Yes, it’s that time of year again. The day is coming. The day during which you should ignore almost all the “news” you read, whether you read it on the internet or elsewhere.
That’s right – April Fools’ Day is here again. 24 hours of ridiculous announcements such as the classic Spaghetti Trees courtesy of the BBC, and more believable articles such as the DIY laptop to touchscreen tablet conversion kit, from TechCrunch.
As the years go by, the 1st of April becomes more and more of a minefield of hoaxes, especially on the internet. With that in mind, here are some of our favourites from the travel sector – you should be better prepared to spot the gags if you read up on them beforehand!
1. Vibe Agent – The Hotelicopter
Said to have been a converted Mil V-12 (a Russian helicopter, the largest in the world), the “Hotelicopter” was announced on various news sites as the world’s first flying hotel back in 2009.
The four-storey helicopter had 18 luxurious rooms, with queen-sized beds, mini-bars and Wi-Fi, and even promised room service! Sadly, only two prototypes of the Mil V-12 were ever produced – one crashed and the other is in a museum. The hoax was for the former travel site Vibe Agent, which rebranded itself Hotelicopter after the prank took off.
2. Richard Branson – Virgin Volcanic
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Branson really loves his gags and jokes, doesn’t he? His 2012 April Fools’ was the launch of www.virginvolcanic.com (now just a redirect to the main site), where the follow-up to Virgin Galactic was announced – a vehicle which could take three geo-tourists deep into the molten cores of active volcanoes.
Sir Richard’s guests would include Seth Green and Tom Hanks, with Barbara Kopple producing a documentary about it and will.i.am contributing the soundtrack. It was said to be voyaging to the five most active volcanoes first, with a view to offering it up as a method of long-distance travel – through the Earth rather than around it – in the future.
3. Google – Treasure Maps
The video says it all really. This one came from Google last year, and was based on the premise that they had unearthed a previously-lost treasure map that once belonged to Captain Kidd.
The prank was amazingly intricate – people were to head to Google Maps, click the “Treasure” button and then decipher a number of riddles and symbols to find the secret. Unfortunately, all this teamwork didn’t pay off; the “treasure” was this:
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4. Mr & Mrs Smith – Boutique Bendy Bus Boltholes
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Mr & Mrs Smith – specialists in boutique hotels – announced in 2009 that they were partnering with the inimitable Boris Johnson. Apparently, Boris invited entrepreneurs to come up with ideas for how the bendy buses could be repurposed, and Mr & Mrs Smith won.
The bendy buses were to become 5-star hotels on wheels, and – being situated on a Vegas-style complex – would allow tourists to choose where to go, with sights including the Acropolis and Mount Rushmore. Bizarre.
5. Air Asia – Haggle Fares
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Air Asia advertised their new “Haggle Fares” – these would allow people to turn up at the airport on the day they were hoping to travel and negotiate on the prices they were to pay.
Because it was featured in the Australian newspaper the Courier Mail, we don’t have much in the way of further information, but it’s worth including because of the “hints and tips” they provided to help you get a lower fare – one was “hide your luggage and act like you don’t need a flight”! Brilliant.
6. Switzerland Tourism – Swiss Mountain Cleaners
Switzerland Tourism claimed that they’d partnered up with “the Association of Swiss Mountain Cleaners” (sounds fishy already) to help gather recruits who would set out to keep the Alps nice and pristine.
According to the video – which is pretty hilarious – bird poo, if left unchecked, will eventually erode the mountains into nothingness; that’s why they were in “need” of mountain cleaners. A likely story.
7. Virgin America – The Deluxe Pet Cabin
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Called “Main Canine Select”, the newest service from Virgin America was meant to provide the ultimate pampering for pet pooches. Located inside the First Class cabins, the canine cabin was filled with luxuries, including digital cats to chase and fire hydrants in the loos.
They even announced the introduction of “Top Dog” status – something to be given to frequent fliers with four-legged friends, the benefits of which would have provided pet hoodies and kerbside fire hydrants… We can only hope no one fell for this one!
8. Virgin Atlantic – Glass-Bottomed Planes
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One of the more famous pranks of recent years, the glass-bottomed planes announcement from Virgin Atlantic went down a storm when it came along last April Fools’ Day. The announcement coincided with another (real) one, concerning the commencement of a domestic service from London to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
The glass bottom was obviously see-through to allow passengers to see all the lovely Scottish countryside they’re flying over!
9. Aer Lingus – A Very Irish Airline
You’ll have to watch the video for this one – there’s a lot to take in!
To celebrate The Gathering and the Aer Lingus Hurling Festival, the airline claimed to be introducing in-flight folk bands and an Irish dancing cabin crew, among other things…
10. Gadling – Global Services Plus
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You’ll see a few from Gadling on here – the travel blog seems to have taken a liking to April Fools’ jokes! The prank here involved a “leaked memo” from United Airlines, which supposedly detailed a new class of travel known as Global Services Plus.
Anyone who paid for membership of this elite group would be – as seen above – carried to the plane in a litter (available in a wide variety of styles!), addressed as “your highness” at all times, and upgraded automatically on every flight. Very nice!
