Earn free flights for doing nothing. That's the promise of holding one or more airBaltic Planies NFTs. Which is said to earn airBaltic Club points daily, without flying. With a current rate of 20 points per day from just holding a single Planie, one could hypothetically earn thousands of loyalty points each year, more than enough for a one-way flight within the Baltics, or almost enough to fly from the Baltics to Central and Eastern Europe (or vice versa). So how does it all work, and what's the catch?

The promise of points without flying

In March 2021, airBaltic announced that it was the world's first airline to issue limited collector non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Then, in April 2022, the carrier launched another NFT collection known as 'Planies.' In addition to being a fun and whimsical set of 10,000 cartoon airplanes, holding one or more Planies will offer some real-world benefits.

Here is what the airline says Planies holders get, once they link their Planie to their airBaltic Club program:

• Each Planie NFT earns the holder 20 airBaltic Club points per day. Transferred to the owner's airBaltic Club account on a daily basis, these points can be spent on flights, upgrades, baggage vouchers, gift cards, and more.
• Holding a Planie NFT earns a free upgrade to Business class after each 10 flights flown.

So the benefits of holding a Planie are fairly attractive: Points accumulate after a one-time purchase, without flying, for as long as the offer exists.

However, as per the fine print of the Terms & Conditions, "special perks (conditions apply), experience, or opportunities as determined by airBaltic at its sole discretion (“Perks”) for a period of one (1) year (with option to extend at the sole discretion of airBaltic) after the Planies NFTs are first made available for sale (i.e., dropped) by airBaltic."

At present, it looks like the '20 points per day' offer is only guaranteed until April 1st, 2024 - certainly placing a limit on how many points can be earned. It's particularly disappointing that this limit can only be found in a single Twitter post while the note regarding the limited period of time is only found in the terms and conditions.

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The upfront cost and benefits of acquiring a Planie

As it stands, the cost of a Planie is tied to the price of the cryptocurrency known as Ethereum. Currently, these are being sold at a cost of 0.075 ETH, plus an "Ethereum gas fee." Thus, at the time of this article's publication, "Minting" (buying) a Planie direct from the airline will cost about $178.

So a one-time purchase valued at around $180 will earn 20 points per day. Over the span of a year, the holder would then receive 7,300 points. For reference, a direct, one-way flight within the Baltics (and southern Finland) can be purchased with 4,000 points while a flight within Region 2 (Poland, the Baltics and Nordic countries, minus Iceland) costs 5,000 points.

Additionally, with airBaltic allowing (and perhaps encouraging) the ownership of multiple Planies, an owner of two would earn 40 points per day (14,600 annually), and 60 points per day for three (21,900). Thus, it seems like a worthwhile one-time investment, if the offer of points continues years into the future. Indeed, one could theoretically earn back their initial monetary investment with free flights after a few years. Even better is the fact that the airline says that "Club points can cover the flight ticket costs (fare, fuel surcharge, airport taxes and ticketing service fee),"

The muddled process of buying in to the program

Intrigued by the benefits offered from holding a Planie, I tried it myself. Personally, not owning any cryptocurrency, the process was a bit of an ordeal. While purchasing a Planie (minting) was the easy part, 'staking' it - connecting it to my airBaltic loyalty account - was a little more complicated. Broadly speaking, these are the steps required to reach the end goal of linking a Planie NFT to an airBaltic Club account.

1. Mint (buy) a Planie
2. Register for an airBaltic Club account (if you don't already have one)
3. Register for a cryptocurrency wallet. This is not affiliated with airBaltic and if you're new to the world of crypto, you'll need to research what works best for you.
4. "Export" the Planie to your wallet.
5. And finally, use the website mint.planiesnft.com/stake to connect your wallet to an airBaltic Club account.

As someone who didn't fully understand all the steps, it was a frustrating journey. However, once the process is conquered, subsequent Planie purchases come much more easily.

With all of this said, it's clear that buying into the program will require some knowledge of crypto and a bit of technological competency. Thus, the chances of your grandparents collecting Planies is lower - though not impossible.

What the airline gets in return

So what does airBaltic get in aggregate? Well, if the price of Planies were to remain constant, airBaltic would theoretically earn close to two million from selling all 10,000 Planies. However, the price would almost certainly increase in the future, as fewer Planies become available, and we get closer to all 10,000 being sold.

But it's not just selling 10,000 NFTs and deciding what to do with the few million dollars. As NFTs, the idea is that Planies would be purchased and sold on the secondary market as well. With this, the airline's Terms and Conditions notes that it will receive 7.5% of every Secondary Sale of a Planies NFT. Thus, if Planies become popular collectors items, which also become more valuable over time, then the airline could see a steady income stream from people buying and selling these items.

When it comes to issuing airBaltic Club points, it's clear that the airline is on the hook for all the rewards that can be purchased. However, not every Planie-holder will travel alone, and might want to take a trip with a friend or family member. Thus, the airline could see more passengers traveling with airBaltic as they accompany airBaltic Club members redeeming their points.

The risk to the holder of Planies is that airBaltic's offer of 20 points per day per Planie ends on April 1st, 2024. Should this happen, not only would NFT holders lose the utility value of their collector's items, but their cryptocurrency value is sure to drop as well. It will be interesting to see if the airline eventually extends the offer or drops it altogether in the future.

For the airline, the major risk associated with all of this in the short term is the price of Ethereum and whether it becomes more or less valuable in the future. While the cryptocurrency is significantly down from its November 2021 peak, its value has doubled since the start of the year.

But what are your thoughts on airBaltic's Planie NFT offerings? Is it something that you think is worth buying into? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!

• 

  airBaltic

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  BI/BTI

  Airline Type:

  Hybrid Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Riga International Airport

  Year Founded:

  1995

  CEO:

  Martin Gauss

  Country:

  Latvia