For a $75 Fare, Airline Stages Mystery Flights

An hour ago, the 18 passengers at the back of the aircraft had no idea where they would be flying to.

Like hundreds of Belgians each weekend, they simply turned up at Brussels airport with round-trip tickets to fly the national airline Sabena to a mystery destination.

Their $75 tickets will take them to one of 15 European cities from London to Milan for a stay of 40 minutes or so before catching the same plane back to Brussels.

Sabena says it devised the “Air Promenades” program to promote air travel, fill empty seats on weekends and encourage people to stick with the airline in future.

“The promotional impact is fantastic. In Europe, people fly much less than in the United States. Half of all Americans have flown, here the figure is 15%,” said Achille Moerman, Sabena’s European head of marketing.

Promenaders can buy tickets up to Friday afternoon, when Sabena checks the number of seats available--usually between 50 and 500--and decides who will be flying where.

Each passenger then receives a brief call telling them when to be at the airport. On arrival, they check in at a special desk and are given a bright blue badge with their boarding passes. Only then do they learn their destination.

“There’s one man who’s been four times already and several who have been more than once. Whenever we get repeat bookings we try our best to send them to a different destination,” Moerman said.

“After you’ve taken meals and everything else into account, we don’t make a profit on the fares. It’s the same amount as you’d pay for a meal in a restaurant,” he said.

Sabena surveys since the program began early this year show that the majority of Air Promenaders have never flown before and that most travel because they like the idea of flying rather than to buy duty-free goods.

“We’ll continue the scheme until we run out of passengers. It allows you to see the exciting, international view of air transport,” Moerman added.

The not-so-exciting international view of air transport--an air controllers’ strike--meant that the 18 Air Promenaders on a recent Saturday flight to Nice left more than an hour late.

“No, I don’t think it’s crazy to buy a ticket and not know where you’re going. I like flying a lot, but you don’t get the chance to do so in my job. This is only my fourth flight in 20 years,” said bank teller Andre Koeckelberghs.

“It’s not that expensive, considering what you have to pay for flights normally. I’m not sure if we’ll be doing it every week, though,” he said as the Boeing 737 cruised over the Alps.

There seems to be no shortage of passengers willing to take part, even if not all of them look thrilled when the plane leaves the ground.

“This is my first ever flight. It’s an experience, but I’m a little frightened. I’m not sure if they’ve checked the engines,” said schoolteacher Martin Lambrechts.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea, especially for those who haven’t flown before. You’re getting the same service as those who’ve paid the full fare,” said Captain Raymond Aelvoet.

The Promenaders on the 90-minute journey spent the time gazing out of the windows or working their way through the in-flight meal before the plane circled low over the Cote D’Azur and landed at Nice airport, bathed in warm sunshine.

After picking up their boarding passes for the return trip, they wandered around the terminal, where their badges attracted much attention from other travelers.

“You mean they’ve come all this way just to go back again immediately? They’re mad,” said one French businessman.

“I think it’s a good idea, but it’s a shame you can’t go out and visit the town a bit,” ventured his companion.

Just 20 minutes later, it was time to go home. Still sporting their blue badges, the promenaders rejoined the aircraft, to tackle their second meal in three hours.