Free flights for lads?

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Master of Master Baiters Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 593

It seems one of the greatest obstacles for getting lads to go on safari would be that they don't want to depart with their cash, especially when they haven't received a penny from the baiter before hand.

But what if the lad was told he had a pre-paid flight. All he has to do is turn up at the airport with the e-ticket he has printed off, and go to one of the main carrier's check in desk with the e-ticket to exchange it for the boarding card.

Apart from the potential hilarity of the lad wasting his time getting ready for his holiday, packing his suitcase(s) and turing up to the airport at an ungodly hour of the morning to catch his fictional flight and getting embarrassed in front of everyone when he doesn't get a ticket and has to go home - he would also be under the impression that the baiter has invested in him.

When the lad tells the baiter what happened, you would of course be disgusted, and suggest that you never use that pre-paid travel agent again, and then suggest he pays for it up front and he will be re-imbursed upon arrival at his safari destination.

So, do you reckon that him thinking you have tried to pay for the flights in advance would make him more likely to travel?

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:51 pm

I bet Lads would check by phone first before moving their lazy butts......but if a baiter set up a small airline with a dedicated phone number.... now that might make a Lad do some time wasting stuff.

Even a crappy site (like one I could build) might be enough to encourage them. I mean this would be an airline on a shoestring. I travelled on one in Nepal and the inflight meal was obtained from a local bread shop and was still in the paper bag.

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:37 pm

Being an ex Commercial pilot in RL and now baiting as a pilot for a cargo carrier, perhaps I could offer some assistance, if needed.
Still have loads of info on airports, cargo sheds, nearest airfield to be diverted to - and up to the minute met. reports as to why. Smile

*** BANNED *** Joined: 30 Dec 2007 Posts: 164

Quote:

e-ticket he has printed off,

Just turning up with his passport is enough to gain a trip on the big silver bird.

Good airlines
The German carrier Luftwaffe
The Irish carrier Air Fungus or was it Cunnie L..gus
Or real cheap rear gunner on Taliban Air ways

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

Gomer's right. Lads do like to verify everything. They also like to have victims pay for everything. If you can send them a pre-paid ticket that they can somehow verify, it might work.
Another possibility is that they would try to sell the ticket/get a refund. If they think that is a possibility, you might be able to get them to move. The flights/tickets would only be usable or refundable at an airport that happens to be 200 miles away from them. Wink

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 593

Well if it was a charter flight company instead of using one of the bigger carriers, you could get them to do the whole on-line check in rigmarole, selecting which seats they want, etc. It would also mean that you could blame them when they can't find the company's check in desk.

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:59 pm

I can add a flight booking page to my transport site.

Flight Reservation

MrMe could no doubt come up with something much more sophisticated.
You'd need to input the info manually on mine. But it would be ok for once in a while use maybe. I'd add a login page and number of course.

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 8:07 pm

I don't think it needs to be highly sophisticated. I think most people are used to budget airlines and their no frills approach. Making it too sophisticated could be a bad thing.

Trophy Videos · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:57 pm

Great idea, MrMe! I like it, and i think the lads, at least some of them with a bit of energy in them, might go for it. Very Happy

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:59 pm

I think its a great idea.

Would suggest a very small operation, maybe only using 50 seater planes.
I would bet money that there will always be a mugu that falls for it... Laughing

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:22 pm

Brilliant idea!

I would imagine that with a system they could print their own boarding pass from, and promoting as a budget airline would make it credible. Face it MrMe's MTCN S3cure site has got some of them convinced so..

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:40 pm

I agree, this is a great idea. Just print on the ticket that it is Non-Refundable. Very Happy

If you don't have someone to man a phone at all times, I'd suggest getting a skype number w/ a recorded message that says all lines are currently busy, please contact us by email for faster responses, average hold time is 1 hour.

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:46 pm

I'd like to see this thing come to pass. Getting a lad to register and everything would be great. We could have the flights leave out of somewhere other than Lagos though. Somewhere like Abuja or Ibadan, if they have an airport. Ibadan is perfect. It's about 200 miles round trip.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 70

Just the thought of a lad excitedly packing his luggage sent me into mad giggles Very Happy

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:13 am

@ MrMe, Gomer et al

This sounds interesting. Could this be used as a mass mail bait to say, Lotto Lads, or NOK, for a "thank you" for processing your funds?
Just a thought.

Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

ummm wont lads kinda work out that using a fake name they cant fly with the ticket?

i think they would try to transfer the flight via selling the ticket, so you need a plan that they think they can use the ticket - without a passport

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 2:49 pm

The website should have a explanation about refunds,
Refundable only at the airport,only thing needed is the e-ticket.
(or back to the bank account the has been used to pay for the ticket)

To motivate them a little more, a partial refund would also be nice,

50% refund on departure day
80% refund 0-7 days before departure
100% refund >7 days before departure (gives possibility to ask on day 8, if they want to fly or not, or baiter will refund, don't want to lose money Wink

)

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:19 am

I suggest a nice small 10 seater.

http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg156/hannabarbara/

The jpg of the plane is small so that the tail marking is not recognized.
I have added pics of the nice leather seats as well as the seating plan.
Lads should be able to choose their seats before departure on the ladair.com website.

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:46 am

I think the set up would need to be a little more sophisticated with the baiter setting up the booking and flight details, and the Lad being able to see what has been arranged for him, perhaps with the ability to mark it confirmed to show that he has bitten. He prints off the ticket and BADABING !!!

I think 10/12 seater turbo prop planes would be the best choice as you say asiaguy. These carriers are much harder to authenticate as being real or not, and JoJo's right - making it out of Lagos means going to catch the flight is the safari - and I know that this sort of plane doesn't need a tarmac runway. I've flown to Lukla in Nepal, on the side of a mountain, using a dog leg runway. So whether the city/town has an airport doesn't need to be a drawback and that would give you the chance to send the Lad to somewhere especially remote and unpleasant.

@Afferbeck - if it works, maybe it would be best not to mass bait it or it could become too quickly known about in Ladland. If it becomes an easier way to get a safari, it would be a shame to overuse it. Send lots of Lads - yes. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:53 am

The seats are way too comfy on that Ladair crate.
For a small fee I can have these more suitable ones retrofitted:

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:57 am

@windypops...^^^^^^^^^

While desirable, I'm afraid that Lad Air cannot possibly utilize those seats.
It breaks the rules of safe flying.

Don't you know you must turn off all electronic devices while on an airplane?

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:20 am

I actually had a voucher just like that ready for one lad. It turned out he didn't need it (plans changed under us all):

It strikes me that this LADair is a great thing. I have nearly gone out and registered the domain. What does it stand for?

Lagos Airways Delivery air?

The site would need a back end whereby the lad could indeed check his voucher details online and confirm that yes, all he had to do was turn up at the airport and exchange the paper. I wouldn't worry too much about aliases - I really think that passports aren't as necessary in West Africa for those living there as they are in other parts of the world.

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:26 am

I actually think that an airline wouldn't be such a good idea. Of course, it's a nice idea, but it's a lot of work (make up pics of planes, ...). AND, there's no counter at the airport!

Why not just a travel agency? We can do all our bookings to fly anywhere with any airline through this agency, which will then also provide the e-ticket. There can be a support-mailbox, ...
Thus we don't have the problem that the lad won't find the right counter at the airport, he still has something that gives credibility to our story, and he might be in trouble when he approaches the BA/Air France/... counter with a fake e-ticket!

Isn't that a lot more fun?

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:30 am

rootuser wrote:

I actually think that an airline wouldn't be such a good idea. Of course, it's a nice idea, but it's a lot of work (make up pics of planes, ...). AND, there's no counter at the airport!

Well, of course not, because they're in Star Alliance, which means that BA or whoever handles the airport check-ins. Nothing wrong with that, and it's much more embarrassing to be holding up a whole flight of well-heeled international travellers than it is to be turned away from a tin shack round the back of the terminal.

But a travel agent is also an excellent move, especially if LADair is the preferred airline always recommended by them.

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:36 am

Well, then maybe we should go for both.
I'll have a look that I glue something together for a travel-agency.

As name I've chosen LADTravel, where LAD means Luxurious Alternative Destinations, or whatever I still come up with...