Royal Jordanian doubles down on anti-Trump advertising


Election day morning was an interesting one in many ways. From an aviation advertising perspective there is no doubt that Royal Jordanian took the prize, with a sale fare from Jordan to its three US gateways offered under the slogan “Travel to the US while you’re still allowed to!”

Which was just a cute joke until week two of the presidency when an executive order halted travelers from seven countries from entering the United States, even if permanent residents or otherwise previously issued a visa. The State Department actually cancelled some 60,000 visas while the Department of Homeland Security revoked Global Entry authority from some visitors. It also raised questions in Canada, Ireland and other countries about preclearance facilities and commercial deals.

Sunday morning the company doubled down on the ad campaign, offering another sale (similar fares to the first one) and “Fly to the US with RJ now that you’re allowed to.” There’s also the word “Ban” in large red text, “edited” with a blue pen to read “Bon Voyage!” instead. The move comes after a judge in Washington State issued a temporary stay halting enforcement of the order and DHS agreed to remove the flags in its systems preventing those travelers from entering the country (the stays issued a week earlier were not universally honored by DHS/ICE).

To be fair, Jordan was not one of the seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) most affected by the Executive Order. Still, the EO also caused additional screening for nationals of other countries who had merely visited, even diplomats. And this is an amusing way to poke fun and get an advertisement out there.

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Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

5 Comments

  1. Considering how vindictive and thin skinned he is, I’m wondering if it’s a great idea. But it does show some courage.

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