Crossair's Mc Donnell Douglas MD-83 or simply the Mc Plane in 1996.
ETH-Bibliothek Zürich Bildarchiv/<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 4.0</a> (bearbeitet)
80 years of Mc Donald's
Back when Big Macs were served on board
The fast food giant celebrates its 80th birthday. Mc Donald's has made it almost anywhere - just never really got up in the air. With one exception in the 90s.
Top-Jobs
Administrator AVOR & CAMO
Kaufmännische Leitung und Unternehmensorganisation
Vollzeit
Kasaero GmbH
Luftfahrt
Feste Anstellung
Top jobs
Böblingen
Deutschland
Fluggerätemechaniker (m/w/d) als Prüfer / Certifying Staff (m/w/d) EASA Part 66 CAT B1 und/oder B2 für Dornier 328
First Officer Cessna 525 (m/f/d)
Vollzeit
Smartline Luftfahrt GmbH
Aircraft Management
Feste Anstellung
Top jobs
Airport St. Gallen Altenrhein
Österreich
Dick and Mac McDonald grew up as children of Irish immigrants in modest circumstances on the East Coast of the USA. But they had a clear goal: To become millionaires. The brothers tried their luck in California. And they found it on May 15, 1940, when they opened a restaurant in San Bernardino, out of which later grew a global corporation.
Though the McDonald brothers sold their company long before it became a billion dollar business. They still became millionaires. Today Mc Donald's is represented in more than 100 countries and owns more than 38,000 restaurants. But there's one place the company has never really made it to: into the sky.
Restaurant in a Douglas DC-3
After all, Westjet has been serving Mc Donald's coffee on board their jets since 2006. Mc Café Premium Roast is served on the flights of the Canadian airline. Not in the air, but at least in a plane, Big Macs, Filet-o-Fishs and Co. are served in Taupo. A local branch of the group in the city in New Zealand is partly housed in an old Douglas DC-3.
24 years ago there was even a real McDo in the air. Swiss tour operator Hotelplan chartered a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 from Crossair to cater to families. It worked together with Mc Donald's. This opened up «previously unknown ways for the company to market holiday trips with a clearly profiled offer,» says Hotelplan in retrospect.
Burgers, but no fries
Everything on the plane was reminiscent of the fast food giant, which is now celebrating its 80th birthday. The MD-83 was painted red, the body was emblazoned with the Mc Donald's logo and the tail unit with the golden arches. Inside everything was red as well - even the seats.
Passengers on flights to holiday destinations around the Mediterranean and to Paris and Vienna were served hamburgers, chicken McNuggets and Big Macs. Only fries were not served in the Mc Plane, as Hotelplan called the aircraft. They could not be prepared «in the cramped galley according to the quality standards of the restaurant chain», the tour operator explained at the time.
Campaign cost millions
For this purpose there were «toys and reading material for the kids, painting competitions and games of chance» on board. Quite unthinkable today: Children's visits to the cockpit are «welcome, the pilot issues a flight certificate to every little guest», was the motto at the time of the presentation. The project has cost Hotelplan quite a bit. The advertising campaign cost four million francs.
Crossair's Mc Donnell Douglas MD-83 or simply the Mc Plane in 1996.
ETH-Bibliothek Zürich Bildarchiv/CC BY-SA 4.0 (bearbeitet)
Fast food was served on bord.
Crossair via md-80.com
The aircraft belonged to Crossair and was chartered by the travelling agency Hotelplan.
ETH-Bibliothek Zürich Bildarchiv/CC BY-SA 4.0 (bearbeitet)
It was all red, inside and out.
Crossair via md-80.com
80 years ago in San Bernardino, the success story of Mc Donald's began.
Mc Donald's
In Taupo, New Zealand, guests are invited to enjoy their burgers inside a scrapped Douglas Dc-3.
Google Maps
Video
Air Indias Unglücksflug AI171 dauerte nicht einmal eine Minute. Mehr als 200 Menschen starben, als die Boeing 787 hinter dem Flughafen Ahmedabad auf das Gelände einer Berufsschule stürzte. Was ist alles bisher bekannt?
Eine Boeing 787 von Air India verunglückte kurz nach dem Start und stürzte in ein Wohnviertel von Ahmedabad. Der Dreamliner war für den Flug nach London voll betankt. Bis jetzt sind 207 Todesopfer bestätigt - Tendenz steigend. Bis jetzt gibt es einen Überlebenden.
Ungewöhnlicher Zwischenfall in Norwegen: Beim Entladen und Aussteigen in Haugesund kippte eine Boeing 737 von Getjet Airlines auf ihr Heck. Sie stand für Wizz Air im Einsatz.