Airplane restaurant opens in China

The airplane restaurant, bought and established by a Chinese tycoon, opened to the public today in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, reports Huanqiu, an affiliation with the People's Daily Online. 

Owner Li Yang told reporters that it cost him 35 million yuan (£3.9 million) to buy and to re-fit the retired jet. Ambitious Li said his restaurant, which has been named 'Lily Airways', is a Western-style fine-dining space. The man claimed he had spent 'big money' hiring chefs from abroad to man the kitchen and that the average price is around 200 (£22.50) to 300 yuan (£33.74).

A Boeing 737 plane can typically carry 128 passengers. According to Li, the restaurant can accommodate 70 guests at a time.

He told Sina that a few years ago, he saw an airplane in Sweden that had been turned into a hotel and so came up with the idea of opening a restaurant. In keeping with the airplane theme, waitresses were selected according to airline standards. 

Males need to be taller than 5ft 7in and females need to be taller than 5ft 4in.

All staff members have to go through vigorous etiquette training. According to Sina, the aircraft is a decommissioned aircraft purchased from Batavia Air, an Indonesian company, which went bankrupt in 2013. It's located on a German-style pedestrian street of the Wuhan. The Boeing 737 is reportedly over 28 years old and had previously been owned by several major airline companies including British Midland Airlines and Mandala Airlines. The narrow-body aircraft was split into several parts and transported by sea from Indonesia to China after Li purchased it last year. Disassembling the plane took around four months.