These airlines’ original ideas for staying active during COVID

Closed borders or restricted countries, forbidden travel, airlines have experienced a cataclysmic year 2020. The equation they faced was almost insoluble: grounded planes, inaccessible destinations, and yet people eager to get back to the atmosphere of travel, whether because they really miss it or simply to escape the sadness of everyday life.

When airlines please people and themselves

How can we continue to please customers when there is very little room for maneuver? This is the question that many have tried to answer.

We are indeed talking about pleasing the customers. Unlike hotels that have repackaged their offerings to gain a few vital occupancy points, it was not a question of airlines finding new sources of revenue, simply to please themselves by pleasing others.

By pleasing travel addicts who are grounded and miss the experience of airports and planes. But contrary to what one might think, the target clientele was broader: to the “avgeeks” of all kinds joined “lambda” customers, not particularly fond of travelling, but they suddenly felt like getting out of a daily life made dull by the many restrictions they were subjected to.

To please themselves, because even if these operations bring in little or no money, if they have nothing lasting and do not foreshadow the evolution of their business model, they have had a triple merit. The first is, as we have seen, to please the customers. The second was to please a staff condemned to inactivity and who only wanted to do something useful again. The third and sometimes not the least is to be talked about. A free, almost worldwide notoriety campaign is always good to take.

We offer you an overview of the different initiatives that have emerged.

A flight that does not leave the tarmac

In July, China Airlines (an airline from Taiwan, as its name does not say) had proposed a flight in almost real conditions: check-in, security checks, police checks… but the plane never took off. The idea was just to relive that little bit of experience.

Flights to nowhere

When you can’t go anywhere and you want to fly, the only solution is to take off and return to your starting point.

The “flights to nowhere” dedicated to passengers in need of travel have been a real success during the health crisis.

For Qantas which sold a “loop” of 7 hours at prices ranging from 500 to 2300 euros it is the fastest sold flight in the history of the airline. A few dozen minutes to sell 134 tickets.

China Airlines, on the other hand, finally decided to take off its planes and organized flights to nowhere from Taipei.

The children were not left out since EVA Air (Taiwan too) flew in a loop one of its aircraft with Hello Kitty colors.

Same thing at ANA with a more Hawaiian atmosphere on board this A380 which usually serves the Tokyo-Honululu route.

Each time it took less than 48 hours for Royal Brunei to sell the 85 seats of its “Dine & Fly” package over the island of Borneo.

A dinner in first class

Singapore Airlines was also about to play the card of flights to nowhere but some environmentalists killed the project.

However, the Singaporean airline offered its customers a dining experience … on the ground. Thus, an A380 of the airline was transformed into an ephemeral restaurant that never left the tarmac but allowed to relive (or even discover for some), the excellence of the service of the airline in all classes of travel and therefore particularly in first class. More creativity also for the cook who no longer had to endure the constraints of serving in the cabin and at altitude.

It took 30 minutes to sell 900 seats and they even had to open a waiting list!

Speed Dating in the air

Hello Kitty is great for kids but (young) adults want a little more.

EVA Air has partnered with local dating company Mobius to offer “Love is in the Air” flights. Participants will be able to participate in speed dating in the air on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, while enjoying Michelin-starred gourmet cuisine and a breathtaking view.

Each flight will last approximately three hours. The quota for each flight varies, but Mobius says each flight will carry 16 to 20 men and the same number of women. Mieux encore, chacun se verra attribuer un “compagnon de siège” du sexe opposé. The choice of seats will be impossible so passengers will be seated randomly but will be invited to move around as much as possible during the flight to meet new people.

Important criterion to have the right to participate in these flights: you must be a graduate of higher education! Men should also be between 28 and 38 years old and women between 24 and 35.

Buddhist flight over Thailand

If religion and peace of mind appeal to you more than dating, then Thai Airways is the place to be.

The Thai airline is launching a special Buddhist pilgrimage flight, during which passengers can chant mantras while flying over temples.The three-hour flight will fly over 99 sacred sites in Thailand, so that “passengers will receive positive energy while chanting.

Reservations are closed since yesterday. Economy class was priced at 6,000 baht (€166) and business class at 10,000 baht (€277).

May these prayers also save the airline from bankruptcy, an end that is to be feared in its present health.

A glamorous night at the airport

Are you a fan of the movie “The Terminal” and dream of being Tom Hanks? Well, it’s possible.

If you want to be locked in an airport, you might as well choose the best one, i.e. Changi in Singapore. Since November 20 and until January 3, it is possible to spend the night at the airport and sleep under the stars.

The “Glamping in the clouds” offer, allows guests to spend a night in a yurt on the highest floor of the airport with blankets and pillows.

Another experience in Singapore Changi Airport, Shiseido Forest Valley offers more spacious yurts that can accommodate up to 3 adults.

Both offers are worth the same price: 200 € on weekdays and 220 on weekends.

Customers who take advantage of these offers will also be entitled to other “benefits” such as:

Tickets for Changi Experience Studio or Manulife Sky Nets
Tickets for the canopy
Sparkling Christmas at the Jewel (see our report on the Jewel here).
Jurassic Mile Dinosaur Plush
Jewel Privilege Pass for discounts on purchases

If spending a night in a yurt doesn’t appeal to you, you can settle for a picnic at Changi Airport. The airport provides tablecloths, cutlery, a cooler with ice and wine glasses, and you bring your own food and drinks. Three-hour time slots are available for 100€ on weekdays 160€ on weekends.

Asia creative, Europe absent

It is regrettable that all these initiatives were limited to Asia. We would have liked to see the European airlines a little more creative in this area.

Photo : flight cancelled due to COVID by BNMK 0819 via Shutterstock

Bertrand Duperrin
Bertrand Duperrinhttp://www.duperrin.com
Compulsive traveler, present in the French #avgeek community since the late 2000s and passionate about (long) travel since his youth, Bertrand Duperrin co-founded Travel Guys with Olivier Delestre in March 2015.
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