Airline alliance offers free audiobook downloads at airports

Air passengers everywhere may soon be getting a literary boost, thanks to a new offer from the Oneworld alliance. As of June 2009, travellers passing through Brussels, Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino airports can download three audiobooks for free. Oneworld, which includes American Airlines, British Airways, JAL and 7 other airlines, offers the service over wifi at the aforementioned airports. Consumers can download audiobooks to their laptops, smartphones andPDAs—any device that connects to the airports’ wifi networks. They can pick from forty titles, covering fiction, business, society and travel; available in English, Dutch, French and Italian. And for customers who always get in a forgetful flap at the airport, an email reminder can be requested for the day before the flight, reminding them of the freebies on offer. The initiative complements Oneworld’s Travel Stations, which enable users to download travel advice and information onto mobile devices, and its Charging Stations, which give gadgets a bit of extra juice. In an unusually inclusive move, all travellers, whether Oneworld customers or not, are invited to make the most of the perks—as Oneworld hopes to be the alliance of choice for the user’s next journey. It’s a relatively cost-effective way of treating customers, requiring little infrastructure or installation to get up and running. And a great example of what our sister-site trendwatching.com calls free love, or the art of (relevantly) giving away stuff to build your brand. (Related: Personalized in-flight magazines at Heathrow’s Terminal 1.) Spotted by: airlinetrends.com