Surf
For the first time ever, big waves do equal big savings on flights from one major airline! Alaska Airlines is teaming up with international surf prediction website Surfline to run a surf based discount for their travelers. The promotion is aligned with Hawaii’s big wave season and will run through November 20th. As swells grow, prices on roundtrip tickets drop incrementally.
The largest discount will top out at the 30% mark as the north shore see swells of 30 feet or more. The discount will only increase as the swell grows. Right now the cheapest round-trip tickets from west coast cities are a mere $260. The highest recorded wave thus far is 12.9 feet so this price reflects 15% off the normal fare. The competition’s tickets are north of the $550 mark.
Natalie Bowman, managing director of brand and marketing communications at Alaska Airlines, said:
“There is a lot of data that we can tap into to reach our travelers’ passion points.”
Sports enthusiasts will travel for things they are passionate about and this company has found a way to create stoke for last-minute travel. She also alluded to this being just the beginning of tapping into weather-related travel. The company says that skiers should look for similar travel discounts over the winter season.
Powder-based travel discounts might soon be a thing to look forward to. Perhaps 30 inch days will soon mean 30% discounts to Salt Lake, Denver or Reno. OpenSnow we are looking at you. This is a revolutionary shift in marketing and shows that companies are realizing that an individual’s passions are something worth accommodating. Hopefully, this will kickstart weather-based marketing strategies for other companies and across industries and not be a quick fad.
