We’ve lived through almost a year of people canceling trips and staying at a distance to get to a point where now vaccines are being distributed and Dr. Fauci says that life might be back to some sense of normalcy by the fall of 2021. Not to mention the 400K and eventually, 500K lives that we will have lost to coronavirus in the U.S. alone.
With all that in mind, can someone please tell the American Airlines social media team that it’s inappropriate to put this ad on Facebook right at the end of the AFC Championship game?
True to their word, American has added an MCI-TPA flight to its schedule. For only $1,110, you can fly from Kansas City to Tampa on Friday and home on Monday on a 76 seat regional jet. FWIW, I’m sure American is going to sell every seat on this plane.
Honestly, by the time you’re reading this, that flight will have probably sold out with Kansas City Chief fans wanting to fly to Florida to see their team in the Super Bowl.
Good luck with getting a ticket.
Super Bowl tickets are notoriously expensive in a normal year. This year the attendance will be capped at 30% capacity of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Even that level of attendance is only permissible because the game is being held in Florida and we’re sort of the wild west when it comes to COVID-19 rules anyway.
Of the 22,000 fans allowed, 7,500 of them will be healthcare workers who have already received the COVID-19 vaccine, which leaves 14,500 tickets available to the public. Seats will be assigned in pods and every spectator, vaccinated or not, will receive a KN-95 mask to wear while in the stands.
If the cost of a flight and why traveling during a pandemic hasn’t talked you out of this yet, two seats for the game on Ticketmaster are currently going for a low of $10,000 to over $40,000.
Getting back to the insensitivity of American Airlines marketing this flight, I’m sure they’re somewhat disappointed that the Packers didn’t win the NFC Championship because then they could have sold a flight from GRB-TPA as well.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
Not to nitpick but I think you need to add a zero to the lives lost. As to this ad, it’s tasteless and crass to do such a thing during a pandemic but sadly unsurprising. The America West top management team of Parker and Kirby isn’t exactly known for good taste or shrewd decision making skills. They lucked out through bankruptcy, government bailouts, empty promises, and really fortunate timing.
It might be in bad taste but those folks traveling are going to travel regardless. I really think a MCI-GRB non-stop would have been a more interesting “line” to fly than a more normal MCI-TPA. At least if it’s a nonstop they will avoid a hub. I did read that NFL rules for attending which seem pretty good however I’m surprised they don’t require a true quarantine and/or testing.