Some airlines can be a bit, well, stuffy.
Not Air New Zealand.
Already well-known for its innovative flight safety videos, the airline showed it has a sense of humor by helping a New Zealand father prank his daughter on her flight from Sydney for a family gathering.
Now, to appreciate the lengths to which Dad went is to understand the prank. Bridie Connell and her father have been playing ‘pinch and punch’ for 15 years now. Pinch and punch is a longtime British tradition popular in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
In short, the tradition is for one person to say “Pinch punch, it’s the first of the month!” to another person on the first day of every month, and to say it before the other person has a chance. You also get to give the person a small pinch and a light punch on the arm. If you follow it by saying ‘white rabbits’ or ‘no returns,’ the person who received the pinch and punch can’t do the same back.
Which leads us to Bridie and her dad. Since there are no restrictions on how the pinch and punch can be delivered – her dad once had her called into the principal’s office when she was 14 to deliver the message while the confused principal thought he was there to discuss her grades – her father wrote to Air New Zealand and gave them the down and dirty details.
— Bridie Connell (@BridieKConnell) May 1, 2019
Obviously, knowing full well of the tradition, Air New Zealand was only too happy to help.
When Bridie settled into her seat, a crew member approached and addressed her by name. She was excited. She thought she was being upgraded to a better seat for the first time ever.
Not even close.
It was Dad, who had the crew member hand her a letter and say it was a “special delivery.”
The letter read:
“To my most beloved daughter.
“I do hope you’re sitting back reclining comfortably as you wend your way across the Tasman. I can’t wait to see you, and I know you are going to be very excited and thrilled when you see me!
“By the way, while I remember… pinch and a punch for the first of the month, no returns!
“PS Aren’t Air NZ flight staff fabulous?”
Bridie smiled but tweeted that she was steamed inside at being out-smarted. And that she was plotting her revenge.
