ARAGÓN'S ski resorts are the first in Europe to allow its lift passes to be purchased via Amazon, beating the queues – and in fact, it is one of the few on the continent to sell them online altogether.
The region's network of ski stations, run by Aramón – a word-play combining 'Aragón' with 'montaña', or 'mountain' – already has a website where customers can top up an existing lift-pass card or buy one for a set number of days, and can combine this in one purchase with hiring equipment, hotels, emergency medical attention on site, and even book themselves a baguette for lunch.
Very few other ski stations in Europe or north America allow online or App-based lift-pass purchases, meaning customers have to factor in queueing time to buy theirs in person before they can hit the slopes.
And Aramón has gone one step further – you can now buy your pass, or forfait, from Amazon.es.
It may seem unnecessary to sell them on Amazon when they can already be bought from Aramon.com, but the Amazon channel has an added advantage: here, forfaits do not have to be for consecutive days.
Passes for three, four and five days are available on Amazon, valid for all the Aragonese resorts in Cerler and Formigal-Panticosa (Huesca province) and Javalambre and Valdelinares (Teruel province), and can be used at any time over this and next ski season.
They are already activated upon receipt – delivery is free of charge and normally within one day – meaning customers can go straight to the lifts without having to pass by the ticket booth.
Emergency healthcare cover on site is included in the price.
A three-day pass currently comes in at €146.90 for adults and children aged 12 and over, or €119.50 for children aged 11 and under.
For four days, the prices are €195.80 and €159.40, and for five days, €234.20 and €189.80.
Forfaits for single days, or for up to five consecutive days, and with the ski station named on them, come in much cheaper on Aramon.com – in fact, two nights' bed and breakfast in a hotel between 25 and 40 kilometres from the Teruel slopes, complete with three days' forfait, equipment hire and medical cover, purchased as a package, can come in at as little as €210.
Aramón says over 50% of its customers buy their forfaits online.
Its Pyrénéen resorts of Cerler and Formigal-Panticosa are normally open until early April, although the Teruel ones shut much sooner – and have been closing earlier and earlier each year as the average temperature rises.
This year, Javalambre closed on March 8, even though it is normally open until at least the end of the month, and Valdelinares is still open for at least another week, or possibly two.
