To close out 2021, Lufthansa Technik unveiled a ‘superjet’ of sorts. The concept is called the Explorer, and it uses an Airbus ACJ330 as a build foundation. Lufthansa is marketing the plane as a go-anywhere, leave-on-a-dime vacation solution.

The wide-body jet is the ideal basis for a hotel in the sky. That’s something near to what Lufthansa has in mind: according to the company, the Explorer is a suite — or, perhaps more accurately, one floor of a five-star resort — with wings. Alternately or additionally, the company’s marketing team also projects it as a flying yacht. In that way, it bridges luxury tropes of the nautical and aeronautical.

The layout options for the Explorer are extensive. Lufthansa Technik’s description of the concept focuses on the multi-functional nature of the cabin; aside from bedrooms and bathrooms, individual spaces include offices and conference areas; additional amenities that can be worked into an Explorer include a fitness room and a dining room, although options are to a greater extent limited to an individual client’s imagination and needs. The company’s renderings put the emphasis on the party, however, packing a nightclub into the flying hostelry.

The Explorer is designed for freewheeling escape, and Lufthansa Technik’s vision includes virtual visuals to add escapist atmospherics inside. The company turned to Diehl Aerospace to develop the screens that turn the cabin ceilings into a variety of environs; Lufthansa Technik’s renderings show both undersea and contemporary urban lightshow splendor as backdrops.

Most interesting, however, is the ‘open-air seating area’, a most unusual clear-eyed feature that involves a swinging cargo door near the front of the aircraft. Sunsets at the airport never looked so good.