April Fools Day

Airports, airlines and Amtrak get creative on April Fools’ Day

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Once again, airports, airlines and other parts of the aviation industry did a great job of marking April Fools’ Day.

Here are some of the campaigns and (fake) announcements we’ve found – so far. Let us know what we missed and we’ll add it to the list.

DFW Airport documents a sticky note prank that got out of hand

Reno-Tahoe Int’l Airport introduces Travel Tubes

Denver Int’l Airport introduces driveway to runway service

Tampa Int’l Airport’s flamingo flies away. And returns

The “real” reason the stone color on the Washington Monument changes

Norfolk Int’l Airport introduces a Sky Lift

Salt Lake City International makes its tunnel more fun

Cork Airport gets a rebrand

JetBlue adds Nathan’s Frank to the snack carts

Atlant’s Airport adds new attractions

Icelandair introduces inflight matchmaking service

In a throwback to in-flight matchmaking services that didn’t, uh, fly, and with a nod to the real-life story of a couple who met and later married after meeting on an Icelandair flight, on April 1 the airline introduced a faux in-flight dating app called “Icelandair Up to Date,”

Emirates offers a high-rise with an airport

Heathrow Airport introduces Heathrow Airlines

Finnair’s strawberry juice with berries picked on Mars. As requested by Santa Claus

Wizz Air introduces… Rizz Air

Amtrak adds an emotional baggage car

How Airports & Airlines Marked April Fools Day

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We were pleased to see so many airports and airlines – and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation – Amtrak – having so much fun on April Fools Day.

Aviation museums also got in on the fun.

Here are some of the April Fools Day “news items” we encountered. Let us know if we missed some your faves.

UFO Displayed at Seattle’s Museum of Flight

In an April 1 release, the Museum of Flight in Seattle announced it would put on display an unidentified flying object (UFO) recently recovered from a crash site in a remote area in Washington state.

Here’s what it looks like:

Clearly, it’s an April Fools Day joke. But we love that the museum created a full backstory for this UFO:

Following a rash of inexplicable UFO sightings worldwide, the wreckage and debris field from a small disc-shaped object were discovered at a remote desert location near the decommissioned Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state. The UFO was initially detected by NORAD as it raced through the restricted airspace of Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The phenomena continued erratically on a northern flightpath and fiery descent to an impact zone in the remote desert hills of Benton County, Wash.

Military officials quickly removed tons of topsoil from the crash site to preserve any toxic fluids or alien biological matter that may have exited the disc. The object has displayed no signs of hostile intent, but extra security measures will be in place while it is on display at the Museum.

Plenty of airports and airlines got in on the fun. And many ‘announcements,’ such as Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s notice that it was removing the rocking chairs to make more room, no doubt made readers look twice.

But others, like KLM’s recline alert system and Geneva Airports’ ski-through-the-terminal updates aren’t totally silly ideas.

How did airports & airlines celebrate April Fools’ Day?

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Did you get pranked on April Fools’ Day? Or did you just have some fun?

These airports, airlines and travel companies did.

(Let me know if you spotted something fun that I missed.)

MIA Airport is working on its own beach!

London’s Heathrow Airport renames terminals

London Heathrow Airport shared a press release announcing that, in anticipation of the arrival of a new royal baby, it was going to be renaming its four terminals.

“…Terminal 2, previously known as the Queen’s Terminal will be christened with its new name following the baby’s arrival,” the release said, and “In preparation for the most significant re-branding exercise in the airport’s history, road signs will be changed, taxi drivers briefings are being arranged and satellite navigation systems will be updated.”

Terminal 5 will be renamed the ‘Prince George Terminal; Terminal 4 will be dubbed the ‘Princess Charlotte Terminal; and Terminal 3 will have its name changed to the ‘Prince Louis Terminal’, the airport announced.

Best of all, “Runway slots at the capacity constrained airport will be allocated in order of succession to the throne.”

WestJet and the Flyre Festival

Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet, which has a history of great April Fools’ campaigns, did it again with its take on the debacle that was the Fyre Festival.

WestJet’s FlyreFestival promises models, more models and a swimming pig.

WestJet’s ultra-low-cost carrier, Swoop, offered this “Recline-for-a-dime” product.

For those who missed it, here is WestJet’s April Fools’ Day winner – Kargo Kids – from a few years back:

Emirates Airport Transfer – by drones

Emirates offered this teaser for 2020:

Virgin Voyages- arrive by air

Virgin Voyages announced a cool way for cruisers – uh, sailors – to arrive on board for their RockStar Suites.

“Inspired by The Runway, the red running track that sits atop of the ship like a halo, on Scarlet Lady, Virgin Voyages will soon give its Sailors the runway they deserve on its second ship. All Sailors staying in RockStar Suites will now arrive and depart via private jet transfer,” a press release announced.

Did you spot some other fun April Fools’ items from airports, airline or travel-related companies? Let us know your favorites and we’ll add them here.

For inspiration, here is our April Fools’ Day round-up from last year.

Airlines – and IKEA – join in on April Fools’ Day

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Keeping with tradition, many airlines shared April Fools’ Day announcements. Here are a few:

 

 

 

 

 

We're taking to the skies with the launch of a low-cost airline: FLIKEA!We’re thrilled to announce plans to launch our…

Posted by IKEA on Friday, March 31, 2017

More April Fools’ Day aviation news

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In addition to this list of April 1 travel tidbits sharing April Fools’ Day announcements from WestJet, Richard Branson and Denver International Airport, you should know about these April Fools’ Day announcements.

Southwest Airlines released a video saying “all the other guys are doing it,” so they were beginning a “bag fee bandwagon bonanza” based on bag color.

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Virgin Australia announced a special pre-flight lounge for pets.

 

Qantas Airways posted a note on its Facebook page announcing a slight change in the spelling of the carrier’s name:

“Putting ‘U’ in QANTAS! So excited to today be adding a ‘U’ into our name, QANTAS, to acknowledge all of our passengers worldwide. Look out for the QUANTAS name change as of midday today!”

 

Delta Air Lines announced it would begin serving a version of its popular Biscoff cookies – made with kale.

Spirit Airlines announced Spirit Superiority Boarding at all U.S. airport locations.

Because “the boarding process for most airlines can be lengthy, confusing, and frankly insulting…these new boarding procedures will clear things up,” the airline said it a statement announcing a new line-up of boarding priorities that starts with gluten-free customers, members of the Illuminati, those with O-negative blood type and ends with people who eat kale and, finally… everyone else.

And, in Seattle, the Museum of Flight announced plans for adding real personality to some exhibits.

“Traditionally, an aerospace museum accessions an aircraft or spacecraft at the end of its service life to conserve and protect it for the enlightenment of future generations,” said museum spokesman Ted Huetter, “we now aim to treat the people in aerospace the same way. It’s that simple. And thanks to recent advances in the art of preserving human tissue, the exhibition of an aviator is no different from that of an old propeller or clock.”

Huetter noted that the museum has planes dating back to the 1920s and 1930s and that there are people alive today who flew in these planes. “When they pass away we will reunite them with the aircraft forever,” he said.