11. Southwest – Hot Air Balloons
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The US airline Southwest announced last year that they were planning on starting a more laid-back approach to air travel – hot air balloons would form their newest fleet of carriers.
Allowing passengers to take the “scenic” route, they do warn that travel time will depend on the wind speed on the day, but it’s not like you were in a rush anyway! You may have to settle in for the long haul on lengthier flights however; they estimate that Boston to Denver would take a mind-numbing 31 hours!
12. WestJet – Child-Free Cabins
WestJet’s 2012 offering was called Kargo Kids, an initiative to help people have much more peaceful flights. Kids are placed into a toboggan and whisked off into a child-friendly cabin inside the cargo hold, allowing adults to travel in peace and quiet.
Inside the cabin would be child counsellors, a healthy selection of toys, and even “a state of the art feed trough”, making sure the kids are kept safe and sound. We can but dream…
13. JetBlue – Far Flung Destinations
JetBlue Airways announced on their blog and via a YouTube video their intentions to start flying to three new destinations, each of which is rather exotic and… well, out of the way.
The three destinations were to be April River Airport (APR) in Papua New Guinea, Ilford Airport (ILF) in chilly Manitoba in Canada, and the Gold Coast Airport (OOL) in remote Coolangatta, in Australia. The keen-eyed among you may have noticed a clue as to the jokey aspect – the airport codes go together to spell APRIL FOOL.
14. Gadling – The Wine Trail Trail
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In a rather strangely meta twist, Gadling announced a wine trail trail to be starting up in the US Midwest. The Midwest consists of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan. These states have between them hundreds of different wineries, many of which are part of regional wine trails.
After realising how many individual wine trails there were, it was plain to see that wine fans are well catered for, but fans of wine tourism are left to visit each one, one at a time. In order to cater for this subset of people, the wine trail trail was born. You’ll be able to go on a trail covering the very best of trails. Our heads hurt…
15. TTG – Hovering Hotel
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Back in 2009, this now infamous gag was unleashed on the world. Cooked up by TTG Digital, it involved a planned “hover hotel” finding a home in Dubai.
This 20-room boutique accommodation was to hover above the ground to test the waters, and was to be expanding should it prove to be enough of a success. It wasn’t going to float a few inches up like a hovercraft though – it was said to be anchored at a kilometre in the air!
16. WestJet – Pets Can Fly
WestJet’s most recent offering, the Furry Family programme was to allow all passengers to bring any pet on board with them and into the cabin, so long as the animal can fit safely on board.
As you’ll see in the video, they really did mean any pet – from cats and goldfish to geese and even bears, it seems as though they tried hard to be extra accommodating!
17. Europcar – Pay as You Go Travel
Dating back to 2009, the Europcar prank involved the launch of “pay as you go” car hire. The cars involved would be fitted with meters that would accept £1 coins. Each car would have £10 of mileage pre-loaded; to go any further, you’d have to pop in some coins!
This way, you won’t have to pay for the time, just for the distance you travel. To get around the potential lack of coinage in your purses, they were to offer deliveries of “bags of pound coins”… Dubious at best.
18. Gadling – The Wright Sort of Plane
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Another one from Gadling, this one concerns a new flight company, known as Air Wright, which will be running a “retro” flight service, jumping on the vintage bandwagon.
Based in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (where the Wright brothers made their first flight), the company was to offer flights in a biplane, but with a difference – passengers would be strapped to the wings so they could “feel the fresh air”!
Even better, there would be a pre-flight “duelling lobby” instead of a security check, and in-flight drinks would be moonshine cocktails! Where do we sign up?
19. Virgin Holidays – The Branson
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In an attempt to curb the frustration experienced with exchanging currencies, Virgin Holidays in 2012 announced the future launch of a new currency – the Branson.
The artwork was to reflect the different types of holiday offered (city breaks, beach getaways, and cruises), and you would get two Branson to the pound. The Branson was to be accepted in all Virgin Holidays destinations!
20. Virgin Atlantic – Pet Therapy
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Yet another one under the Virgin umbrella! This one is the animal-based equivalent of their Flying Without Fear programme, and is a scheme to help pets conquer their fear of flying.
Dubbed PetTherapy, a team of five “elite kittens and puppies” will be working as on-board therapists, offering services like Comfort Blanket, where a pet will curl up on your lap during take-off, and Turbulence Consoler, where you’ll have a puppy resting its head on your knee as you touch down. Sounds adorable!
We had some travelers vote for which was their favorite. Check out their votes below.
Alyce Benny – AsWeTravel.com – 17. Google – Treasure Maps
Anthony The Travel Tart – thetraveltart.com – 14 – Virgin Volcanic
Melo Villareal – outoftownblog.com – 16. Air Asia – Haggle Fares
Heather Cowper – heatheronhertravels.com – 2. Mr & Mrs Smith – Boutique Bendy Bus Boltholes
Victoria Brewood – pommietravels.com – 20. Virgin Atlantic- Pet Therapy
Which is your favourite?!
