PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Derrie-Air has been exposed.

Readers of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News opened their papers Friday to see ads for a new airline called Derrie-Air, which purportedly charges passengers by the pound.

But the new carrier will never get off the ground. It’s a one-day advertising campaign about a fake airline by Philadelphia Media Holdings, the papers’ owner, and Gyro ad agency.

In light blue banners throughout the papers – as well as on their Web site, Philly.com – Derrie-Air cheerily trumpets its policy: The more you weigh, the more you pay. The ads direct readers to the Web site www.flyderrie-air.com.

Philadelphia Media Holdings spokesman Jay Devine said the goal is to “demonstrate the power of our brands in generating awareness and generating traffic for our advertisers, and put a smile on people’s faces.”

The company will track traffic to the Derrie-Air site.

Visitors to the airline site learn that Derrie-Air is the world’s only carbon-neutral luxury airline, and it justifies its fare policy by saying that it takes more fuel to move heavier objects.

Derrie-Air’s sample rates range from $1.40 per pound to fly from Philadelphia to Chicago to $2.25 per pound to fly from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. On the Web page a disclaimer labels the ad campaign “fictitious” and says it is designed “to test the results of advertising in our print and online products and to stimulate discussion on a timely environmental topic of interest to all citizens.”

“In other words,” it says, “smile, we’re pulling your leg.”

AP-ES-06-06-08 1412EDT