24 January 2005
AstroSphere Airways auctioning airplane on eBay
What would Jesus fly?
 ARLINGTON, Va. -- In what many airline analysts see as a last ditch
effort to avoid insolvency, AstroSphere Airways has placed an ad on eBay to
auction off an Airbus 320.
But
in
a statement issued by the company yesterday, it is clear that this is
not just any Airbus. This airplane has a well defined image of
Jesus on the front of the fuselage just below the pilot's windscreen.
According to documents accompanying the eBay offering, the aircraft has
been in service with AstroSphere Airways for about one year. Prior to that, it had been on lease
to Two Wings and a Prayer Tours based in Del Rio, Texas.
Two Wings and a Prayer Tours used the airplane exclusively in charter
service to fly the faithful on religious pilgrimages from locations
around North America to Guadalajara, Mexico. The airplane was used on four roundtrips per week for nearly two years before
it was returned to the lessor, Moonscape Aviation of Little Rock, Ark.
Workers at AstroSphere first noticed the image last month when the
airplane was
prepared for service for flights between Fort Lauderdale to Santo Domingo. At first
the likeness was attributed to a build up of dirt. However, after a
thorough scrubbing, the image was still apparent. A professional
cleaning company was consulted, and it was included that the image was
not dirt but a
stain on the aircraft body. Following that discovery, no one has been
willing to attempt to remove it.
Bidding on eBay has been brisk. At press time, the high bid was
$1,330,665 by a bidder with the screen name "j_swaggart."
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