Air travelers no longer complain much about bad airport food since there’s so little of it but what will their reaction be as seat-back ads are placed in all 128 of Air Trans’ Boeing jets?
”The new advertising plan, announced by AirTran Airways, a low-cost, Florida-based airline, is the latest in a trend among recession-battered airlines to increase revenue by charging for extra products and services such as onboard wireless Internet, snacks, drinks and pillows,” said the AP.
Over the next week or so, AirTran Airways plans to outfit all of its Boeing jets with seat-back advertisements, measuring about 2 1/2 by 9 inches.
The advertisements are placed at eye level, so passengers can’t avoid them, except by lowering the tray tables.
Though other airlines have experimented with in-flight ads, AirTran appears to be the first American carrier to put ads on every seat back of every plane in its fleet. The ads are placed in a see-through holder fastened to the back of the tray table, making it easy for ads to be replaced as desired.
Ryan Air, based in Ireland, and Easyjet, based in England, have already tested seat-back advertising.
US Airways places ads on the tops of its tray tables, though not on every plane or at every seat.
The first ad on the AirTran seat backs will be for Mother Nature Network, a Web site devoted to environmental issues that is promoting itself by running a contest for a seven-night cruise.
By David Wilkening
