Flight Before Christmas experience that kids love is back – with ‘boarding passes’ & festive classes on converted plane

WHAT makes a great Christmas grotto experience? Father Christmas, a couple of happy elves, festive activities to keep young visitors entertained, a gift and a former British Airways plane?

Well if that’s the case, The Flight Before Christmas has just topped the list – and we don’t mean Santa’s.

Located at Cotswold Airport, near the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire, The Flight Before Christmas sees Santa ditch his trusty reindeers for a more modern ride.

Guests will be welcomed onboard the Negus 747, a former British Airways Plane that’s been transformed into a Christmas grotto.

The cabin will be decked out with festive decorations like fake snow, real Christmas trees, twinkling lights and colourfully-wrapped presents in the overhead bins.

Kids will be given their own boarding pass and a North Pole Passport before an in-flight safety briefing is hosted by a cheeky elf.

They’ll also get the chance to make reindeer food, create a teddy bear in the toy factory and take part in a gingerbread decorating activity.

Younger visitors will also get a Letter to Father Christmas stationery set, a candy cane and a wish token.

They’ll also get the chance to meet the big man himself, getting a gift and the chance to pose for a photo.

Meanwhile, adults will be treated to mince pies and mulled wine.

The jumbo jet grotto experience was created through a collaboration between Cotswold Airport and Odin Events.

start from £29 per person but babies get in for free.

The unusual Christmas grotto experience was listed as one of The Times’ top seven Festive Days out in 2023.

Visitors have praised the attraction on TripAdvisor, with one person writing: “We had a great afternoon at The Flight Before Christmas, the staff were brilliant, the set up on the flight was quirky and the story was good.”

Another person added: “What a fantastic experience and a magical time. It felt really worthwhile, with lots of treats and things to do and meeting Father Christmas was a real treat”.

A third person wrote: “A unique, fun and memorable experience with my husband, son, nephews, sister and brother-in-law.

“I loved the attention to detail, not to mention the fact that you’re on a real plane.”

The British Airways jet was bought for just £1 in 2020 and became the first in the world to be transformed into a bar to host lavish plane parties.

It has since been a labour of love for Suzannah after British Airways retired its fleet early due to the pandemic.

Most of the original structure has stayed the same but the transformation has included stripping out the economy section to create the events space and turning the gallery has been changed into a bar.

Anyone now wanting to host a party onboard will have to pay more than £1,000 an hour but Suzannah said they had been inundated with enquiries – including from Netflix.

Here is Butlin’s ‘ultimate Christmas holiday weekend’ launching this year.

And here are some affordable December city breaks you can still book.