This week, LOT Polish Airlines announced that it would accept bitcoin payments from customers purchasing flights on the company's desktop and mobile websites.
The company will be one of the world's first airlines to embrace cryptocurrencies, and some believe other major carriers will follow closely behind.
Embracing The Change
The airline released a statement announcing the new payment option, saying that customers could book flights to destinations all over the world using bitcoin.
Sales and Distribution Executive Director Jiri Marek said the company sees the potential in bitcoin and hopes that becoming an early adopter will help attract new customers and make the company's ticket purchasing service better and more available to customers all over the world.
Bigger Carriers To Follow?
The travel industry has been quick to adopt bitcoin as a payment method; travel booking website Expedia Inc EXPE has also incorporated the digital currency into its payment options for hotel bookings.
Many expect to see big airlines follow suit in the near future as bitcoin gains popularity among consumers. Payments facilitator Bitnet recently made a deal with Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP), a network owned by big names like British Airways and American Airlines.
Bitnet has been encouraging the integration of bitcoin into the carriers' payment options, though none have adopted the cryptocurrency just yet. If a bitcoin option is added to UATP, it would represent a major win for the cryptocurrency community as the network facilitates about $14 billion worth of payments each year.
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