In 2009, a former Pan Am Boeing 747-212B has started its (likely) final operation: based on the initiative and business decision by Oscar Diös, the plane opened its doors as a hostel at the edge of Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN). Since then, it is somehow a nerdy place to go for aviation enthusiasts. Coming back from the United Arab Emirates, I had a night at this very special place in late February 2022. Having dreamed of that overnight since many years, I went for the potentially poshest way to have a nap at this special place: I had a look at their Cockpit Suite, which is (not too hard to guess) built into the cockpit.

Jumbo Stay – Location & Transport

The Boeing 747 hostel is located South of the Arlanda Terminals. It is located more or less right across the road from the Arlanda Airport Rental Car Center. There are two other hotels and the Arlanda Air Collection, which is unfortunately having rather limited hours. The plane is on a slight hill, which may be bothering. There is also an elevator to bring you to door level. Unfortunately, it was not working during my stay – and they did not notify me before. This was very bothering arriving with two suitcases after an intercontinental flight. I would have left one at a left luggage at the airport if I knew before.

This also leads to a nice traffic connection: the free BETA bus, which is also used to transport people to the rental cars and to airport hotels in the area. There is also the Flygskolan (“Flight School”) public bus stop, which is served by two bus lines. One of them is 589, which is also connecting you to Mersta and the local traffic trains. There is no car park apart from the long-term car park the rental car facility is located in.

 

Jumbo Stay – Atmosphere

The Jumbo Stay is in fact a hostel-alike accommodation. There are rooms with and without showers. At check-in time (15:00 hrs), I received an e-mail with the door code (which unfortunately also meant nobody has been around, see below). I was not aware that the smarter option for the Cockpit Suite only to first bring my suitcases up to its balcony level and then grab them from inside (see below, the door does not open from outside). The aviation topic is very present, so that I feel they did a really nice job here.

There are also some special rooms. In contrast to the original state of opening (which had a massive advertisement for a mobile network provider, which now is still somehow visible), there are sleeping cabins in the cases of the former engines. Furthermore, you can also sleep in the wheel cases nowadays.

A really nice feature (I am sure it is great in summer) is that you can walk along the left wing of the Boeing. That is in fact the best place to view the airport. In general I feel for that reason, the plane should face in the exactly opposite direction – you would have a much better runway view on the other side.

 

Jumbo Stay – The Cockpit Suite

The one night stay in February 2022 at the Cockpit Suite was 1995 SEK (some 185 Euro at that time). There is only one cockpit suite for obvious reasons. The nominal price is often significantly higher, roughly 3300 SEK. However, you may not only use the cockpit area, but also the First Class Lounge and a terrace next to the suite at the former upper entrance door. You could walk up to terrace level from outside – however, it is not possible to get into the suite, as the door opens from inside only.

This means that the most effective way with luggage is to first bring your luggage to the terrace, go back to main floor, grab your key, take the narrow step and then open the terrace door from inside to get your luggage. I would definitely not appreciate that in case of bad weather.

 

Cockpit Room and Bathroom

The heart of your stay is of course the double bed bedroom with the flight cockpit. Even though they did a really nice job, it is a rather narrow fit. I finally put my suitcases in the connection hallway (which should be exclusive to the Cockpit Suite as well. The room features a double bed, a fridge, a tea/coffee maker facility. Like in the whole place, there are plenty of power outlets, which I really loved. The heart of your stay is of course the cockpit itself. Unfortunately, the narrow design also means that there are no seats in the cockpit. You sit on the edge of the bed. Only some controls are original, many are just prints. There used to be a TV set of the cockpit, but this one has been poorly fixed. You still have some key controls like the thrust levers and the steering. As there is no seat, you will not even reach the rudder pedals. There is no flight engineer equipment in the cockpit.

