Life.Culture.Discovery.

Travellers' ChecksFor Hong Kong aviation fans: luggage tags made from an ex-Cathay Pacific Boeing 747

Now you can own a piece of history thanks to companies such as Aviationtag, whose latest series uses pieces from one of the final three Boeing 747s retired from the Cathay fleet in 2016

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Published: 8:15am, 30 Nov 2017Updated: 10:25am, 30 Nov 2017

Aviationtag, a German company that sells luggage tags made from the fuselages, wings and tails of scrapped commercial aircraft, has just added to its range a series that uses pieces of a Cathay Pacific 747-400.

This particular aircraft had a long history in Hong Kong, having first been delivered to Cathay brand new in 1994, in the old green-and-white livery, when the carrier was based at Kai Tak. Its VR-HUI registration was changed to B-HUI after the territory’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, and the plane was one of the final three Boeing 747s retired from the Cathay fleet in 2016, after 22 years of service.

Luggage tags bearing the B-HUI registration may be of interest to Hong Kong aviation enthusiasts.

Laser engraved luggage tags bearing the B-HUI registration and a unique tag number (there are 20,000 in total) are offered in dark green, light blue or white, from €19.95 (US$24) each at aviationtag.com. The tag number can also be used to reunite you with your luggage if it goes astray, via the website’s lost and found service.

Plenty of photos of B-HUI at airports around the world, and more information about the jet, can be found via planespotters.net.

A website offering a similar product is Plane Tags, whose American parent company, MotoArt, makes high-end office and home furniture from old aircraft parts. There’s more choice here, with tags made from the “skins” of not just commercial airliners, but vintage planes and helicopters, and United States President Donald Trump’s old Boeing 727.

Heavy going