For the most part, one airline is fairly similar to another. There are certainly distinctions between, say, United and Delta, but for the majority of travelers, those differences are minor in the grand scheme of things — different color palettes and snacks, maybe, but nothing major enough to make the actual experience of flying with one major carrier all that distinct from its competitors. That hasn’t always been the case, however. A number of odd, ill-advised, and downright strange airlines have popped up over the years, most of them short-lived. Here are five of the weirdest airlines to ever exist.

Hooters Air

Yes, that Hooters, because which restaurant chain hasn’t thought of expanding their empire to the sky? Flight attendants didn’t wear the same hot-pants-and-tank-top uniforms as the chain’s waitresses, but two “Hooter Girls” were on board every flight to keep passengers entertained and even host trivia games. Unfortunately, the novelty factor wasn’t enough to keep this ill-advised venture aloft for long, as Hooters Air shuttered in 2006 after being in operation for only three years — which was enough time for it to lose more than $40 million.

The Lord’s Airline

Apparently extending the logic behind Dolly Parton’s famous expression “the higher the hair, the closer to God” to aviation, the Lord’s Airline took an appropriately religious approach to its mission. The plan was for no alcohol to be served on any of their flights, faith-based films to be shown as in-flight entertainment, and Bibles and Torahs to take the place of seatback magazines. Flights were to carry passengers to the Holy Land, reaching Tel Aviv via Luxembourg on the airline’s sole Douglas DC-8. Only, the plane never actually left the ground. After its founding in 1985, the Lord’s Airline ceased to exist by the following year after obstacles like failing to qualify for an FAA license and infighting among executives proved too difficult to overcome.

Air Koryo

Unlike the others on this list, Air Koryo still exists. You’ll probably never fly on it, however, as it’s North Korea’s state-owned airline and mostly flies within the hermetic dictatorship (other than a few routes to Beijing, Shenyang, and Vladivostok). Frequently cited as the world’s worst airline, Air Koryo shows propaganda videos as in-flight entertainment, doesn’t allow passengers to take photos while aboard, serves a mystery burger, and was banned in the European Union from 2006 to 2020 due to safety and maintenance concerns — though they weren’t planning on flying to and from the continent, anyway.

Pet Airways

Most airlines have passengers. Pet Airways had “pawsengers.” The airline exclusively flew — you guessed it — pets in specially designed aircraft that had carriers instead of seats and pet attendants who checked on the dogs, cats, and other animals (including at least one potbellied pig) every 15 minutes. Since many nervous pet owners would prefer not to have their animal friends fly in the cargo hold, the airline actually proved successful for a few years beginning in 2009, until running into financial headwinds and suspending its services in 2012.

Smokers Express

Smoking has been banned on U.S. domestic flights since 1990, and most passengers welcomed the decision. Not all of them, however. Entrepreneurs William Walts and George Richardson set out on an ill-fated adventure to corner the disgruntled smokers’ market in 1993. They got around the FAA’s ban on smoking by making Smokers Express a private club for travelers over the age of 21 who were willing to pay a $25 membership fee in order to get their nicotine fix at cruising altitude. More than 5,000 people signed up, but Smokers Express never got off the ground — like others before them, Walts and Richardson learned the hard way that securing an FAA license and an actual fleet of aircraft is easier said than done.