You couldn't write it: A roundup of outlandish airline stories

Airline antics seem to be getting weirder by the minute. Photo / 123rf

There's a good reason why staff in the airline industry go on to write best selling books. From the intriguing to the audacious, to the downright bizarre, some pretty strange things happen on aeroplanes. And like all far-fetched stories that turn out to be true, reading about them is highly addictive.

Here we round up a selection of the best travel tales that have occurred in the sky. Some will make you frown, others will make you smile, and when we fly again, they'll all make you question who you're sitting beside. Let's just hope they're human.

I'm here for the air points. Nonchalant wētā catches an Air NZ flight

Air New Zealand has made a special mask exemption for wētā and other flying taonga found on flights, although more squeamish flyers would appreciate if they stick to distancing guidelines.

A passenger on a Wellington to Auckland service discovered a surprise discovery, tweeting a photo at the airline on the back of her safety card.

"Just wondering what the mask guidelines are for wētā on flights @FlyAirNZ?" asked Alex O'Connor, regarding the Arthropodal passenger.

What did the wētā do next? Did he fly economy? And how many bloody Marys did he consume? For all this and more, click here..

Airline passengers were alarmed to find an NZ weta on their plane. Photo / Peter de Graaf; Project Island Song

Pilot leaves a pre-Covid letter in the cockpit. It's found 435 days later.

A "chilling" handwritten letter has been discovered more than 400 days after it was penned, poignantly summarising the mammoth toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Click here to read the full, eerie letter,.

La dolce vita: Australian greyhound flies business class to Italy

Big beds, large TV's, top-notch food and flight crew who know your name, business class is every traveller's dream.

Especially for passengers like Lewis, whose alternative wasn't economy but the cargo hold.

The adopted greyhound enjoyed flying in luxury on Singapore Airlines with his owner Mary Meister, who moved from Melbourne to Italy last month.

Ever thought you'd find yourself envious of an Australian Greyhound? Click here to read more - and start dreaming of the doggy lifestyle..

Lewis the adopted greyhound ditched cargo hold in favour of more sumptuous flying arrangements. Photo / 123rf

Man finds himself the only passenger on an entire plane

Nothing beats having an empty seat next to you on a flight. Except, perhaps, having every other seat empty.

This dream came true for one traveller flying from Abu Dhabi to Singapore, who has gone viral after sharing on Twitter that he was the plane's only passenger.

So much for extra leg space. To find out how the passenger made use of his own private jumbo jet, click here..

Anything to declare? A stowaway chihuahua sneaks into a cowboy boot

A couple from Texas have told Southwestern airlines they have had no idea how their pet chihuahua got into their suitcase.

The dog was discovered in luggage at Lubbock Airport in Texas bound for Las Vegas after the suitcase was found to be almost 3kg overweight. The extra kilos belonged to Icky, a pet chihuahua, which was found folded into one of owner Jared Owens's cowboy boots.

We've all joked we'd do it for a free holiday. How did little Icky - almost - pull it off? Read more here..

A pet chihuahua in the US decided she too deserved a holiday this year. Photo / Doug Sherring

Airline passenger gets himself a mid-flight tattoo

People do some pretty interesting, if not downright disturbing things while stuck on a plane.

They hang their hair over other passengers' entertainment screens, make Tiktok videos of passenger rampages and even try to open plane doors mid-flight.

In some cases, they try giving their friends a tattoo, while the aircraft is landing.

We know, you have questions. We can't promise you'll get any sane answers but it makes for an interesting read....

Some people get a few hours shut-eye on a flight, others get a tattoo. Photo / Supplied

Ma'am your cross-stitching is causing offence

When it comes to flying, what you see in the cabin seems to be getting weirder and weirder.

From a support pony to people putting on fake eyelashes mid-flight — and even passengers clipping their fingernails while soaring at 10,000 metres.

But this woman's mid-air hobby may well take the cake, and not because of her cross-stitching technique but rather the message she's created for the intended recipient.

Click here to find out what she was stitching. You know you want to..

One woman's mid-air hobby included cross-stitching expletives. Maybe she'd been reading Subversive Crossstitch. Photo / Janna Dixon

Moggies on a mission. Four lost kittens ride the conveyor belt

Four live kittens are in quarantine in Hong Kong, after being found in the hold of a Singapore Airlines cargo plane.

The stowaways were reported to Hong Kong police last Saturday by an employee of the Singapore Airlines cargo operation.

Video from bemused HKG luggage handlers showed the tiny cats turning up on a conveyor belt.

It's still a mystery how these four furry felines flew 2500km across the world, but you can click here for the full story,.

Four very lost kittens turn up on an airport conveyor belt, safe and sound, and well-travelled. Photo / Warren Buckland.