Has Air Travel Become Blasè?

BLAH Airlines certainly thinks so.

Their slogan is “you will get there” and their website advertises “innovative” features, such as:

• 3 types of seats: Aisle, Middle and Window.
• Drinks, Sodas, and other Liquids.
• Our complimentary peanuts—free.
• Windows on every plane.
• Reading light for your convenience.
• Rear-mounted magazine pouches.
• Ice available on selected routes.
• BLAH Airlines seats fit most legs.
• Armrest.
• “Entertainment.”

Despite being a new airline, BLAH Airlines’ Twitter presence is already on par with their domestic competitors:

And they even have a co-branded credit card:

Anyways, if you’re bored today you should call their automated hotline at 1-844-BLAH-AIR — it’s a great use of 10 minutes.

Satire aside, this is actually a rather brilliant ad campaign by Virgin America, and the centerpiece is a nearly six-hour video showing the dullest transcon flight imaginable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsMZRl71Zo4

I’m not personally a huge fan of Virgin America’s advertisements in general, and that’s probably simply because I’m not their target demographic. I think their campaigns resonates quite well with their target demographic, but that ain’t me.

But I love this campaign. It’s a clever way of poking fun at the domestic competition. They make a good point that domestic travel can be routine and monotonous, and their Twitter presence is actually spot on. While airlines really made an effort with Twitter when they first started, it’s getting to the point where it’s just laughable. Seemingly their only goal is to respond to everyone within 30 seconds, regardless of whether the response is relevant or not. And I think BLAH Airlines’ Twitter sums that up perfectly.

All that being said, I’m not sure I’d prefer the transcon that Virgin America is advertising. If the alternative is having my seat opponent mate blowdrying her hair, then I might just take the boring transcon. 😉