Boeing 727 travels down M4, M5 and M32 to Bristol to be turned into office space

A huge Boeing 727 that once flew for Japan Airlines has been given a new lease of life as stylish office space for a Bristol media and technology company.

Businessman Johnny Palmer spotted the jet plane at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, where it has been based since it was decommissioned in 2012, and decided it would make perfect office space for his firm Pytch.

He bought the plane, which was built in 1967, for less than £100,000 as it no longer had its engine or wings.

He also won planning permission to install the giant fuselage at Pytch headquarters on a trading estate in Bristol.

He was then was left with the task of transporting the 40m long aircraft from Kemble in Gloucestershire to its new home in Bonville Road, Brislington.

The plane had been due to travel to its new home in Bristol in January but the trip had to be postponed because of muddy weather.

Instead, the giant airliner - now known as PYTCHAir, took to the road with a police escort on Saturday 27 February. It headed along the M5, M4 and M32 from Kemble in Gloucestershire to Bristol.

During its journey, the plane blocked motorways and small backroads, became sunk in a tarmac sink hole and scraped under a motorway bridge.

It also had its route changed due to road emergencies and attracted large crowds of onlookers.

Johnny Palmer said: "Getting PYTCHAir to Bristol was a major challenge and there were some hairy moments, such as when it scraped under a motorway bridge and when emergency services had to get past us.

"I believe there were a lot of traffic disruptions, but we hope it didn't inconvenience anyone too much."

The aircraft was finally lifted into place onto a base of shipping containers with the help of two giant cranes.

Johnny Palmer said: "When I finally saw it in place I was blown away - it is utterly enormous, especially as we have rested it on a structure which means the aircraft is over seven metres high."

The containers will be painted with clouds, to give the impression it is still flying. There are plans for the fuselage itself to be decorated by street artists to make it part of Bristol's iconic look.

Johnny Palmer said the recycled airliner will provide much-needed meeting space for his company.

He said: “Our virtual events studios have been getting busy since Covid and we need more space at Pytch.

"So rather than do resource and carbon intensive construction, we decided to re-purpose the icon of unsustainable hyper-consumption - the airliner private jet.

"And also have a lot of fun along the way."