Travel Industry Gets in on April Fool’s Day Fun
by Briana Bonfiglio
Photo: WestJet
Who doesn’t love a little April Fool’s Day fun? This year, travel companies got creative with fake features they promoted online. Here are a few that the TMR team came across throughout the day.
WestJet’s MemorEase technology
Canadian airline WestJet presented a fabricated augmented reality headset product that inputs vacation memories into your brain. “Nothing will ever replace a real vacation,” the end of the dystopian-like video declares.
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Carnival Cruises Line’s waterproof pizza bag
Teaming up with The Pasta Queen, Carnival Cruise Line promoted a bag that would protect your poolside pizza from getting wet.
“Pack up your pizza in your Fetta D’Acqua, and keep your slice safe from cannonballs, spilled spritzes, soggy towels, and so much more,” The Pasta Queen says while aboard the Carnival Firenze in a social media video. “Fetta D’Acqua: Not available for $29.99.”
Frontier Airlines’ $1 fare sale
Frontier Airlines teased a slew of fake promotions, including free Wi-Fi, $1 fares, and new flights from JFK to Bora Bora. The airline even claimed they’d be adding wide-body aircraft to its fleet, lie-flat seating, and a chef-curated menu.
Turns out the entire announcement was a ruse to promote its actual one-day sale with fares starting at $38 to places such as Cancun, Montego Bay, Punta Cana, Los Cabos, Puerta Vallarta, St. Maarten, and St. Croix.
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The Pretzel-Plane
Auntie Anne’s Pretzels partnered with Frontier for an April Fool’s joke debuting the Pretzel-Plane.
“Sit back and relax as Frontier’s very own Griz takes you to pretzel-paradise,” the social media post says. “New inflight entertainment now featuring Auntie Anne’s Pretzels rolled seat-side, the luxurious smell of hot, fresh pretzels throughout the cabin and even airplane shaped pretzels if you’re feeling hungry. It’s time to save dough while you eat dough, keep your cents and enjoy the scents.”
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Universal Orlando’s new theme park portal
This Florida-specific April Fool’s Day joke poked fun at the stressors of driving in the Sunshine State. The social media post put a spin on the actual announcements Universal has been making about the portals of its Epic Universe theme park that’s opening next year.
“BREAKING: New concept art for the next portal just dropped,” the post says. “Immerse yourself in the world of standstill traffic with unbelievable sights of the eye-sore and unpredictable merging lanes that makes you say “huh?” in the world of I4 — The Daily Commute. #AverageUniverse.”
