Man wanted Etihad’s A380 sofa. Now, his Dubai home has the entire luxury suite and a coffee table made from the aircraft's wheel

For most people, an airline journey ends when the plane lands. For Arun Rajagopal, an Indian aviation enthusiast living in Dubai, the experience has found a way to continue at home. He has transformed part of his apartment into a luxury aircraft cabin using the restored living room of Etihad Airways’ exclusive Airbus A380 Residence suite.

The project took nearly a year to complete, with engineers restoring damaged components and adapting the suite to work outside an aircraft. Completed in June 2026, the installation is now a functional living space where Rajagopal can watch television, dine, relax, entertain guests and work.

According to CNN Travel, the idea began when Rajagopal came across the dismantled suite at the workshop of Wings Craft, a UAE-based aviation upcycling company. He initially wanted to buy only its leather sofa seats. Instead, he ended up acquiring the entire living room section.

From an aircraft sofa to a luxury suite at home

Etihad introduced the Residence in 2014. Available aboard its Airbus A380 aircraft, the three-room suite features a private living room, a separate bedroom and an en-suite bathroom with a shower.

Rajagopal had flown in the Residence seven times and was particularly fond of its custom leather sofa. Wings Craft founder Fawaz Mohammed Ali, however, encouraged him to take on a bigger project.

“Fawaz is very passionate — and he had a vision,” Rajagopal told CNN Travel. He recalled Ali telling him, “You’d better take the whole thing. We’re going to make it look really good for you”.

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The restoration was far from straightforward. The suite arrived in a severely damaged and unusable condition. Engineers had to repair or replace missing components and adapt systems designed to function aboard an aircraft.

The finished installation includes a custom 32-inch television, powered window shades, ambient lighting, USB charging ports and sliding privacy doors. Even getting it inside the apartment required considerable effort: the components were too large for the service lift, so six workers carried them up the stairs to the seventh floor.

A passion built over hundreds of flights

The Residence is the latest addition to Rajagopal’s collection of aviation memorabilia. His apartment also houses first-class seats from Emirates’ inaugural A380, aircraft components, flight certificates and a coffee table made from an A380 wheel.

His fascination with transport began in childhood in Kochi, Kerala. He joined Emirates in 2012, spending more than eight years in social media roles before moving to a communications position at Oracle.

CNN Travel reported that Rajagopal has flown on the A380 more than 220 times, covering approximately 715,000 miles across six continents. He also reached his 100th country in 2026.

Rajagopal has not disclosed the exact cost of the project, but said the investment could have bought him a car.

For him, the suite is more than an expensive collector’s item. It brings a favourite part of his life into his everyday surroundings, without replacing the excitement of actual travel.

“If I have a flight tomorrow, I treat it like my first flight,” he told CNN Travel. “My enthusiasm is the same.”