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World's weirdest airlines
  • Not all airlines offer standard flight experiences. Travellers looking for fun or unusual services can enjoy the most unexpected journeys across the skies with the world's wackiest airlines.

    SEE ALSO: Bizarre plane designs of the future

    Whether you and your travel companion are 'cuddlers' or you're a social media junkie, these are the weirdest and unique airlines offering unconventional flights...

  • This South African low-cost airline is known for offering one of the most entertaining in-flight services. The brand was built on South African humour and has a fleet of 12 bright green Boeing 737s. Its tongue-in-cheek style includes in-flight instructions such as, "Please note we do not accept unwanted mother-in-laws or children". In 2011, the airline offered bride-to-be Kate Middleton's family a herd of cows as a gift.
  • Ideal for passengers who have trouble relaxing on a plane, Air Malta's Sky Spa offers the unusual service of free pampering on short-haul flights - and for economy passengers. Two professional therapists welcome flyers with beauty product samples and pamper them with the complimentary treatments, which include hand, feet and neck massages as they listen to relaxing music.
  • When it comes to themed aircraft, EVA Air wins for its colourful Hello Kitty jets that are designed to make flying fun and give passengers an experience to remember. Adorned with images of Hello Kitty and her friends, the planes are not the only feature cartoon fans can enjoy. At check-in, passengers receive Hello Kitty boarding passes and on-board, the cabin crew wears Hello Kitty uniform. The quirky flights are available on selected routes, including Taipei to Paris, Taipei to Singapore and Taipei to Chicago.
  • The flights are no longer available and after hosting a mid-flight dance by bikini-wearing beauty pageant contestants in 2011, Vietnamese no-frills airline VietJet Air was fined 20m dong (£611) by aviation authorities. The company said it wanted to capture a "holiday atmosphere" for its new flight route to Nha Trang. Nguyen Trong Thang, chief inspector of Vietnam's civil aviation body, said the carrier "had violated the local aviation regulations by organising unapproved show on a plane".
  • If you can't get enough of social media, KLM is the airline for you. The carrier's Meet & Seat service allows you to find out who will be on your flight, view other passengers' Facebook or LinkedIn and see where they are sitting. It's a fun way to find out about interesting people who will be on board. But for those who find it creepy, you can opt out of having your social media accounts linked with your flight bookings - phew!
  • Passengers who can't keep their hands off their travel companions will adore Air New Zealand's Economy SkyCouch, also known to some travellers as 'cuddle class'. The SkyCouch is a row of three seats that are like having your own couch on the plane. Passengers can create a flat, flexible space to use however they like and it even has an extension belt for when you want to lie down and armrests that disappear into the back of the seat.
  • Pokémon fans far and wide can fly in a themed jet with ANA on routes such as Tokyo to Frankfurt and Tokyo to Paris. The planes feature characters including Pikachu, Togepi, Mew and Snorlax, with in-flight treats ranging from juice served in Pokémon cups and flight attendants wearing colourful poké-aprons.
  • Can't decide where you want to fly? Eurowings offers mystery flights at a fixed price. The Blind Booking service allows you to choose a departure airport and what sort of trip you're in the mood for (gay-friendly, shopping and culture are some of the options). If there are locations you'd rather not visit, you can pay five euros per undesirable destination to exclude these from the selection. As soon as your booking is complete, you'll find out your destination.
  • Low-cost airline WOW air is so supportive of LGBT rights and advancing support of the community in the US that it introduced a new aircraft name TF-GAY to its fleet in 2016. The carrier, known for its bright-purple planes, launched the new Airbus A330-300 to serve its Reykjavik to San Francisco route. WOW air's CEO Skuli Mogensen said: "Since day one, we’ve emphasised joy and friendliness in our services because we want everybody to feel welcome in the WOW family. And we think TF-GAY fits right in with our modern family concept."
