April Fools

More April Fools’ Day hijinks from airlines

April 1, 2013Harriet BaskasFun StuffAirlines, April Fools, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, WestJet

In addition to early arrivals from Virgin Atlantic (glass-bottomed planes) and WestJet (all-animals welcome; no carriers needed), these April Fools antics from airlines are making the rounds:

Delta Air Lines has a new double-decker arm rest available for those in the middle seat.

Virgin America has a new Main Canine Select class offering intriguing perks, such as in-flight fire-hydrants designed by Frank Gehry.

And JetBlue has announced three new – unusual – destinations.

Traveling with pets: WestJet’s “Furry Family” plan a winner

March 31, 2013Harriet BaskasFun Stuff"Furry Family" plan, April Fools, pet travel, WestJet's

For those who don’t want to leave their pets at home, WestJet has introduced a new “Furry Family” plan easing restrictions on pets in the cabin.

TSA confirms: space aliens visit airports

April 2, 2011Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airports, Fun StuffAirport security, April Fools, space aliens, TSA

One of my mother’s favorite sayings was “It could happen.” Not an otherwise woo-woo person, she’d say that whenever the topic of aliens came up, wait a beat and then change the subject.

So she would have been very interested to read the story about aliens and airports that I wrote for my USATODAY.com At the Airport column a while back.

Crop circle at Indiana's Huntington Airport, courtesy Travis McQueen

And she would have been VERY interested in reading the post on the TSA Blog yesterday. The one about TSA Space Alien Detection Officers (ADOs).

TSA Alien going through security checkpoint

Alien being screened. Courtesy TSA

According to Blogger Bob (a real person or an …alien?):

….New intelligence suggests that space aliens with invisibility cloaks have been going through our checkpoints for years. We know they’ve been observing flight operations at some of our busiest airports, but we had no idea they were coming in.

It’s not entirely clear what their intentions are, but they need to be screened just like anybody else. We don’t mind space aliens visiting our airports. In fact we think it’s kind of cool. However, they need to go through security just like everybody else…

Whatever their motivation is, rest assured that a new layer of security has been developed that will allow us to detect and screen these unique passengers. This new layer is our TSA Alien Detection Officer (ADO). ADOs are an elite new type of officer who has undergone unique training to use specially developed detection tools. You may have already seen some of these tools in use at airports and just not known what they were.

Yes, it was an April Fools’ Day joke. But you know what my mom would say. “It could happen.”