On 1st April airlines around the world took the opportunity to spread a touch of light-hearted joy. The stories were just too good to be true but also showed how many gullible people there are on social media
Concorde - for many avgeeks, Concorde's retirement in 2003 came too soon. However, Flightradar24 users could hardly believe their eyes when the tracking website showed an Air France Concorde in flight. This was followed later in the morning by a British Airways example.
These aircraft appearing to fly from CDG and LHR to JFK. While this was unfortunately no more than an elaborate hoax, FR24 did well to cover every last detail, including accurate registrations and figures for metrics such as altitude and speed.
Emirates – joined in the fun by announcing on social media that it would be diversifying its already multi-faceted revenue streams by "introducing new service for VIPs - Very Important Parcels." This initiative would supposedly see the carrier go up against the likes of DHL in the field of parcel deliveries.
The carrier explained that "breaking the boundaries of commercial airline models, this new service provides door-to-door delivery with the same level of care that Emirates provides to all its other passengers." This would, of course, be an exciting prospect for those of us who are used to receiving packages via the same old DHL and Amazon vans, although landing an A380 on a suburban street might just be too impractical, rendering this no more than a clever April Fools' Day joke.
Emirates has since confirmed that it is serious about this service, although no A380s will be parked on streets and flight attendants will not personally deliver packages!
Airbus – Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, with well over 100 in its fleet. Generally, flying the 'superjumbo' has been the domain of full-service and legacy carriers, with the type having failed to crack the low-cost market by the time production stopped. However, a Simple Flying story hinted at a rebirth. An unbelievable tale was spun concerning a relaunch, with Airbus modifying the type for low-cost carriers. After all, given the high frequencies operated by budget airlines, such as Ryanair on routes like STN-DUB, this would provide an optimal solution to any capacity issues on such corridors.
Air Transat - the Canadian leisure carrier took a humorous aim at a certain North American politician's attempted renaming of notable bodies of water, by announcing that "it is officially changing the name of the Atlantic Ocean to the Canadien Ocean." As noted on its website, the carrier operates 184 flights to Europe across this body of water every week. Whilst this harmless stunt was just an April Fools' joke, it highlights the strength of its transatlantic network.
KLM – made their announcement 2 days early. The new offering of karaoke onboard was met with horror by many social media participants, who threatened to take their business elsewhere…
European Airports - AeroTime reported that water cannon salutes for notable flights would be replaced with confetti cannons after a ban came into place amid environmental concerns. The publication noted in its humorous hoax that "brass bands and actors dressed up in animal costumes were also considered, but 60% of all eligible voters opted for confetti cannons."
DXB - Dubai International Airport was also more than happy to get in on the act when it came to humorous social media content. It took the opportunity to advertise an "all-new pre-boarding lounge experience" featuring benches located right next to the runway. It was just a joke, but how cool would that be!
In other news –
Eastern Airways – launched SEN-NQY a few days ago. Although currently a seasonal service, it’s hoped the airline will also add other routes from the Essex airport. Badly hit by the pandemic, it was good to see easyJet returning with 3 aircraft based there. A special mention must go to Chris at SDTV Live (YouTube) for his coverage of the event, plus SEN and NQY for also getting involved in his live stream.
SAS – again operated one of its “flights to nowhere” from CPH. Only the pilots knew the destination which turned out to be Seville (SVQ). Flight SK7032 was operated by A320 SE-ROI.
And finally,
RAF – after a 60-year ban, Tunnocks teacakes have returned to their inflight catering box.
So, why were they banned? The chocolate-covered treats were apparently all the rage, eaten by nuclear bomber crew members on training sorties at the height of the Cold War.
But in the summer of 1965, a captain and student pilot forgot they had placed unwrapped teacakes above their instrument panels. When the captain pulled an emergency depressurising switch the iconic Scottish treat erupted, leaving a sticky mess over the flight crew members, instruments and cockpit canopy. Now the RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine has given them the all-clear to fly again, after tests in an altitude chamber found the teacakes did not explode. The chocolate cracked and the filling expanded. The experiments were covered by the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) at RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire.
Information courtesy of Simple Flying, KLM, AeroTime, BBC
Images courtesy of Airbus, BBC
©TPSC, LadyJet2 and photo/diagram suppliers