Jumbo Stay 747 Hotel Closes for Good
Here’s some news that’s bound to ruffle the feathers of aviation enthusiasts everywhere…
Jumbo Stay Hotel Shutdown: Stockholm Arlanda Says Goodbye
If you ever fancied staying in a plane without the accompanying terror of takeoff, then Jumbo Stay was your go-to hangout. Nestled near Stockholm Arlanda Airport, this quirky hotel—or hostel if you’re feeling a bit casual—first threw open its doors in 2009. Wrapped in the fuselage of a Boeing 747-200 that once served Singapore Airlines, the project was a love letter to aviation obsessives.
This airborne abode boasted 76 beds across 33 rooms. From hostel-style spaces catering to four to luxury pads like the cockpit suite that’s become the stuff of legends, there was something for every sky-dreaming enthusiast.
But all that delight hits the runway of despair. As of March 17, 2025, Jumbo Stay has had its final departure. Filing for bankruptcy, it’s shut the airlock on 800 future bookings with no return flight on the horizon. A bitter landing, considering it has graced us for more than a decade and a half.
Oh, how I wish I had ascended its stairways to heaven. Though my travels did land me in some cool aviation geek locales over in Amsterdam, nothing beats the allure of a 747 tailfin above your pillow.
The Unsweet Symphony of Jumbo Stay’s Closure
Now, you might wonder, what’s the hiccup here? Why is Jumbo Stay turning its landing lights off for good? Turns out, money talks, and its conversation has soured over the years. The hotel’s revenue nosedived, halving from about eight million SEK in 2019 (which is ballpark $793K USD) to a mere four million SEK by 2023 (approximately $396K USD). Harsh winds, my friends.
- Firstly, the arrival of new hotels around the airport snatched away valuable customers.
- Secondly, the Jumbo managed a loopsided twist. They lost advertising privileges where the jumbo jet majestically lounged. Swedavia, the folks at the helm of this bit of earth, decided to wing the advertising permissions into different hands five years back.
As for finding a buyer? That plane may well have flown. Swedavia is laying down heavy resistance, asserting it won’t entertain leasing the land to any new operator. Without that, a sale seems like a pipe dream at best.
No savior on the scene means the only outcome may involve a dismantle operation that rivals a Michael Bay film. The massive plane could end up reduced to scrap—aluminum dignity crafted into canned beans.
Bottom Line
As we mourn the loss of Jumbo Stay at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, housed in the iconic Boeing 747, we recognize a casualty of financial turbulence. Its financial wings were clipped by increased hotel competitors and a forbidden fruit of advertising rights.
Have you ever had the chance to stay at this airborne paradise?