It’s that time of the year again when marketing teams gets to have a little fun, whipping up harmless pranks to gain a bit of mass media engagement.
As mentioned in last year’s post, most travel-related companies are either steering away entirely from participating in April Fool’s, or if they do choose to participate, they do it very subtly where it’s quite obvious that it’s a prank.
With that said, here are a few of the better jokes for 2025.
The Concorde is back!
Of all the pranks, this might the only one really worth mentioning. FlightRadar24 added two Concorde flights, one being British Airways flight 9999 from London Heathrow to New York, with the other flying as Air France 9999 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to New York.
Even though the last Concorde flew its last commercial flight more than 21 years ago on November 26, 2003, some social media users actually believed they ware real flights. They were excited to see the aircraft “flying” once more, but that brief moment of joy quickly came to an end as they later found out it was April 1st.
WestJet Vacation Flex
If Instagram and Tiktok doesn’t bring enough social media validation, why not rent a whole billboard to share your vacation photos?
WestJet pokes fun at those going overboard with the the holiday photos and videos on social media, saying:
“You can now post your vacation pics on billboards across Canada thanks to our new product, Vacation Flex.”
Eurowings blind dating seats
For the average traveler, there is the window, aisle or middle seat, but Eurowings wants to make true connections in the sky with their blind dating “Flieb’s Seats” love seats.
“Blind dating with Eurowings is a breeze: during booking, simply activate the new “Click & Connect” feature, enter your dating preferences and you’ll end up next to a potential match. Neighboring seats are allocated on the basis of personal preferences and smart matching algorithms. Eurowings is already in talks with leading dating platforms to quickly expand the concept and help dating above the clouds to achieve a breakthrough.”
JetBlue introduces JetGlow
Taking advantage of the mood-lit cabins, JetBlue put their own spin on the healing ability of blue light with their “JetGlow” blue light therapy cabins.
“Introducing JetGlow™ – the first ever inflight blue light therapy designed to optimize circadian alignment, reduce jet lag, and enhance cellular recovery at altitude.”
Air Transat introduces the Canadien Ocean
I’m surprised this prank didn’t get more attention, but Air Transat took advantage of the whole Gulf of Mexico/Gulf of America situation, rebranding the entire Atlantic as the “Canadien Ocean”.
“We fly over the Atlantic Ocean so often, we’re changing the name. Introducing the Canadien Ocean.”
Even I had an “oh, come on now!” moment, only to realize it was just a prank.
SWISS “Crew Shoe” roller skates
SWISS wants to improve crew mobility between flights with the introduction of its “Crew Shoe” roller skates.
“SWISS is taking innovation to the next level: From 1 July 2025, all employees will receive the brand-new SWISS Crew Shoe – a game-changer in mobility. With retractable wheels, our crew can move effortlessly between aircraft and through the airport, cutting travel time in half. Even in the office, meetings are now just a glide away.”
Norse Atlantic Airways flights direct to Antarctica
It’s no secret that Norse Atlantic has flown to Troll Station in Antarctica to bring in scientists and additional supplies to the research station.
Norse Atlantic Airways put their own April Fool’s spin on that event, offering customers non-stop flights from London Gatwick to Troll Station, with two class options called Economy and Premium Freeze, and “Freeze-Class” amenity kits.
Confetti water salutes
It’s pretty obvious that shooting confetti at a plane is a bad idea. Besides being a major FOD problem for the aircraft, confetti is an absolute mess to clean up, and can have long-term harmful effects on the environment.
This post by Aerotime was actually pretty funny, and made me pause for a moment, wondering who would be absurd enough to attempt such a feat. In the article, they say:
“After much debate, European officials decided that confetti cannons would be the best alternative going forward, so long as airports and airlines use recycled materials and staff clean up any litter afterwards.”
Emirates used April Fool’s hype to introduce real product
On April Fool’s Day, Emirates teased a courier service with images of an Airbus A380 pulling at a cul-de-sac in a suburban neighborhood. At first, most thought it was them pulling yet another prank, but it seems Emirates used the opportunity to launch a real, business-focused shipping service called”Emirates Courier Express”.
Leveraging its network of passenger and cargo jets, they promise faster delivery times by reducing the number of stops during the shipping phase.
“Traditionally, cross-border delivery is managed via a global hub-and-spoke model, with a package making multiple stops before arriving at its end destination. Emirates Courier Express has broken this mould. Just like passengers, packages will travel from origin to destination directly, leveraging the breadth of Emirates’ vast global network and near-unparalleled flight frequencies. This approach significantly reduces time in transit, reduces package handling and offers Emirates Courier Express customers’ a competitive edge in getting their goods to end users.”
