They'll do anything to off-load a few pounds, or kilometres, or whatever measure you use to measure weight. But some think the airlines should perhaps start charging passengers by weight. Some folks were vaguely serious about this concept, with our friend Bob Mann of R.W. Mann and Associates being quoted by Bloomberg as sort of endorsing the concept. Bloggers picked it up and ran with it, although one newspaper, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, could barely hide its mirth in debunking the story. (The Appeal had some help from a friend.)
Now comes Derrie-air. You can figure out your fare quite easily, simply by knowing your weight. For instance, Philadelphia to Chicago, it's $1.40 a pound, but to Denver, it's $1.60 a pound. And this is a fabulous carrier, with "golden-age Rat Pack films, top-shelf vodka Martinis, on-demand video blackjack, spacious private washrooms outfitted with porcelain fixtures and gilded faucets, gourmet snacks, on-board masseuses, loofah scrubs and, of course, digital cable!"
Derrie-air ('derriere,' get it?) and was founded by Dick Derrie. His genius stems from his childhood, because "his father was a fisherman, (and) as a child, Dick ate nothing but line-caught Mississippi fish. This unusual diet flooded his brain with Omega-3 fatty acids, to which he credits his remarkable business acumen."
Aha, you say, this can't be true and no, it isn't. The ad is a spoof, run on one-time basis by the agency that runs the two Philadelphia papers, the Inquirer and Daily News. Their point: look at how much attention newspaper print ads can get. But you sort of have to ask, would this work for Thelma's Ford? or Melissa's Menswear?
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