I have yet to meet a person who wouldn't want to travel on an airliner in maximum comfort.
Usually, the solution is simple: pay tons of money and travel First Class, enjoying
all the stuff they pamper you with. But how do you feel about a low-cost airline company
that offers waterbeds and organic food? Wait, wait wait -- where are you going? No,
you can't buy a ticket for the next flight!
You gotta watch this. First, we need to get back to 1973. That was the year when self-made
millionaire investor Kenneth Moss came up with the idea of a very unusual airline. He,
along with his partner Darcy Flynn, spent $1.5 million and one year getting a plane
and a license to operate it commercially from the Federal Aviation Administration. Besides,
the businessman had to receive landing permission from major airports. Unaware of all the intricacies
of buying a commercial aircraft, Moss was cheated out of $45,000, wasted $125,000 on
a plane that wouldn't fly, and eventually ended up with a 6-year-old DC 8 on his hands.
This plane cost him $750,000. That's when all the fun started. First things
first; Moss removed the previous airline's name, "Air Liberation," from the plane's fuselage
and replaced it with the new name, "Freelandia." Moss's idea was to launch not another commercial
airline, but to start an inexpensive air travel club. After paying a modest membership fee
of $25, club members could get access to laughably cheap flights. For example, a trip from Los
Angeles to Newark, N.J., cost $87, almost two times less expensive than any other commercial
flight. And if you wanted to fly from Newark to Miami, you would save about $70 by flying
with "Freelandia." You go from Newark to Hawaii - and the sum you save is even bigger, about
$212. Several times a month, club members could fly to San Fransisco, Brussels, Chicago,
and Acapulco, as well as many other cities. How was such a low price even possible? The
trick was that "Freelandia" was registered as an air club, not a commercial airline!
Thus, it wasn't subjected to all kinds of standard commercial rates set by the Civil
Aeronautics Board. But the best part about "Freelandia" wasn't
even the ticket price! No. As soon as you set your foot inside the plane, you immediately
felt as if you were in the middle of some extravagant party. According to some passengers,
the atmosphere on board was similar to that of some tribal celebration. During the flight,
passengers were allowed to wander along the aisles, drink, and listen to rock music. There
were backgammon and chess boards scattered all over the plane, and in no-class sections,
passengers could lie down on huge denim pillows. Flight attendants wore ultra-bright violet
uniforms and berets decorated with an open hand - Freelandia's black and white insignia.
Those who felt sleepy could make use of comfortable waterbeds. During the flight, passengers could
enjoy vegetarian meals, homemade soups, organic breads and cheeses, as well as different drinks,
including wine and beer. But one of the most unusual things about the
new airline was that the club members could vote on the flight schedules every three months!
So if one of the passengers needed to go, let's say, to Paris, they only had to persuade
their fellow members to add this route to the flight schedule. After all, the airline
had landing rights in lots of places, including Colombia and Hong Kong, and was negotiating
landing permissions with India, Bali, Australia, Greece, and Turkey. The ultimate goal of "Freelandia"
was to offer its club members $300 round-the-world flights which usually cost more than $1,500
on commercial jets. However, all the frills didn't help the newborn
airline to keep afloat. First of all, after Kenneth Moss appeared on TV, the membership
cost grew. Then, people started to get frustrated by the airline's performance. And no wonder!
More than 85% of the flights got cancelled because not enough people signed up for them.
But most importantly, the fuel price skyrocketed after the 1973 oil crisis, which rendered
such cheap flights impossible. "Freelandia" had to go out of business in 1974, just one
year after its launch.
But if you think that "Freelandia" was the only unusual airline company that's ever existed,
you might be in for a surprise!
For example, Hawaiian Airlines allows each passenger to take a pre-packed box of pineapples
or papayas on board the plane. The only condition is that the box can’t weigh more than 10
pounds (4.5 kg) and that it's agriculture-inspected first.
But that's not even the best part! If you're heading from Hawaii to North America, you
can bring this fruit box with you on the plane completely for free!
If you love comfort, write down the name "La Compagnie." That's a French airline company
that probably has every right to call its fleet "innovative planes." The company offers
only business class service, but it's still cheaper than that of its competitors.
The airline's hub is in Paris’ Orly Airport; and if one day you decide to hop on a plane
to Newark, New Jersey, you'll be pleasantly surprised. You'll find out that your seat
reclines to a 175-degree angle and has built-in massage features. Ooh. You'll get an anti-allergenic
pillow and a travel care kit for free. On top of that, each passenger gets their
own tablet for in-flight entertainment. You’ll can use it to watch news, TV, movies, read
a book or a magazine, or listen to music. And when you get hungry, you'll be offered
a four-course menu. Your meal will begin with a starter, followed by a hot dish of your
choice and accompanied by a cheese platter and dessert. And shortly before landing, you'll
also get a snack pack with three sweet and three salty snacks. Oh sign me up!
Baltia Air Lines, which is known today as "USGlobal Airways," is an airline company
which hasn't flown a single flight during its long 29-year old history! It was founded
in 1989 for the sole purpose of flying from New York to Riga and Leningrad, two cities
of the then-Soviet Union. However, it's 2019 now, there is no Soviet
Union anymore, and the planes of "USGlobal Airways" are still not in the air. The airline
has failed certification tests seven times in a row, and it seems that the chances are
slim that its planes will ever fly.
All Nippon Airways Co., or simply ANA, is the largest Japanese airline if we speak about
the fleet size. But that's not why it's on this list. If you're a fan of Pokemon, you
can catch a themed jet which flies from Tokyo to Paris and from Tokyo to Frankfurt.
On board this remarkable aircraft, you'll see flight attendants in bright pokemon-aprons,
drink juice from a poké-cup, and enjoy the company of painted pokemons, from Pikachu
and Togepi to Mew and Snorlax! (Um, sorry, got a bit carried away.)
One more airline company keen on cartoon characters is Taiwanese international airline EVA AIR.
But unlike ANA, its favorite cartoon seems to be Hello Kitty. Jets designed in this style
will definitely make your trip unforgettable! First of all, the planes look bright and cute
from the outside. Secondly, you'll get a Hello Kitty boarding pass. What's more, the cabin
crew wears Hello Kitty uniforms, toilets are supplied with Hello Kitty cat litter, just
kidding, it’s really toilet paper, and you might even find a Kitty-shaped dessert on
your meal tray! Oh, and your burger will also be stamped with the pretty Kitty. Meow!
However, you can catch these themed planes only on certain routes: Taipei to Singapore,
Taipei to Paris, and Taipei to Chicago.
In 2015, Australia’s biggest airline company Qantas Airways offered its First Class passengers
Gear Virtual Reality headsets to entertain them on long-haul flights! You could have
a 360-degree view of Qantas' lounge in Los Angeles, watch runway videos of a huge A380
landing, or sneak a 3D peek at Kakadu National Park in Australia. Hey how about we just get
there on time? Hmm?
Well, would you like to take a flight on a "Freelandia" jet? Let me know down in the
comments! If you learned something new today, then give this video a like and share it with
a friend. But – hey! – don't go anywhere just yet!
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