Turkish Airlines To Show Startup Pitches In-flight For Wealthy Investors To Mull

Where will you find the next big startup?

On your next flight, says the newest promotional video from Turkish Airlines. Starting Dec. 1 Turkish Airlines flights will be showing pitch videos from startup companies for passengers to view and consider for investment purposes. The airline's "Invest On Board" service allows investors with a busy schedule to find startups while they're traveling. The plane digital system will host the idea and claims that by not having phone calls or meetings to distract them, "[passengers] can focus on great pitches from all across the globe.”

The idea is similar to BalticAir’s in-flight real-estate service that aimed to cater to the growing number of Russians who were buying property in Latvia. While the "experiment," as BalticAir called it," was successful, the airline decided to discontinue it because it was too "extravagant."

However, Turkish Airlines’ idea looks like it could work out as it costs the company nothing and will inevitably associate the brand with startups that take off.

According to Aysegul Guzel of Zumbara, a crowd-funding-type startup where people donate their time instead of money, Turkish Airlines does not receive anything financial in return. He adds that the airline's partner in this endeavor is a company called Etohum, a hub for startups.

So far, all the videos are from Turkish investors, in Turkish with English subtitles, except one, which is in English.