Wizz Air to pioneer seatback advertising

With even major airlines like British Airways and American Airlines scrambling to generate non-ticket revenue to offset losses during the recession, low-cost carrier Wiz Air is now set to be the first airline to have advertising placed on the seat backs of its aircraft.

The Central and Eastern European budget carrier has reportedly awarded the OnBoard Media Group based in Atlanta a contract to provide in-flight advertising for a British company.

UK’s O2 company will be the first to have its advertising flashed on seatbacks on Wizz Air flights. The seatback advertising will promote O2′s current ‘Your Country SIM card’ programme. The campaign will also be featured in Wizz Air’s in-flight magazine, and passengers on Wizz Air flights bound for the UK will be offered free SIM cards as part of the promotion. The cards will provide passengers with up to 100 free international calling minutes, after they purchase £15 worth of talk time.

Beyond the 100 free minutes, card-holders will also be able to make international calls at substantially lower rates than available with home cell phones, claims Account Director for O2′s Your County SIM programme, Tim Rasbach.

Wizz Air’s Aban Gyorgy said when speaking about the new seatback advertising, that in the present economy, all airlines are being called upon to generate non-ticket revenue, with the aim of maintaining affordable airfares for passengers. He claims that Wizz Air’s seatback advertising programme will help generate substantial revenue from advertising, without compromising the airline’s focus on operational efficiency.