The Ho Ho Holidays Take Off for Airlines
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When December hits, the “warm and fuzzies” are amplified, the season of giving has arrived. Charitable donations soar during the Christmas season and many brands take the opportunity to share the ways they make a positive difference to customers and communities. Many initiatives are heartfelt or clever, and a few are even life changing.
Air Transat partners with the Childrens Wish Foundation whisking 100 terminally ill children and their families away on a quest to find Santa. Elves assist them boarding a 90 minute round-trip flight heading for the North Pole. The experience includes a visit from Santa, gifts and the magical experience of a special Christmas flight.
This year, KLM took emotional goodbyes to a new level when they delivered notes from passenger’s loved ones onto the plane. Supplying passenger’s friends and family with art supplies, airline crew placed personalized goodbyes on passengers’ seats before they boarded. They captured the response on video.
It is impossible to discuss heartwarming holiday campaigns without highlighting the 2013 WestJet Christmas Miracle video which demonstrated the power of real-time giving. As passengers prepared to board they shared their Christmas wishes with a video Santa. WestJet staff had a busy few hours as they prepared to make wishes come true upon the passengers’ arrival, gifts flowing down the baggage claim. The video had youtube viewers worldwide in tears and digital marketers admiring WestJet’s genius.
Their 2014 video The Spirit of Giving captures the airline visiting a community in the Dominican Republic and making their holiday wishes come true. There were tears again this year as WestJet shares the difference one marketing budget can make to a community. The emotional impact the airline had on the village and the joy in the faces of both gift givers and receivers is genuine and very touching.
There are many ways airlines can ease the stress of a busy flying season by adding a dose of festivity to a passenger’s journey. In 2013 Virgin Atlantic hosted sing-a-long flights and Cathay Pacific Airways promoted their annual charity drive with a 300 person flash mob. Delta Air Lines composed a musical holiday greeting with their #CheerCart video demonstrating the harmonious versatility of their catering equipment.
There are likely more holiday surprises to come in the following weeks but it remains to be seen if any airline can tug more heartstrings than WestJet.