As competition for brand identity intensifies, marketers explore newer ways of reaching the target audience. One of the less explored areas for advertising is in-flight advertising, which if tactfully exploited can have the undivided attention of the "nothing-to-do" audience and at the same time provide additional revenue stream for the airlines. This article attempts to highlight how in-flight advertising can be useful to both the advertisers as well as the airlines and offers opportunities to captivate an audience.

I was recently traveling from Bangalore to Delhi. At the Bangalore airport, I was pleasantly surprised to see the long cue of passengers waiting in different areas of the airport listening to the announcements of their flight departures. Indeed, the Indian economy is booming and it will not be fair to say that Indians are not spending more. The rising stock markets coupled with higher disposable incomes have made the situations at airports almost similar to what they were a few years earlier at railway stations.

While the sign of increasing incomes and more people flying is an encouraging trend, there is another side to the story. Just an increase in the number of passengers flying is possibly not enough to take away the woes of the aviation sector. The aviation sector is bleeding with almost all major airlines making losses quarter after quarter. While low-cost airlines are making serious attempts to redefine their business models, one of the unexplored territories for airlines could be in-flight advertising, which could be a source of potential revenue for the airlines.

Advertising Express Magazine, In-flight Advertising, Indian Economy, Aviation Sector, Business Models, Brand Marketers, Brand Messaging, In-flight Publications, Catalog Marketing, In-flight Entertainment, Brand Awareness, Ticket Jackets, Non-obtrusive Advertising, Airline Advertising, Indian Aviation Industry.