Glass-bottomed plane: prank or possibility?
Virgin boss Richard Branson raised a few eyebrows yesterday when he announced Virgin Atlantic would be producing the world's first ever glass-bottomed plane.
Branson said the technological innovation would coincide with the start of Virgin's new Little Red domestic service to Scotland, enabling passengers to enjoy the beauty of the British landscape from the comfort of their seats.
"I am incredibly proud of yet another aviation breakthrough which has been years in the making," he wrote in his blog. "I can't wait to experience the first flight for myself with my family and other natural born explorers."
Scottish tourism would be boosted by the new feature, Branson predicted, with the technology to be rolled out to other Virgin airlines "in time".
Funnily enough, Branson selected April 1 as the date of these announcements, revealing it to many as an April Fool's stunt.
"It's not possible. because there are core components in the base of the aircraft. and beside that glass can not handle the loads," an apprentice mechanic commented on the blog post.
Nonetheless, other Virgin companies rapidly got on board to support the trial with Virgin Balloon Flights saying they would introduce glass-bottomed baskets for Scottish flights.
Other Virgin companies took the gag even further, ditching the glass bottoms in favour of an even wilder Loch Ness monster theme. Virgin Active declared it would host diving classes for "would-be dinosaur hunters" to prepare for a Loch Ness dive, while Virgin Experience Days said they would host ‘Spot Nessie' diving experiences.
Virgin Trains said they'd paint a giant Nessie on one of their Scotland-bound trains for airborne passengers to spot and Virgin Wines suggested a nice glass of their exclusive Merloch wine could be served onboard.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
airlines april fools richard branson virgin atlanticLatest News
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