John Travolta is possibly one of the greatest actors the world has ever seen, and we all know him from various films and television shows. These include Grease, Urban Cowboy, Pulp Fiction, Blow Out, and Savages. But what many perhaps don’t know is that Travolta is also an aviation nut, and once bought a Boeing 707 as part of his private fleet.
The aircraft flew for years with its own personalized tail number, while the actor had it painted into a vintage livery once used by Australian airline Qantas. It flew with Qantas, Braniff International, and TAG Aviation before the actor bought the jet in 1998 to use it to fly himself and his family around the world. Travolta even used the aircraft for promotional events with Qantas, and the actor has been a Qantas ambassador for many years.
But the jet was grounded back in 2017, before being stored at Brunswick, GA, with the aircraft then donated to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) in Australia. But for various reasons, it struggled to make its way over to Australia.
In fact, it has taken nearly ten years for the jet to be disassembled and taken over to Australia for a full restoration. Yet it had to do so by boat, as for one important reason, the HARS was unable to fly it from America to its new home.
A History of Travolta’s Boeing 707
The aircraft, originally N707JT, was built in 1964 as a Boeing 707-138B, and it entered service with Qantas flying as VH-EBM. This was the catalyst for Travolta repainting it into historic Qantas colors. After several years with Qantas, it then flew with American airline Braniff International as N108BN, from 1969 to 1975. After this, it flew as N707XX with TAG Aviation.
Travolta then bought the jet in 1998 and used it as private transportation for himself and his family. As a Qantas ambassador, Travolta wanted it in a retro livery, so it was repainted into the airline’s V-Jet livery from 2002. Qantas even helped maintain the jet on Travolta’s behalf. It continued to fly until 2017, when it was grounded as it needed a major overhaul to make it airworthy again.
With an uncertain future, Travolta made the decision to donate it to the HARS in 2017, so it could head back to Australia and be put back in the skies for either private charters or airshow appearances. Travolta himself even hoped to be able to fly it to the country, but in the end, this wasn’t possible. So from 2017 to 2026, it sat at Brunswick awaiting transportation to its new home.
The Airliner Finally Made Its Way Over by Boat to Australia
After being grounded and with a huge amount of money needing to be spent to get it airworthy again, HARS was in a quandary as to what to do with it. But in early 2026, the decision was made to carefully dismantle the jet and have it transported by sea to Australia. In March 2026, the disassembly began, with Worldwide Aircraft Recovery being chosen to conduct this task.
Following this, it was loaded aboard a cargo ship, and it began its long journey to the other side of the world. On May 20th 2026, the jet finally arrived at the HARS museum, some nine years later, but finally back where it was meant to be. Plans to fly the jet again though, as referenced in a press release by the HARS in 2017, have changed.
Travolta’s Boeing 707 Is Unlikely to Fly again…at Least for Now
At the time of writing, the HARS has no plans to fly the jet again. For the time being, it will be fully reassembled and then restored to become a gleaming static exhibit in the colors Travolta flew it in. But while it won’t be flying straight away, that could change in the future. Travolta himself has been hugely supportive of the HARS, which operates a historic Lockheed Constellation and is home to an impressive museum, including other airworthy aircraft. Travolta intends to be a part of the jet’s unveiling when restoration is complete, hopefully by December 2026.