There’s nothing quite like keeping a memento of the one you loved, and if the one in question is the Airbus A380, you’re in luck.
The aircraft manufacturer has announced a sale of more than 500 items from one of its dearly departed big birds. The MSN13 was first flown by Emirates in 2008, was retired during the pandemic and scrapped in October 2021.
The pieces – mostly from the cabin – have been divided into 380 lots, and will be sold over three days, from 13-15 October. The auction will take place in Toulouse, though online bids are also allowed.
All proceeds will go to the Airbus Foundation and the AIRitage association, who have pledged the auction proceeds to humanitarian and heritage missions by the former and latter respectively.
Looking for something to remember her by? Lots include all the usuals, from seatbelts to lamps, plus windows, rows of seats, a staircase, and even a bar. There are Emirates-specific details too, like the illuminated emergency exit signs in English and Arabic.
For full-on avgeeks there are items such as baby bassinets, flashlights and latches to hold galley trolleys in place.
And if regular airplane fittings are not quite chic enough for you, there’s an arty option too. Some of the items, such as engine blades, have been painted by contemporary artists to make them works of art in themselves; others, such as surfboards and skateboards, have no visible link to the plane, but have been created from the A380’s raw materials.
Many of the items, like these airframe door stops, include nuggets of behind-the-scenes information.
Estimated prices start at around $80 for an emergency exit sign. Looking for the way? Drop on over to the auction website to see the listings for days one, two and three.