Virtual Airline Memes

Virtual Airline Memes also known as VAM or Rick Astley is an Instagram page specializing in memes about virtual airlines.

History
The meme page appeared in very early January 2021, shortly after a war-like dispute between two virtual airline alliances. A number of major airlines exiting the SkyWayz Alliance had triggered a trend of other airlines leaving the alliance. Among the notable ones were AirFlorida, Air Unlimited, Swoosh and most notably the SkyWayz founder FlyBratislava, that left the alliance after being pushed by multiple members, that were unhappy due to "a lack of good management" and wanted to reform the alliance. FlyBratislava later stated that it "will not be returning" and even after a number of airlines" negotiations proved unsuccessful, AirFlorida decided to leave the alliance with the airline releasing a statement on Instagram: "It is with a heavy heart, that we announce our immediate resignation from the SkyWayz Alliance due to our displeasure towards the unfair treatment of the founder @FlyBratislava by other members. At this time we are entering the transfer portal and are looking for a new home." Most of the airlines that had left the SkyWayz Alliance joined the Fusion Alliance. It is at this time that memes about the situation start to appear on different accounts and shortly after that a new Instagram page titled Virtual Airline Memes appeared.

Ownership
Ever since its appearance, many airlines have been asking: "Who is behind the VAM page?". It is unknown who exactly is behind the meme page. If a message is sent to the meme page asking if it is a specific airline, the meme page always replies to these questions saying: "Maybe, maybe not."

Virtual Airline Competitions
Main article: Virtual Airline League

VAM hosts competitions for virtual airlines on Instagram including annual championships.