MINNEAPOLIS — Luggage? Got it. Boarding pass? Check. Ads on boarding pass to help beleaguered airline industry pay for expensive fuel? Check.
Several major airlines will begin displaying ads on boarding passes for customers who check in from home. Customers can print the boarding passes without ads if they want.
Sojern Inc., which is selling the ads, said Delta would begin using the ads Tuesday for flights to Las Vegas and on all other domestic destinations soon afterward. American, Northwest, US Airways, Continental and United will follow in the months ahead, Sojern said.
“I think this is going to be responsible for many millions of dollars for each airline,” said Al Lenza, a vice president at Northwest.
The boarding-pass ads are only the latest effort by airlines to raise cash to help offset soaring fuel costs. Many have already cut jobs, reduced capacity and hiked fees on customers, including charging for checked bags.
Travelers who check in from a home computer will see their boarding pass and information such as weather, restaurants and attractions in the city to which they’re flying. Sojern said the boarding pass will be one printed page, the same as current ad-free passes. The Associated Press; AP photo
