April Fools

WestJet Airlines Ltd. made the surprise announcement Tuesday it would convert its overhead compartments into sleeper cabins on existing flights in its ongoing efforts to woo business travelers … as an April Fools' joke.

The Calgary-carrier, known for not taking itself too seriously, issued a press release April 1, saying it would begin offering the make-believe service immediately. They even issued a photo of the new product [see above].

"WestJet now offers scheduled service to 47 destinations, continuing on our strategy to be Canada's favourite airline," said Bob Cummings, executive vice-president guest experience and marketing, in the joke release. "Our leather seats and live satellite television are a great part of WestJet's guest experience however, by offering our existing overhead bins as sleeper cabins, guests will now have the opportunity to lie down for a period of time and arrive at their destination refreshed, rested and ready to go."

The carrier also posted a number [1-866-935-2702 (English) or 1-866-935-2703 (French)] for those wishing to book one of its sleepers for a nominal fee of $12, where they were greeted with a message telling them it was an April Fools' joke and offering them a 10% discount on flights booked by midnight for playing along.

European low-cost carrier Ryanair also got a little saucy this morning as well, telling its passengers it was breaking into the untapped market of pornographic material to drive up ancillary revenues. The carrier issued a release announcing the new head of ryanbare.com, Pussy Galore [a nod to 007's Goldfinger days ]. The new website it said "promises the hottest in-flight entertainment, including X-rated Ryanair calendars, screensavers and a range of saucy pics."

“Ryanair gambling has already boosted our ancillary revenue by tapping into the internet’s second favourite activity, so our next natural step is to tap into the most popular internet activity of all. The launch of Ryanbare.com offers the ultimate in-flight service, with a range of products to satisfy even the most hardcore aerosexual," the fictional Ms. Galore said.

Here's the link for the article: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpposted/archive/2008/04/01/westjet-has-a-little-fun-with-april-fools.aspx

Now that's an April Fool's gag!!

Now that is funny!