An iconic 747 British Airways jet bought for just £1 has become the first in the world to be transformed into a bar to host lavish plane parties.

The BA Negus 'party plane' is now in situ at Cotswold Airport - and is available for revellers to hire.

It has been remodelled into an events space to host everything from private birthday parties to product launches and corporate events.

Stroud News and Journal:

The aircraft is being preserved at the site near Cirencester after British Airways retired its fleet early because of the travel downturn caused by the pandemic.

It was bought in 2020 and has since been a labour of love for the airport's chief executive Suzannah Harvey.

"I paid a pound for her, and we have a certain obligation to maintain it as is practical for public use," she said.

"The company has had to spend nearly £500,000 getting her prepped and ready here, but I think it's money well spent and it preserves her for future generations."

Most of the original structure has stayed the same but the transformation has included stripping out the economy section to create the events space and turning the galley into a bar.

Stroud News and Journal:

A full rewiring with custom lighting has been done as well as a deep clean.

Suzannah added: "It's been a long old slog. She came into us in October 2020, and at the time I rather naively thought we'd have her up and running by the following Easter.

"We've had such tremendous support from everybody. All the contractors, all the people that have volunteered who are current BA 747 engineers - and here we are finally. She's ready and she's good to go."

Anyone wanting to host a party onboard will have to pay more than £1,000 an hour but Suzannah said they had been inundated with enquiries - including from Netflix.

Stroud News and Journal:

Suzannah added: "The vision has finally come to fruition, with overwhelming support from volunteers including current BA engineers and half a million pounds of investment later, Negus 747 is finally ready.

"Preserved for many years to come and future generations, Negus is the only bespoke events 747 in the world."

Suzannah said an app will soon be launched to enable the general public to book tours of the aircraft.