  • CHENGDU, CHINA - MAY 27: (CHINA OUT) A student adopted a regal air-donning traditional costumes and headdresses of Chinese Han empresses prepares for interviews for flight attendant jobs at East Star Airlines College on May 27, 2016 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. The interview was held by a Yunnan's airline company and several students dressed themselves as Chinese Han empresses to try to stand out from the crowd. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
  • CHENGDU, CHINA - MAY 27: (CHINA OUT) More than 500 college students of which several adopted a regal air-donning traditional costumes and headdresses of Chinese Han empresses walk to interviews for flight attendant jobs at East Star Airlines College on May 27, 2016 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. The interview was held by a Yunnan's airline company and several students dressed themselves as Chinese Han empresses to try to stand out from the crowd. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
  • CHENGDU, CHINA - MAY 27: (CHINA OUT) More than 500 college students of which several adopted a regal air-donning traditional costumes and headdresses of Chinese Han empresses queue up during interviews for flight attendant jobs at East Star Airlines College on May 27, 2016 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. The interview was held by a Yunnan's airline company and several students dressed themselves as Chinese Han empresses to try to stand out from the crowd. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
  • HAWTHORNE, CA - JULY 16: President and CEO Don Weisel raises his arms before a plane-load of dogs asking them if everyone is ready to go to Chicago before the southern California maiden voyage of Pet Airways on July 16, 2009 in the Los Angeles-area city of Hawthorne, California. The new pets-only airline will operate out of Denver, Chicago, Washington, DC and New York. Pet Airways, based in Delray Beach, Florida, is operating a 19-passenger Beech 1900 aircraft in partnership with Suburban Air Freight with the seats removed to carry up to 50 pets in animal crates per flight. Despite economic hard times for most U.S. businesses, the airline expects to add service to Boston later this year and expand into 25 cities within two years. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.
  • EAST BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 10: Wally the Green Monster waved in a Red Sox themed JetBlue Airbus A320 bearing coach Bobby Valentine in the cockpit at Logan Airport, Friday, Feb. 10 2012. (Photo by Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
  • A Lucky Air crew member dressed as Spiderman (3rd R) during an onboard Halloween celebration sits next to passengers during a flight from Kunming to Shenzhen, in Kunming, October 31, 2014. Attendants of the domestic Lucky Air flight on Friday night dressed themselves in costumes of superheroes and movie figures to serve their customers as well as celebrate Halloween, according to local media. REUTERS/Wong Campion (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY TRANSPORT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
  • Promoters skate past an Airbus A380 plane on display at the MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon in Zhukovsky outside Moscow August 27, 2013. The world's top aircraft makers, scenting a major opportunity in replacing ageing Russian air fleets, will be touting their wares at Moscow's MAKS air show this week in the hope of winning a big slice of that multi-billion dollar market. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)
  • A model presents a creation of London fashion label PPQ in the aisle of a new British Airways 777-700ER aircraft at Sydney Airport April 3, 2013. British Airways began covering the London-Sydney route with its new 777-300ER aircraft from April 2013, according to the airline's press release. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz (AUSTRALIA - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS FASHION)
  • A waitress is framed within a window, shaped to resemble a plane's, as she poses serving a customer at an A380 theme restaurant during a media event before its offical opening in Chongqing municipality, April 25, 2012. The restaurant, named "Special Enjoyment" (Chinese name "Special Class"), is about 600 square metres in size, including the six private rooms, and can serve up to 110 customers, local media reported. The restaurant officially started business on May 1, 2012. Picture taken April 25, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY BUSINESS FOOD)
  • A waitress poses inside an egg-shaped dining booth at an A380 theme restaurant during a media event before its official opening in Chongqing municipality, April 25, 2012. The restaurant, named "Special Enjoyment" (Chinese name "Special Class"), is about 600 square metres in size, including the six private rooms, and can serve up to 110 customers, local media reported. The restaurant officially started business on May 1, 2012. Picture taken April 25, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY FOOD BUSINESS)
