AirNZ goes hunting cougars
AUCKLAND – Air New Zealand – voted Airline of the Year last week by Air Transport World magazine – is in hot water for an advertising campaign that portrays single middle-aged women as “cougars” who prowl bars looking for sex with young men.
They’ve upset women’s rights groups with a risque online promotion portraying the mating habits of the mature single woman, says The Age newspaper.
In the Discovery Channel-style documentary clip a so-called cougar is shown “starving itself on sparse vegetation during the day then hunting large slabs of meat at night” by stalking a young man at a bar.
Despite the man’s attempts to ward off the woman’s advances, the cougar has “not tasted fresh meat for days” and drags her prey to an inner-city apartment.
In the ad, the women, aged in their 30s, 40s and 50s, routinely prey on men in their 20s, many of whom “pretend to be gay” to avoid them, says the voiceover.
The promotion encourages women aged 35-plus to send in photographs of themselves out on the town with their “cougar mates” to go in the draw for a deal including a flight and ticket to a sporting event.
An airline spokeswoman said the campaign was supposed to be “light-hearted” but some older women had “taken a bit of offence to it”.
However, many didn’t, with 60 women signing up to go in to win flights, tickets and cougar costumes to attract the attention of young males.
Footnote: Carnival cruise line recently hosted what was billed as the world’s first cougar cruise on the 2,056-passenger Carnival Elation — a three-night romp that drew international headlines — but said later it had decided to ban the concept for the future, despite a huge demand for the voyages.
However, Royal Caribbean has stepped in with a new cougar cruise on the 3,114-passenger Mariner, offering a seven-night voyage from Los Angeles to Mexico with stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
Like Carnival, Royal Caribbean is hosting the event, not marketing nor organising it.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers