Air travel is up, and that's a good thing for advertisers. Airline passengers tend to be an upscale, highly desirable audience, and all but a captive one, too.

That explains why advertisers work to reach them in flight by whatever means, from ads on flip-down trays to spots on in-flight video.

Now there's yet another way: ads on rooftops, in fields and displayed in other open spaces visible to air travelers as their planes approach and depart airports in major markets.

To find out how to get your client’s message up big in front of air passengers, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Ads placed large on the ground and on rooftops to be viewed by airline passengers.

Who
Flight Path Ads of La Jolla, Calif.

How it works
Ads are displayed on rooftops and in open spaces where aircraft passengers can easily view them as they take off and land.

“Our target audience is at 1,000 feet,” says founder and CEO Greg Thomas.

Options for creative include using traditional billboard vinyl or interlocking vinyl tiles that are pieced together to create an image. Advertisers can also use LED displays, fluorescent signage, roof displays, landscape designs and inflated or fabricated structures.

The ads are used for both branding and promotions.

Advertisers provide creative.

“Keep it simple,” Thomas says. “There’s only a few seconds of visibility, like a freeway billboard.”

Lighting is available in some locations.

Advertisers can buy one or several sites at an airport. Product exclusivity is available.

Rooftops, fields and barges floating on bodies of water are used as ad sites.

“An advertiser can establish brand or logo recognition with a two- to three-year ad or do short-term,” Thomas says.

In addition to areas visible to air travelers, ads can be placed at events.

“We can do events that are televised from the air via blimps,” Thomas says.

The program is turnkey.

Markets
Markets with airports that currently have inventory available include Newark, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Phoenix, Seattle, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Orlando, Los Vegas, Charlotte and Washington, D.C.

How it is measured
Impressions are calculated using airline passenger numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation and runway usage data from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Research
According to a recent report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. airlines carried 379.5 million domestic and international passengers during the first six months of 2007, a 2.7 percent increase over the same period in 2006. Airlines carried 2.5 percent more domestic passengers and 3.9 percent more international passengers.

What product categories do well
Entertainment and tourism are top categories. Ads for tobacco, alcohol and pornography aren’t accepted.

Demographics
The profile of the airline passenger is as follows:

-Median age is 43.5
-A third have incomes exceeding $100,000
-Eighty percent have a college education
-Sixty percent hold professional or managerial positions

Making the buy
Lead time is 30 days. Factors that affect cost include number of airports, number of sites and type of media used to create the ad.

The cost per thousand (CPM) ranges from $10 to $45, depending on the market.

Who’s already on flight path ads
Air New Zealand

What they’re saying
“For Air New Zealand, we built a 300-foot sand sculpture on a Santa Monica Beach in the shape of a silver fern, their icon. We had a one-day permit, so we had to do it all in a day. They did a tribal dance around it to celebrate Waitangi Day, a national holiday.” – Greg Thomas, CEO of Flight Path Ads

Web site info
Flight Path Ads at http://www.flightpathads.com