Photo of the AirTran ads taken for me just a few days ago.
On my recent flight on Virgin America I noticed they had a short ad for their Virgin America Credit Card on their in-flight entertainment system after the safety video. I thought, this was a good idea. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of watching commercials or flipping through a million ads to read a magazine. However, this concept just seemed to make business sense and I wondered why airlines do not make better use of ads to make additional revenue.
We all know the creative ways airlines are looking to make additional revenue. From charging for bags, to having to pay a little more to actually pick a seat. I doubt these fees will go away and I imagine airlines will only come up with new ways to make additional revenue to stay competitive and profitable.
Having ads in planes can work. The biggest benefit is there is no additional cost to the customer. All the fees you pay for everything else is money coming out of your pocket and into the pocket of the airline. But ads cost passengers nothing (except for some annoyance) and make the airline additional money.
While I have been researching about this concept, AirTran announced that they will start placing ads on the back of their seats. They already had ads sticking out of the seat back pocket, ads on their napkins, and even ads on their pre-flight announcements. But they will be the first airline in the US to put ads on the backs of all their seats (even Business Class). Of course the initial reaction I have seen on the web is “OMG the world is coming to an end and AirTran is going to a new low,” (I am just paraphrasing) But really, is this all that bad?
Each seat will have 2.5″ x 9″ place to put different advertiser’s messages and “unlike other in-cabin advertisements, these messages will be fully visible to passengers throughout the boarding, taxi, takeoff, landing, and deplaning phases, offering companies a unique opportunity to reach consumers for periods ranging from a minimum of approximately 40 minutes to several hours depending on the length of the flight,” AirTran noted.
The press release said every seat should be outfitted by December 3rd, but I’ve heard from fliers there are still some empty seat backs. Luckily someone was able to send me a photo of the ad (which is the blog’s main picture).
I recently talked to Christopher White at AirTran to figure how much they plan to make off these ads. White told me they expect to “gain seven figures annually in ancillary revenue related to seat back advertisements.” Right now they just have a contract with one company, Mother Nature Network, but they have several other companies express interest.
With AirTran having Wi Fi on their entire fleet, I think this could make for some interesting ads. A company could advertise something and point people to check them out right on the web. “Looking for a hotel when you land? Go online now, book a room, and we will pay for your Wi Fi on AirTran,” or something along those lines.
I would rather have to look at an ad for a few hours and saving a few dollars on my flight. Heck, the ads might even be entertaining if someone got creative with them and had passengers interact with the advertiser on the web somehow. Would you change your travel plans based on there being ads on the plane?
It has been an exciting week covering the Boeing 787 and there will be more on it in the future, don’t worry. However with all the time I have spent on the 787, I haven’t been following other airline related news. I figured I would share some of my favorite stories I missed:
* The passenger in the flight attendant + orange juice story responds via Gadling. http://www.gadling.com/2009/12/12/galley-gossip-the-first-class-orange-juice-passenger-respond/
* Air France jet suffers 5,000 foot plunge at same spot as doomed Brazil flight via Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/10/air-france-jet-suffers-50_n_387552.html
* Airports decided to train workers to be nicer via Today in the Sky http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=11303.blog&csp=34&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TP-TodayInTheSky+(Travel+-+Today+In+the+Sky)&utm_content=Google+Reader
* The Airline Biz Blog likes the movie Up in the Air. http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/12/up-in-the-air-is-a-great-movie.html
*Airbus A380 grounded due to technical glitch via The Economic Times http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/Air-France-A380-suffers-new-technical-glitch/articleshow/5341156.cms
* Airlines agree to buy green jet fuel via Seattle PI http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/188360.asp?source=rss
Ok, I feel caught up now.
Air France (AF) - Airbus A380-861 - F-HPJA (c/n 033)
It has been an exciting week covering the Boeing 787 and there will be more on it in the future, don’t worry. However with all the time I have spent on the 787, I haven’t been following other airline related news. I figured I would share some of my favorite stories I missed:
* The passenger in the flight attendant + orange juice story responds via Gadling.
* Air France jet suffers 5,000 foot plunge at same spot as doomed Brazil flight via Huffington Post.
* Airports decided to train workers to be nicer via Today in the Sky.
The Boeing 787 on its way to the runway for its first flight yesterday.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had a wonderful first flight yesterday. It was covered by multiple media outlets and many different formats, from twitter, to standard live TV, to web feed, to even streaming video on an iPhone. Reading the forums (and even my friend’s Facebook statuses) a lot of people keep asking “why should I care?”
