April Fools' Day travel pranks: Qantas finally spells its name right

Love choppers and buses, but can't decide which is the better way to travel? Rest assure AAT Kings has the solution for you – CoachCopter. It's pretty much fancy coach with helicopter propellers that will take guests to the Blue Mountains on wheels before returning to Sydney by air. This high-attitude, high-performance helicopter is probably not the way to go if you suffer from air travel sickness as well as road travel sickness.

Leaning hotel of luxury

Outraged consultant leaks Italy's plans to turn world famous landmark (aka The Leaning Tower of Pisa) into top-end hotel for the rich. The Telegraph, London's very own April Fool's joke was, arguably, a hard one to pick considering the array of unusual and futuristic hotel proposals from around the world (I admit, it fooled me). The hotel would have been called 3.99 Degrees, reflecting the angle at which the landmark tilts. The idea of spending a night on a custom-made slanted-bed (to combat the slope) in a room themed around Michelangelo or Raphael sounds rather dreamy, really.

Alamo Monster Truck program

Are big trucks your thing? Picture yourself rolling through the Nevada desert in a giant monster truck, dirt swirling, music pumping and air con roaring. Well, that dream will quickly be dashed as Alamo's offering of monster trucks rentals is fictional. The rental car company wished everyone a great April Fools' with a joke that pretty much left a lot of blokes around the world feeling a little bit jilted.

And the pranks we can't forget...

Business for two

Student Flights pulled off an April Fools' Day prank offering two-for-one business class travel deals that allow two passengers to travel in one business class seat. The "exclusive top-to-tail business class seat category" promises "first rate travel experiences at backpacker prices". Reaction to the prank "has been one of amused disappointment", says a spokesperson from Student Flights. That's probably because we all want this one to be true.

Stretch out on a budget airline

Singapore airline Scoot also got in on the prank action, announcing it would now offer in-flight hot yoga classes for guests flying from Singapore to Hong Kong. The airline said it was introducing a "YogaZone" to its cabins and would ramp up the temperature in that part of the plane to 40.6 degrees for 60 minutes. The airline also said it was introducing "MaxYourSpace" - a service that allowed you to guarantee the seat next to you would be free. For a fee, of course. And given budget airlines' tendencies to find new ways to charge for things, don't be too surprised if this last gag becomes a reality in the near future.

Deep-sea safari

Forget holidaying on cruise ships, submarine cruises are the way to go, and according to Cruise.co.uk, this is the future of sea travel. As an April Fools' prank, the company announced it has launched an underwater sarfari that takes 1,000 people "up to 60m under the sea". The cruise comes with more than just the basics - a full length viewing deck, panoramic view restaurants and miniature indoor waterpark. The best thing about this cruise, if it were true, would be watching eerie-looking, deep-sea creatures in their real environments.

China's slippery slide

You might not have picked it but a plan to transform a short stretch of the Great Wall of China into a waterslide is more "sensational" than true. A tweet by a travel blog, claiming that the waterslide is "so vast, you can see it from space", much like the wall itself, would be a traveller's wonderland but a cold swimming experience if it were true.

All up in the air

When it comes to airline spoofs, Canadian airline WestJet is a repeat offender for offering too-good to be true perks for passengers. Last year, the airline enticed passengers with the promise of being able to fly with pets, be it dogs or cats, or even small exotic animals. The "Furry Family" program was a YouTube hit.

In 2012, WestJet had a bit of fun introducing child-free cabins by putting kids in the cargo hold so that adults could fly in peace and quiet, though their "Kargo Kids" offering was more about entertainment than an attempt to fool people.

WestJet aren't the only airline to wave its April Fools' flag. Last year, Virgin Atlantic made headlines with the "world's first glass-bottomed plane" with promises of a glass-topped aircraft to follow so passengers could see the stars at night. The appeal of such a concept made this prank widely successful, with Richard Branson having been quoted saying: "I'm thrilled to announce that Virgin has created another world-first".

Cargo class

A favourite is STA Travel's prank in 2012 which saw it launch "cargo class" airfares for travellers on tight budgets.The company promised up to 80 per cent off standard economy airfares for passengers willing to travel in the cargo space and bring their own food and entertainment devices. STA marketing found itself having to call to major news outlet that were still promoting it a week later.

New typeface lands

UK newspaper The Guardian's most celebrated prank dates back to 1977 when it published a seven-page travel supplement on a little-known island destination, "San Serriffe". The hoax report was layered with humourous typographical references, a fictitious map and a detailed history of the tropical island. For added effect, the report included a fact file for travellers and featured a call-out from Kodak for photos of the island to be included in an exhibition to be titled "The Legendary Beauty of San Serriffe". The highly successful prank was revisited 22 years later, when a writer described for potential tourists the "vibrant nation" located near the Seychelles.

What you see is what you get

Last year New Zealand tour operators Haka Tours had some April Fools' fun, showing tourists flocks of "New Zealand Long Necked Sheep" saying the "new breed" was expected to "revolutionise the wool industry". It apparently took many a whole week to discover the "long-necked sheep" were just llamas. A few years before, the company pulled a Rugby World Cup prank, telling passengers it was to showcase the Cup and transport it around the country. When passengers later learned the Cup was plastic, one passenger failed to see the humour and tried to smash it.

Titanic Two - the joke that became reality

In 2012, the UK's Daily Mirror created a spoof story about the construction of a Titanic Two. It latter claimed its April Fools' spoof was a 'Titanic scoop' after billionaire Clive Palmer announced plans to build a replica of the Titanic. If their spoof prediction is right, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, including Richard Branson and Lady Gaga, will be on board for its maiden voyage.

Is that a plane?

Richard Branson is not one to shy away from either creative publicity campaigns nor extraordinary pranks. The entrepreneur took to the skies in a UFO-shaped hot air balloon in 1989 to promote the launch of his airline. With strobe lights blinking every 10 seconds, the balloon prank fooled some British motorists. Several calls were made to police about reported sightings of a UFO spaceship flying low over London. But the icing on the gag-cake, some could say, was when a dwarf in an ET outfit came out.