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What the top-clicked flight ads have in common
Discover how to drive more engagement with insights from the highest performing flight advertising creative.
Listing your flights on our global platform gives you exposure to millions of travellers. But when you’re competing for their attention, inventory alone won’t fill all of your seats. The real opportunity for reaching your airline’s business goals lies in standing out to high-intent travellers at the exact moment they’re ready to book. That means using Flights Sponsored Listings to climb higher in search results and writing compelling ad copy that instantly communicates your flight is the perfect choice for their journey.
Keep reading to discover what we learnt from analysing the most, and least, clicked Flights Sponsored Listings.
What are Flights Sponsored Listings?
If you aren’t already using our sponsored listings advertising product for airlines, you’re missing a cost-effective way to boost your bookings. You only pay when a traveller clicks your ad, and participating airlines saw an average increase of 8% in ticket sales and nearly 10% in gross booking value.*
Flights Sponsored Listings puts your flight in a prominent position in search results and gives you access to robust audience targeting, real-time reporting and customisable ad copy.
Tips from top-clicked flight advertising creative
Our ad client success team works to ensure your campaign creative is optimised for maximum impact. They analysed hundreds of airline ads and found clear patterns in the Flights Sponsored Listings with the highest click-through rates. We compiled these findings into best practices that reveal what really stands out to people browsing and booking flights.
Use route-specific messaging
Online travel shoppers scroll fast – make it easy to see you offer what they want. Include departure and arrival cities (e.g. New York to Paris) to show relevance.
Demonstrate clear cost savings
Get specific about other price factors. Your ad copy could read ‘2 checked bags included at no additional cost’, like some of the top performers.
Include tangible benefits
Highlight the perks travellers get when choosing your flight, like flexible ticket changes, priority boarding and extra legroom.
What to avoid in your flight advertising creative
Our analysis also revealed what can cause travellers to scroll past a listing. To maximise impact, keep your marketing copy clear and focused.
Avoid generic messaging
Today’s travellers have a baseline of expectations, so ad copy that mentions comfort, ease and smooth connections may be easily overlooked.
Don’t overemphasise your brand
Travellers read the ad copy to learn whether it’s the right flight for them, so keep that in mind when deciding what to focus on in that valuable space.
Avoid copy with unclear value
Don’t let price be your primary message. Highlight perks, unique benefits or special offers so they book with you, not elsewhere.
The data is clear – Flights Sponsored Listings that speak directly to travellers’ priorities outperform the competition.
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Olivia Berger
Senior Director, Advertising Client Success, Expedia Group Advertising
Olivia leads a global team of Advertising Client Success Managers, driving the launch of successful on- and off-platform campaigns for Expedia Group Advertising partners. She leverages data-driven insights to shape creative strategies, optimise performance and maximise campaign impact. Olivia is also on track to achieve her personal goal of visiting 50 countries before celebrating her 50th birthday this December.
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