Sponsored Routes May Offer New Opportunity

The travel industry and specifically airlines, like AirTran, have always been great about activating as a sponsor. But aside from the in-flight magazine, one has to wonder if cash-hungry airlines could do a better job of monetizing their assets to other marketers, as a property.

Enter online poker operator, ChiliPoker, who wants to make a name for itself in a crowded category and has become the official partner for direct airline service from Paris to Las Vegas, operated by XL Airways, beginning in May 2010.

Chilipoker will brand the inside of XL's planes as part of the agreement, and is currently in negotiations to brand the fuselage, as well.

The deal was brokered by GO Voyages, which recently revealed the route which will include flights departing from Paris Charles de Gaulle, on Thursdays and Sundays, and arriving in Sin City.

"Las Vegas is one of those destinations people dream of, but which appear inaccessible. As an online poker site we felt it appropriate to offer an answer to these dreams by offering all non-English speaking Europeans, and in particular the French, a chance to enjoy a unique experience," said Alexandre Dreyfus, the French founder of ChiliPoker.com this week.

The promotion is aimed at raising the site's profile, ahead of French regulation of the online gaming industry that plans to distribute operating licenses to work in France.

photo credit via wikimedia: Arcturus