This restaurant is made out of an Airbus A320 aircraft
Ever fancied a date inside an aircraft? Sparks would fly perhaps.
A New Delhi, India based hospitality company is recreating an experience close to that. Only this time, the aircraft is not flying but on ground.
But that takes nothing away from the uniqueness of Hawai Adda — a swanky airplane restaurant made out of a junk Airbus 320 once flying for Air India. The name literally means 'airport' in Hindi and the ambiance replicates it.
The restaurant, situated in the northern Indian city of Ludhiana, took more than a year to make and opened to the public last month.
"We were inspired by the Maharaja Express [a luxurious food and travel experience inside a train in New Delhi] and wanted to create something similar inside a plane," Parampreet Singh Luthra, director of Hands Hospitality and the brain behind the innovative project, tells Mashable India.
But it wasn't easy. "We wanted to retain most of the original bits of the aircraft including its 1 million wires. So, we had to hire experienced engineers and airline support staff who knew the drill," he adds.
The project had reportedly run into trouble in late 2015 for flouting fire safety norms, according to the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. Another report claimed that the airplane's wings were touching the edges of the Ludhiana- Ferozepur national highway causing a potential traffic hazard and thus, delaying proceedings.
But Luthra denies any such problems. "We have all the clearances from the government," he confirms.
Hawai Adda is a 72-seater restaurant that serves pure vegetarian food. It also has a cafe, a bakery and a kitty hall that can hold up to 40 people. Barring the furniture, all original elements of an airplane have been retained.
And photos posted on its Instagram page reveal a plush set-up.
Hawai Adda has the distinction of being India's first airplane restaurant. And adds to the country's list of unique restaurants from a jail-themed one in Chennai to a cable-car themed one in Bangalore.
