And Then There's Aeroflot, The Latest Prospective Member

The first brand awareness campaign for SkyTeam, an alliance of six global airlines, takes off this month with an online sweepstakes offering trips valued at up to $35,000 to any of 500 international destinations served by alliance members. Interactive promotion specialist ePrize is in the cockpit, handling everything from creative aspects and foreign legal, registration and translation responsibilities to prize fulfillment.

The sweepstakes is being promoted through international television commercials, worldwide print advertising, and in-flight movies inviting consumers to fill out the entry form at the alliance's Web site by March 31, 2004. The promotion is offered in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Korean.

"We want to reach the frequent international flyer, so we needed to offer more than a run-of-the-mill trip to Paris or London," said Rachel McCarthy, leader of SkyTeam's communications working group. "We decided to get people's attention by allowing them to literally write their own ticket to anywhere that any of our member airlines fly, from Cairo and Istanbul to Auckland and Tahiti. It's a strong concept that quickly gets across a key message: we fly practically anywhere."

"Interactive sweepstakes are becoming increasingly common, but SkyTeam and Coca-Cola are raising the bar with the caliber of the prize as well as the broad international reach of the campaign," said Robb Lippitt, Chief Operating Officer of ePrize. "It's an impressive effort for SkyTeam's first major branding program."

SkyTeam is the global airline alliance partnering Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air. Through one of the world's most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its 212 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 7,600 daily flights covering all major destinations. In 2002, Global Finance magazine named SkyTeam the best airline in their list of the "Best Global Companies."

Aeroflot Becomes Newest Member

During their quarterly meeting Thursday, the SkyTeam Steering Committee confirmed their decision to welcome Aeroflot's bid for membership in the alliance. SkyTeam constantly considers prospective members that can offer customers greater convenience and extend the alliance's global network. With 108 destinations in 54 countries, Aeroflot's addition to the alliance would only enhance the opportunity for SkyTeam passengers to access new destinations in Eastern Europe and beyond.

Aeroflot's entrance into the alliance is contingent upon approval from the Russian government and the fulfillment of quality standards required by SkyTeam for all members.

"Given Aeroflot's extensive hub network and existing bilateral relationships with two SkyTeam members, the carrier is a natural candidate for membership in SkyTeam, which has the leading hub network of any global airline alliance," said Dominique Patry, VP Alliances & International Affairs at Air France. "We look forward to further discussions once we receive the airline's formal decision."

FMI: www.skyteam.com