Can you imagine having a keychain with a real part of a Boeing 747-400 as a souvenir? Aviationtag, a German company specialized in making keychains with aircraft fuselages, has just launched a limited edition of a Boeing 747-400 registration number D-ABTE combi, ex-Lufthansa.
What happens when an aircraft is retired?
Many aircraft at the end of their operational life end up becoming “scrap”, mainly for the alternative market for spare parts. Therefore, some people are impressed to see rows of aircraft without their main parts and wonder why these aircraft do not go to a museum or simply continue flying.
To the sadness of irers and enthusiasts, when an operator or owner chooses to permanently “retire” these aircraft, it is due to the fact that their operation becomes quite expensive. Even heavy preventive maintenance (known as D-Check) may have values close to or even higher than a newer aircraft in an operational situation.
Furthermore, the useful life of an aircraft engine is measured in flight hours and flight cycles. One cycle = one takeoff + one landing, or a full flight. That is, the longer the cycle of an engine, the greater the expenses with operation and maintenance as the years go by.
Have a piece of an aircraft as a keepsake
Thinking about innovating and giving “a second life” to aircraft that are no longer useful, Aviationtag periodically launches new limited collections of different aircraft, ranging from the Boeing 747-400 to the Airbus A380, including parts from a Douglas DC- 3.
In the case of D-ABTE, the fuselage labels of the Queen of the Skies are being sold in partnership with Lufthansa from 25.95 € euros (R$ 167 reais at the current exchange rate). There are also other color versions of the D-ABTE priced at €34,95 euros (about R$224,80), with only 15.000 keychains/tags being produced.
According to the Airfleets website, the D-ABTE inaugurated its operational life on April 13, 1991 and could carry up to 330 engers divided into three classes.
Since 2013, the aircraft has been converted exclusively for cargo operations and operated for Kalitta Air under registration N769CK until September of this year, when it was scrapped for parts resale and to become key chains.
To know the Aviationtag website and its products, just click here.
