Virgin Australia, Virgin America & Airbaltic - Pokemon Go

Virgin Australia, Virgin America & Airbaltic - Pokemon Go

The augmented reality (AR) Pokémon GO game has been the fastest mobile game download in history, with more daily interaction than either Tinder or Twitter.

As the world-wide Pokémon fever spread some airlines were swift to jump on the new oppor tunity to engage with fans.

airBaltic partnered with its homebase Riga Airport for a special hunt, and encouraged customers to share their finds on social media with the hashtag #airBalticPokeHunt .

Virgin America similarly partnered with its hub, San Francisco International Airport, to coordinate a special Pokémon Hunt. The airline published a guide on its blog of all the Pokémon to be found at the airport, with tips on best way to catch them.

Virgin America also announced the presence of a Pokémon at one of its gates by publishing it on the gate display screen . The airline has posted funny messages on its gate screens before so this was very much in character.

Virgin Australia got its service desk into the game as well, offering passengers gamebased ‘tools’ to catch the Pokémon they were hunting for.

Even smart airport concessionaires are finding ways to profit from the Pokémon craze. Predicting when a game or meme will take off like this is tricky, but by keeping a close eye on social media conversations airlines can better assure they catch ‘em all.