Advertising En Route

Have you noticed that every time you are immobilized in public, something tries to sell you stuff?

Stuck in traffic? There’s a billboard. Pumping gas? Audio and video commercials on the pump. Eating in a restaurant? Big-screen TVs everywhere.

Airlines are already putting ads on your boarding passes. And ultra-low-cost airlines like Spirit are plastering ads in the interiors of their jets. So it’s not surprising that the legacy carriers are looking at opportunities to sell “brand placement” on their aircraft, as CNN reports.

I don’t believe the world of commercial aviation will fall apart if we passengers are subjected to yet more advertising in-flight. I just wonder at what point a company that sells you a service has an obligation to treat you like a paying customer instead of a captive audience to be sold to the highest bidder.