I saw this Skybus press release announcing their aircraft advertising program today and knew I had to blog about it.
In short, they are going to sell advertising on any white space they can find. This includes the outside of the plane, overhead bins, tray tables, and restroom doors. Nationwide Insurance is the first to do the outside, but I’m going to be the first to do the inside. . . .
Looks good, huh? Hmm, maybe not. I can hear all those naysayers cringing about this “horrible” development (onboard advertising in general, not the picture of my face specifically), but I say . . . bring it. This is a great move for them.
Remember, Skybus is going to have ultra-low fares a la Ryanair. That means you could see fares for a buck or even less (just speculating here). The only way they can offer those low fares is if they can make money elsewhere. Advertising is one great way to do that. That’s how all those free websites, including mine, make money. (Side note: Remember to use those Google links at the bottom of this post if you are genuinely interested so I can start paying to advertise on Skybus.)
Generally all those people who say this is a horrible thing are the same people who complain that airfare is too expensive these days. Well, here’s your tradeoff. If you’re willing to stare at an ad for awhile, you too can fly for cheap.Most airlines aren’t going to match this, and they shouldn’t. The idea of paying for a better product in coach is something that hasn’t really happened on a large scale in some time. If you just want cheap, go ahead and shoehorn yourself into a tight seat and stare at ads all flight long. Buy a cup of water if you want, but don’t complain about it as long as you get there on time. If you want more, then you’ll have to pay more to fly on another airline that won’t put ads up.
It’s all about creating a value proposition that will appeal to different segments of travelers, and I think there is plenty of room for this type of the service at the bottom end of the pricing curve.
