With countries now accepting Bitcoin as a legal tender, more airlines are definitely going to join the moving train of businesses accepting crypto.
“Nothing lasts forever,” they say, and that is why crypto is another fast-growing payment mode acceptable by airlines, in addition to fiat currency. Gone are those days when money was the only legal tender to book flights. Now, you can fund your entire trip with crypto, depending on your location and destination. Yes, you can take a crypto-funded vacation in 2022, beginning with flight bookings, hotel reservations, and more.
Here, I will focus on a few airlines that accept crypto payments for tickets.
airBaltic
The Latvian airline is the world’s first to adopt crypto payment for tickets. With destinations like Greece, Egypt, France, Croatia, Israel, and Jordan, you can pay for your flights using Bitcoin. Other places the airline flies are Sweden, UAE, Italy, Germany, Finland, the UK, etc. The air carrier announced that passengers could pay for tickets to 60 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). airBaltic launched its Bitcoin payment in 2014 when Bitcoin was acceptable by few. Imagine now that the crypto asset has gained popularity and broad adoption.
The crypto payment option is available at the payment option on the airline’s website, and it is facilitated by BitPay.
Peach Aviation
Japanese Peach Aviation Ltd. is also one of the airlines that accept crypto payment and the first air carrier in Japan that lets customers pay for tickets with Bitcoin. The airline aims to attract more customers, including tourists from other parts of Asia, by expanding its payment mode. Peach Aviation believed that Bitcoin’s presence was increasing when it announced itself as one of the airlines that accept crypto in May 2017. Interestingly, Bitcoin was only trading at about $2,100 at the time of the announcement. The crypto asset had surged 2X that year to over $2,000 and was already a form of investment for some. About four years later, BTC grew more than 2,900% to reach its record high of over $60,000 in 2021.
Surf Air
Have a new experience, and travel on a private jet while you make payment with crypto. Los Angeles-based aviation marketplace gives members access to private charter flight approved payments with Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). In addition to chartering an aircraft, members can pay monthly membership fees with any acceptable cryptocurrencies.
Incoming….
With countries now accepting Bitcoin as a legal tender, more airlines are definitely going to join the moving train of businesses accepting crypto. Emirates announced a few months ago that it would soon allow customers to buy tickets with Bitcoin. The Dubai-based carrier said it would also launch NFTs in addition to accepting BTC to expand its capabilities of serving existing customers while onboarding new ones.
Let’s see who comes next!