Chances are, you’ve never heard of McPlanes, McTrains or McBoats, but the famous fast-food restaurant did once try expanding into the travel industry. However, contrary to most of its endeavours, McDonald’s’ original travel adventures weren’t all a success, forcing all of them to shut down in the end.
1. McBoat
It all started in 1980. Forty years after the fast-food chain’s launch, McDonald’s decided to not only conquer plates but waters, too. The floating restaurant, called McBoat, was located aboard an old-fashioned paddle steamer on the banks of the Mississippi River in St Louis, just south of the Gateway Arch. With a seating capacity of no less than 134 customers inside and 200 on open-air decks, the steamer was imagined by McDonald’s franchisee and dentist Dr Benjamin H. Davis Sr, who, at the time, already had three other McDonald’s locations in his portfolio.
“We have nothing like this in the whole world. A franchise operator in Hong Kong and Singapore was in our office the other day and expressed an interest in doing something like his in Hong Kong harbour”, McDonald’s’ real estate manager Samuel Haynes told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the time.
Even though the McBoat was initially a big hit, the vessel finally closed its doors in 2000. The former cement barge spanned more than 56 metres in length and the repairs that were needed to keep the restaurant afloat turned out to be too costly.
2. McBarge
Another boat was launched during the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, Canada. The Friendship 500, called McBarge, was designed by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd and was said to be an example of future technology and architecture. For six months, the quirky McDonald’s catered for up to 1,400 people and proved to be a public-favourite.
Keeping the restaurant open after the World Exposition, however, turned out to be too expensive once again and the permits needed to do so were also too difficult to obtain.
3. McTrain
A few years later, in 1993, McDonald’s joined forces with Germany’s national rail service to develop a McTrain, which was actually able to move and provide transportation. Much smaller than the previous travel project, it only allowed for 27 seated customers and a handful more who had to stay standing. The project initially managed to attract quite a few enthusiasts and the menu was much larger than the one at other McDonald’s restaurants, including four-course meals, shrimp cocktails and alcoholic beverages.
However, it finally shut down in 1995 because the expenses were too high and the interest of the public too low.
4. McPlane
McDonald’s’ last travel project dates back to 1996. Amid the air travel boom, the fast-food company decided to launch its very own McPlane, together with Swiss private air charter company Crossair and tour company Hotelplan. As one might expect, the aircraft was entirely painted red with a big golden M on the tail and McDonald’s written on its side. Its first itinerary? From Basel, Switzerland, to Heraklion, Greece.
Contrary to what one might expect, there were no fries on the menu of the McPlane, as the fire-risks were too high. Instead, travellers were offered McNuggets and a variety of McBurgers, as well as sodas and milkshakes. Moreover, as partner Hotelplan specialised in family-friendly holidays, souvenirs and toys were on offer as well in order to make the kids’ journey more memorable.
According to Auto Evolution, the McPlane was in service for a little over a year, even though its ending was never officially communicated.
5. McNow
Even though nowadays the McBoat, McBarge, McTrain and McPlane are all long-retired, McDonald’s keeps on experimenting with quirky locations, set up to attract tourists and give customers an out-of-the-ordinary experience. The ski-thru in Lindvallen, Sweden, for example, has proven to be a great success and so is its Louvre-based location. Many other of its restaurants are located inside historical buildings and therefore a big hit among tourists across the globe.
