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Flying Boeing 787
Qatar Airways 787
We'll kick off this week with Virgin Atlantic's founder, Richard Branson. Not content with flogging red lip gloss and salt shakers to passengers, Branson has now had ice cubes crafted in the shape of his head. Upper class passengers flying on aircraft fitted out with the airline's new in-flight bar can look forward to coming face-to-face with a 'Little Branson' in their Bloody Mary. Or they can wait until the ice cube has melted away, says The Sun. Taiwanese airline EVA Airlines, aiming to boost tourism between Asian countries, has entirely decked out three Airbus A330-300s in Hello Kitty branding. Fans of the character, popular in Asia, can enjoy the full passenger experience from brightly coloured check-in desks all the way through to customised in-flight meals, as presented in this Reuters slideshow. Polygamous South African president Jacob Zuma's recent nuptials - to his fourth wife - prompted Kulula Airlines to launch a tongue-in-cheek flight promotion in April. Kulula's "fourth wife flies free" deal offered free flights for the fourth wife from Jo'Burg to Cape Town, provided the whole family travels together on the route. The airline said on its Facebook page that the offer was "inspired by regular VIP travellers with sizeable spousal entourages." A Filipino passenger travelling on a Cathay Pacific flight from Bangkok thought he was heading to Libya. On discovering the aircraft was about to land in Hong Kong, the 52-year old panicked and attacked a flight attendant, holding a plastic pen to her neck, reports The Standard, which says the passenger is "worried about the punishment he will receive for his actions." Iron Maiden's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, is bringing heavy metal to Wales, UK. The qualified pilot's company, Cardiff Aviation, has leased a 132,000sq ft hangar to operate an aircraft maintenance business, says the BBC. A Chinese businessman has countered the rising cost of fuel and congestion on the road - by building his own plane. The 32-year old said he was "inspired by a TV show called I love Inventing," according to the Daily Mail. And just like EVA Airlines above, the flying contraption features a Hello Kitty seat cover. A British television production company has deliberately crash landed a Boeing 727 in northwest Mexico to recreate a ‘serious, but survivable’ airliner crash with a real aircraft, says the RaeS editor's blog, which questions the rationale behind using a 727. "In car terms destroying a 727 is like crashing a 1960s Jaguar E-type." Watch the crash footage here.
Polygamous South African president Jacob Zuma's recent nuptials - to his fourth wife - prompted Kulula Airlines to launch a tongue-in-cheek flight promotion in April.
Kulula's "fourth wife flies free" deal offered free flights for the fourth wife from Jo'Burg to Cape Town, provided the whole family travels together on the route.
The airline said on its Facebook page that the offer was "inspired by regular VIP travellers with sizeable spousal entourages."
Tags: tw99, strange