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So, Spending $1,000+ On Used Airplane Bar Carts is a Thing

By Rain Noe - September 25, 2020

in Object Culture

No one likes airplane food, and flight attendants aren't exactly mixologists, so it's weird that there's a fetish for the service carts used to bring you those sky-high victuals. But when Australia's Qantas Airways recently decommissioned their fleet of 747s, and put 1,000 747 bar carts up for sale, all of them sold out within minutes.

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Granted, the Qantas carts were stocked with mini-bottles of booze and Commonwealth snacks like Tim Tams, but the asking price of AUD $1,474 (USD $1,035) sounded kind of steep to me. Then I looked it up, and that seems close to the going rate. On Etsy this TWA-branded bar cart is going for USD $1,213…

…this TransAero model runs $995…

…and these half-size Primera Air carts are going for $788.

Over on eBay, the prices are all over the map. About the cheapest I could find is this battered Alitalia model for $355--but the shipping charges are an additional $175.

I'm not sure why there's such demand for a storage object with such a narrow range of applications. But with airlines going the way they are now, I'm guessing there will soon be a lot more of these on the market. If you wanna cash in on the trend, start looking to buy them from the source.

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Donald Jones

2 years ago

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This would make a nice portable power tool cart. You could trhough all the other things you need for the project you are doing on top and wheel this to the area you are working on, ie. levels. squares, glues. plyers, snippers, etc. etc,

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Michael Slinger

2 years ago

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I'll chuck a little Australian perspective to this.

Part of the appeal is that the 747 was instrumental in providing a way for a lot of Australians to be able to travel overseas in a much easier manner (more passengers per flight, fewer stops along the way). QANTAS also being an Australian icon of a brand and central to this increase in overseas travel.

Plus it also helps in Australia for something to be filled with booze.

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Nathan D.

2 years ago

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Boxes on wheels? Very narrow range of applications there. Can't imagine why anyone would ever want such a thing.

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Sean Horita

2 years ago

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DARN I've been thinking about getting one of those forever. A United branded 747 model would be awesome.

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- Chris Haar
  
  Sean Horita
  
  2 years ago
  
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  My boss bought a Northwest trash cart and is going to convert it to a drinks/snacks cart for around the office when we can go back to precovid times.
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  - Chris Haar
    
    Chris Haar
    
    2 years ago
    
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    And it was way less than what those actual bev carts are going for and twice the size!
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