hadbri

I have an idea for building on the success of Independence Air’s recent GLiDE promotion for students.

Think about this: I’m a student. I live in Pittsburgh and I study in Boston. Every year for the next four years, like hundreds of thousands of other students, I will fly from my home to my university at least four times, roundtrip.

This got me thinking. If I need to purchase 16 roundtrip flights from Pittsburgh to Boston between now and my graduation, why doesn’t Independence Air make me an offer: a package of 16 roundtrip PIT-BOS tickets to be used within four years and flying only on available fares on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for $500 (paid up-front!).

Here’s the clever part. Get access to a database of the 200,000 students whose parents live within 50 miles of an airport served by Independence Air AND attend a university within 50 miles of a different airport served by Independence Air. These are your target customers for the promotion: they all fly several times a year on one FLYi route, and they’re willing to buy in bulk and fill the empty seats if it saves them a few dollars.

FLYi, the student airline? They’d be the buzz of every college campus in the country – just like when they announced the first GLiDE promotion in April. Four major benefits: parents will love FLYi, students will stay loyal customers for life, they fill empty seats and the promotion will do wonders for cash flow.

Any thoughts? I guess any airline could do it, but Independence Air seems to be the most creative in the quest to challenge the legacy carriers.