These are the reasons I think even non-aviation nerds might care:
* The 787 is made up of 50% composite material. I have seen people say “I would much rather fly on a metal plane than a plastic one.” The carbon fiber used in this aircraft is not like any plastic. Carbon fiber is stronger and lighter than metal and I would much rather fly in a “plastic” than “metal” plane any day. Take a look at this picture of the inside structure of a Boeing 707. All the metal panels riveted together. Notice all the additional structure needed around the windows. Compare it to the inside of the 787. The 787’s composite body is one solid structure and with fewer weak points. For example, the Boeing 747 requires about 1million holes to be drilled in its fuselage, but the 787 requires less than 10,000. (take a look at all the Boeing 707 and 787 material pictures I took at the Future of Flight)
* Boeing has designed this aircraft to bring back the joy in flying. There is revolutionary lighting and more space for people and luggage.
* The humidity level during flight will be higher, due to having composite materials that won’t rust. This will increase the comfort level for the passengers and reduce jet lag.
* Even with the delays and cancellations, there are still 840 orders for the Boeing 787.
* Due to more efficient engines and less weight, the 787 will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by about 20%. Yet it still is able to go Mach .85, about the speed of its bigger siblings the 777 and 747.
* The aircraft has the largest windows in any passenger jetliner. This will provide a more open feel and give everyone a view to the outside. There are also no sunshades, but just a button which will cause the window to tint and block out the sun, but still have some ability to see outside.
* This plane was made to replace the highly successful Boeing 767. The 787-8 will be able to carry about 210-250 passengers around 8000 nautical miles, while the 787-9 will be able to carry 250-290 about 8250 nautical miles.
* With the 787’s range and ability to land at smaller airports, it will reduce the need for airlines to use hub systems and allow them to provide more non-stop flights. This of course lets passengers spend more time at their destination and less time getting there (however as an airline nerd, I love the process of getting there too, so maybe that is a negative for me?!) – Thanks Ian for pointing that out!
If those aren’t enough, it just looks really cool taking off with its wings flexing.
This is a very exciting time in aviation history. We just had the Boeing 787 Dreamliner take its first flight and now we wait for the Boeing 747-8 to take its first flight, which will probably be in about a month or so, which of course I will be following.
SUCCESS! The plane was AMAZING taking off. Above is my video of the event. Everyone was cheering as the 787 flew over us. It will conduct 5hrs of tests and then land south down at Boeing field in Renton, WA. It was wonderful to be a part of this event, thank you to the Future of Flight for having me.
UPDATE 12:37pm: Boeing is reporting that the first flight will end early, landing at Boeing Field at 1pm. No official word from Boeing why the flight is ending early, but Boeing said they might end early. Could be weather, it has gotten much worse since liftoff.
UPDATE 1:03pm: Boeing is stating the flight is ending early because of weather, no problems with the plane. Boeing, Flight Blogger and KIRO will be covering the landing live.
UPDATE 2:38pm: Been watching the live news conference (I stayed up north and didn’t go down to the landing) via Boeing’s website. These pilots are awesome. They said the flight went perfect and can’t wait to get in the air again!
UPDATE nextday: I have had a lot of people ask “why should I care?” I answered that question with a new blog.
Picture of Boeing 787 Dreamliner picture taken about 7am today
It is almost 5:30am PST and we are about 4.5 hours away from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s first flight. The weather isn’t perfect, but so far it is still on! This is a VERY special event for a very special airplane. Much like the Boeing 707 marked the beginning of the jet age, I think the 787 will mark the start of the next generation of how planes are made and how materials are used.
I will be enjoying the event at the Future of Flight, which has one of the best views of the runway. I hope to take many photos and a few videos, and I will post them on the blog as soon as I can. Catch second by second coverage of the events on my TWITTER ACCOUNT(you don’t need to sign up to read my tweets) and I will try to keep my blog updated as the events unfold. I have two laptops, a camera, an iPhone, and a video camera. Hopefully that will be enough to share this event with you :).
Of course, the first flight is not the end of the Boeing 787 trials, but just the very beginning. I hope and expect nothing else to delay the aircraft, but there are still a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. Jon Ostrower, the FlightBlogger, lays out what the Boeing 787 has left to do before it starts flying its first passengers.
I will be updating this post throughout the day…
* UPDATE 7:30am: Lots of people and media showing up at the Future of Flight. I just updated my picture for this blog with one I just took. Make sure to follow live feed via BOEING’S LIVE FEED and also the FLIGHTBLOGGER.
* UPDATE 8:20am: Flight aware has BOE01 listed for a 10:10am PST takeoff. Anyone guessing that might be the ZA001 Boeing 787 first flight? If you are in the Seattle area, the lobby/cafe/gift shops of the Future of Flight are open for you to warm up. You can also sign up for a raffle to win a Boeing 787 Model. If you come in you should come say hi to me!
* UPDATE 9:05am: Boeing employees are starting to line up along the runway. Hopefully that is a good sign. Pictures I have taken so far have been uploaded to my flickr account.
* UPDATE 10:32: Just watched the Boeing 787 make a successful take off. Videos and pics to follow soon!
