskan says the restaurant is known for hosting several ceremonies, from weddings to parties and special occasion dinners.

The Airbus A340’s demise

The Airbus A340 debuted in 1993, carrying 340 passengers in its standard layout. The 600 models have a capacity of up to 440 travelers.

Depending on the variant, it had a range of between 6,700 and 9,000 nautical miles. This makes it an ideal choice when it comes to long-haul flights.

A four-engine aircraft, the Airbus A340’s time in the spotlight dimmed a couple of decades later. Airlines are now switching to less costly, twin-engine planes, such as the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner.

Eventually, the production of the long-body Airbus A340 ended in 2011.

While most airlines have retired this model, some have a couple in their fleet. For instance, Air Madagascar still has two A340s. Swiss leisure airline Edelweiss Air still has four of such Airbus planes in its fleet.

China and India did the same

Recycling aircraft to make way for restaurants are a typical venture. China and India did the same with retired commercial jets.

In 2017, one of Air India’s old Airbus A320s became a restaurant. The Ludhiana-based restaurant is called “Hawai Adda,” meaning “airport” in Hindi. It seats merely 65 customers for maximum comfort.

The next year, the restaurant “Runway 1”, made use of Air India's Airbus A320, the VT-EPO. This airplane restaurant is located in Ambala, India. The restaurant keeps well to its theme, with its servers dressed as cabin crew. Customers even require a ‘boarding pass’ to enter the eatery, according to Mirror UK.

In Wuhan, China, we can also find one of these plane-restaurants. A Boeing 737 transformed into “Lily Airways” in 2016. Bought from Indonesia’s Batavia Airways, the retired narrow-body aircraft accommodates 70 diners at one go. Aviation CV describes the restaurant as a fine-dining space, serving Western cuisine.

What do you think of airplane restaurants? Have you dined at one of these locations before? Tell us more in the comments.