Member photos, handwritten messages on international boarding passes

In-flight greetings, new songs to air from Oct. 20

'NMIXX-wrapped aircraft' to launch in November

Targeting overseas fans in Japan, Taiwan and beyond

A mockup of Eastar Jet's NMIXX-wrapped aircraft, featuring images of the group's members on the fuselage, set to begin service in November. [Eastar Jet]
A mockup of Eastar Jet's NMIXX-wrapped aircraft, featuring images of the group's members on the fuselage, set to begin service in November. [Eastar Jet]

Eastar Jet is teaming up with girl group NMIXX to launch a K-pop-themed marketing campaign targeting fans of the genre. The airline will feature member photos on boarding passes and broadcast NMIXX's voices and music on select flights — and next month it will put the group's images on the outside of an aircraft.

Eastar Jet announced Friday that it will run a joint marketing campaign with NMIXX, a six-member girl group under JYP Entertainment. The group consists of Lily, Haewon, Seolyu, Bae, Jiwoo and Kyujin.

The collaboration is timed to coincide with NMIXX's sixth mini album, "Strange Muse." The goal is to convert the group's overseas fan base into demand for Eastar Jet's international routes, with a particular focus on markets such as Japan and Taiwan where NMIXX has an active presence and following.

The changes begin with international boarding passes. Paper boarding passes issued for flights departing South Korea will carry NMIXX concept photos. For flights departing overseas, digital boarding passes will display a randomly assigned photo of one of the six members along with a handwritten message.

Passengers will also encounter NMIXX content in the air. Starting Oct. 20, member-recorded greetings and new songs will be broadcast on select flights.

In November, the collaboration will extend to the aircraft itself. Eastar Jet plans to operate an NMIXX-wrapped plane featuring member images on the fuselage. Passengers on that aircraft will receive exclusive photocards of the members dressed in Eastar Jet uniforms, among other items.

Beginning Friday, Eastar Jet will also run a giveaway event through its official SNS channels, offering photocards bearing members' handwritten signatures.

Across the aviation industry, marketing that combines K-pop with airline services to attract foreign tourists has been growing. Eastar Jet aims to link NMIXX's overseas fan base with its international route network to drive more inbound travel to South Korea.

"We have woven collaboration content into boarding passes and in-flight services so that fans at home and abroad can encounter NMIXX throughout their travel journey," an Eastar Jet official said. "We will broaden our customer touchpoints by offering domestic fans a fresh boarding experience and giving overseas fans a reason to enjoy traveling to Korea."

Meanwhile, Eastar Jet is also expanding its international route network. The airline will launch new service on the Incheon–Xiamen route on Oct. 28 and the Busan–Xiamen route on Oct. 29, with the Cheongju–Xiamen and Busan–Hangzhou routes set to be added in December.


kwater@heraldcorp.com