The entrance to the bathroom is very narrow. However, the bathroom itself is really large, compared to the suite. The ceiling is naturally rather low – so if you are significantly taller than 1.80 meters, it may be very bothering. Unfortunately, one way to make everything fit is to have no separation between shower and toilet, which is not too rare in Scandinavia, though. Finally, you should mention that the plane is facing towards the rental car parking, not towards the apron. The terrace allows you to do a bit of plane-spotting, though. Depending on the current flight direction, noise from plane traffic may be bothering.

Terrace and Lounge

While I first felt that the Cockpit Suite is far too small for a proper stay, I felt that the lounge is really beautiful. It is a very cozy place with some quite well-preserved original plane seats. Unfortunately, using some of the cozy seats did not match with being close to the power outlets., which are rather located at the ends of the large upper deck cabin. This room also features a (nicer and larger) TV set, which even offers Apple TV.

The terrace is definitely a beauty in summer, I guess, when the days are long and the sun is almost not setting at all. I really liked to be up there, even during the chilly winter temperatures.

 

Safety Issues

Your Cockpit Suite key only locks the sleeping cabin. In order to prevent that other guests take the stairs up to the cockpit, the hostel put a luggage belt between the handrails. The door at the end of the stairs opens towards the stairs, which is correct for emergency protection, but is extremely bothering when you go up (the 747-200 staircase is extremely steep and has been replaced by a better staircase with the 747-400 later). As they also block the outdoor stair access, this means that in case of an emergency, both routes out of the Cockpit Suite are having obstacles in case of emergency. Furthermore, if you stayed at the place several nights, you might want to move valuables to the cockpit every time you are not around.

 

Jumbo Stay – Breakfast / Food

The front part of the Jumbo main deck has been transformed to a nice canteen-like cafeteria. During my stay you could use the place to relax and socialize, but also to have self-service breakfast. The official times given are 3:00 to 10:00hrs (which is check-out time) – however, some guests grabbed a drink or some bread on the evening already. There has been no staff during my stay (see below). I like the atmosphere of the room, the breakfast was basic, but much better than the one I for example had at the Road Stop Motel Dortmund briefly before. There were hot drinks, various types of bread, some fruit, preserves, cold cuts and cereals, which is absolutely fine for a hostel, I feel.

The Jumbo Stay typically seems to have a serviced bar and a restaurant with simple dishes. This has also been clearly stated in my reservation. There was no service during my stay. Especially if you have in mind that there is no supermarket or similar around, I felt that this should have been stated more clearly.

 

Jumbo Stay – Service

I did not know that the hostel was not serviced during my stay. This is especially critical as you may have to go back to the airport for some food. The WiFi worked very well. I would have loved to have more information about the plane and all the switches etc. (the ones which at least are still working). The common sanitary facilities looked very nice – but the attendance in the hostel was very low during my visit. There are ironing facilities and you may leave your luggage in a designated room. Jumbo Stay also sells merchandise. I would have loved to grab a t-shirt. But, obviously, there was nobody to sell it to me.

You can reach the hotel staff by phone, but I feel that this leads to a barrier in communication. If you are a non-EU citizen, it may also lead to communication expenses. I would have expected at least that there is some staff at check out times.

 

Jumbo Stay – My View

I am very mixed about my stay in the Cockpit Suite at the Jumbo Stay. On the one hand, I appreciate the effort the team put into this place. Together with the meeting room and the terrace, the suite is a nice place. The concept regarding the access through the circular staircase with the door facing towards the stairs shows that the concept used to be different, with a “meeting space for everyone” rather than having a suite with different rooms.

Having no staff at all, missing and incorrect information (dining) and the blocked emergency routes need to lead to significant rating reduction as well. The outcome is a fairly low rating. Finally, the place would be so much better when the jumbo jet would face to the opposite side. If you compare to the Vliegtuigsuite in the Netherlands, for example, the value for money is questionable that their normal rates.

 

Airport Hotels

Here are all hotels with a good airport connection:

 

Flyctory.com in Stockholm

Here are all postings about my visits to the Swedish capital: