Facebook will now allow airlines to target users of the site with content based on when and where people perhaps want to travel.

The functionality is available on both Facebook and its sister photo-sharing service Instagram.

The ads can be based on location, time and other factors, tapping into the user behaviour and where they may have previously expressed a preference for a destination or look for ideas for a trip during a particular month ahead.

Brands taking part during a test phase include Cathay Pacific and Delta.

Facebook claims Cathay, for example, has experienced a 16x increase in booking volume as a result of using the targeted ads, with a reduction in cost-per-acquisition from the airline’s use of the social network’s ad platform to the tune of 15%.

The addition of airlines to the Dynamic Ads for Travel (DAT) programme comes almsot a year to the day since the product was first launched for hotels and intermediaries.

Cathay assistant marketing manager, Lisa Leung, claims DATs are giving it better “ad efficiency and cost reductions” compared to its other partners – presumably search engines such as Google.

Delta CMO Tim Mapes says the DAT format can allow it to target potential passengers using Facebook’s social graph and its own data.

“The new ad supports Delta’s strategy to deliver greater personalization, allowing us to automatically target the right customer with highly relevant messaging based on each person’s itinerary and interests.”