Airlines to sell ads on their boarding passes

Several major airline companies have decided to sell display ads on boarding passes that their customers print out when checking in online and printing their boarding passes at home.

Passengers will also have the option of printing their boarding passes without the ads if they choose.

Sojern Inc., the company selling the ads, has reported that Delta Air Lines will begin using the ads in a few days’ time for its flights to Las Vegas, and then soon afterward on all of its other U.S. domestic destinations. American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways have all signed on for the service and will launch the ad campaign on their flights in the coming months, according to Sojern.

The participating airlines all own a minority stake in Sojern and will share revenue generated by the ads. None of the carriers has commented on how much it expects to make, but the vice president of distribution and e-commerce for Northwest Airlines has said that 40 percent of that airline’s check-ins are done online. This adds up to 30 million customers each year printing their boarding passes at home.

“I think this is going to be responsible for many millions of dollars for each airline,” he added.

This new ad campaign is one of the many new programs that airlines are instituting to raise the funds necessary to offset the rising costs of jet fuel. Many carriers have cut jobs, reduced their capacity and raised passenger fees – such as charging for checked baggage.

www.sojern.com