  • A customer uses chopsticks to get food from a hot pot, at an egg-shaped dining-table inside an A380 theme restaurant in Chongqing municipality, May 11, 2012. The restaurant, named "Special Enjoyment" (Chinese name "Special Class"), measures about 600 square metres in size and features six private rooms. It can serve up to 110 customers, and officially started business on May 1, 2012, reported local media. Picture taken May 11, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY FOOD BUSINESS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
  • The logo of Japan Airlines (JAL) is seen on a hangar as All Nippon Airways' (ANA) Pokemon Jet moves past it at Haneda airport in Tokyo September 19, 2012. Shares of once-bankrupt Japan Airlines Co Ltd rose a modest 1 percent on their return to the market on Wednesday as a tough industry outlook prompted some investors to lock in profits on the blockbuster $8.5 billion initial public offering. REUTERS/Toru Hanai (JAPAN - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS LOGO)
  • A passenger looks out of an Airbus A330-300 aircraft of Taiwan's Eva Airlines, decorated with Hello Kitty motifs, in Taoyuan International Airport, northern Taiwan, April 30, 2012. Taiwan's second-largest carrier, Eva Airlines, and Japan's comic company, Sanrio, which owns the Hello Kitty brand, collaborated on the second generation Hello Kitty-themed aircraft which was launched on October 2011. There are currently three Hello Kitty-themed Airbus A330-300 aircrafts flying between cities such as Taipei, Fukuoka, Narita, Sapporo, Incheon, Hong Kong and Guam. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL BUSINESS)
  • A passenger stands next to Eva Airlines' self check-in counters, which are decorated with Hello Kitty motifs, in Taoyuan International Airport, northern Taiwan, April 30, 2012. Taiwan's second-largest carrier, Eva Airlines, and Japan's comic company, Sanrio, which owns the Hello Kitty brand, collaborated on the second generation Hello Kitty-themed aircraft which was launched on October 2011. There are currently three Hello Kitty-themed Airbus A330-300 aircrafts flying between cities such as Taipei, Fukuoka, Narita, Sapporo, Incheon, Hong Kong and Guam. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL BUSINESS)
  • A Hello Kitty-themed in-flight dessert set is displayed inside an Eva Airlines aircraft in Taoyuan International Airport, northern Taiwan, April 30, 2012. Taiwan's second-largest carrier, Eva Airlines, and Japan's comic company, Sanrio, which owns the Hello Kitty brand, collaborated on the second generation Hello Kitty-themed aircraft which was launched on October 2011. There are currently three Hello Kitty-themed Airbus A330-300 aircrafts flying between cities such as Taipei, Fukuoka, Narita, Sapporo, Incheon, Hong Kong and Guam. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL BUSINESS FOOD)
  • A Hello Kitty-themed in-flight meal is seen inside an Eva Airlines aircraft in Taoyuan International Airport, northern Taiwan, April 30, 2012. Taiwan's second-largest carrier, Eva Airlines, and Japan's comic company, Sanrio, which owns the Hello Kitty brand, collaborated on the second generation Hello Kitty-themed aircraft which was launched on October 2011. There are currently three Hello Kitty-themed Airbus A330-300 aircrafts flying between cities such as Taipei, Fukuoka, Narita, Sapporo, Incheon, Hong Kong and Guam. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL BUSINESS FOOD)
  • Flight attendants, holding Hello Kitty-themed in-flight meals, pose inside an Eva Airlines aircraft in Taoyuan International Airport, northern Taiwan, April 30, 2012. Taiwan's second-largest carrier, Eva Airlines, and Japan's comic company, Sanrio, which owns the Hello Kitty brand, collaborated on the second generation Hello Kitty-themed aircraft which was launched on October 2011. There are currently three Hello Kitty-themed Airbus A330-300 aircrafts flying between cities such as Taipei, Fukuoka, Narita, Sapporo, Incheon, Hong Kong and Guam. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL BUSINESS FOOD)
  • An Airbus A330-300 aircraft of Taiwan's Eva Airlines is seen with a Hello Kitty motif in Taoyuan International Airport, northern Taiwan, April 30, 2012. Taiwan's second-largest carrier, Eva Airlines, and Japan's comic company, Sanrio, which owns the Hello Kitty brand, collaborated on the second generation Hello Kitty-themed aircraft which was launched on October 2011. There are currently three Hello Kitty-themed Airbus A330-300 aircrafts flying between cities such as Taipei, Fukuoka, Narita, Sapporo, Incheon, Hong Kong and Guam. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang (TAIWAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRANSPORT BUSINESS TRAVEL)
  • Journalists take pictures of the economy class cabin of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as it is lit with rainbow colored LED lighting during an media tour of the aircraft in Singapore February 12, 2012. REUTERS/Edgar Su (SINGAPORE - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)

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