Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 22, 1991 TAG: 9103220241
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
After slashing fares this spring, some airlines are now offering tickets as lottery and sweepstakes prizes.
British Airways was the latest carrier to toss out an array of freebies in hopes that the public, spooked by the recession and the Gulf War, will be tempted to travel again.
The airline said Thursday it would give away 50,000 round-trip tickets for international travel starting April 23, half for travelers departing from Britain and half for those going to Britain. Entry forms will be provided and winners' names will be drawn in early April.
Earlier, Chicago-based United Airlines said it had teamed up with the state of Illinois to offer tickets in a scratch-off lottery game.
Analysts viewed the promotions as gimmicks designed to jump-start the travel industry, while giving the airlines plenty of low-cost publicity.
Even though giving away empty seats doesn't bring in any revenue, it doesn't cost much and it might get some people back in the habit of flying. At least that's what the airlines hope.
If this round of freebies doesn't work, analyst Raymond Neidl of Dillon Read & Co. Inc. said, the carriers will likely try again.
"The airlines, though maybe not looking into a black hole, are still very scared about this year," Neidl said. "They want to shock the consumer to coming back."
Although cheap air fares are usually matched with lightning-quick reflexes by airlines' competitors, the lottery and sweepstakes were harder acts to follow.
Several big U.S. carriers - American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental, TWA and Pan Am - said Thursday they were studying the British Airways move. None immediately matched it.
by CNB