CNN Business Traveller
SHOW #86
Frequent Fliers and the Joy of Flying
HISTORY OF FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAMS
In 1981, American Airlines was the first to introduce a frequent flier program (FFP). It was however Pan Am that has shaped the way FFPs are today – being too generous with upgrades and free flights contributed to the fall of the airline that filed for bankruptcy in 1991. Lessons were learned and we now have blackout dates and expiration dates on the miles and status we earn. In the current economic climate, the role of loyalty programs has changed where customers are being enticed to fly a particular airline or stay at a hotel rather than rewarded for their loyalty.
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
We want to give an insight to how integral frequent flier programs are to the success of an airline and being a member of an alliance, especially during the recession. Richard Quest speaks to Jeff Smisek, CEO of Continental Airlines about moving from Skyteam to Star Alliance. Japan Airlines may follow in Continental’s footsteps – if it accepts Skyteam’s offer of a financial aid package of $1 billion and leave the Oneworld alliance. We speak to the Managing Director of the Oneworld alliance, John McCulloch, and ask how they will be affected if JAL jumps sip. For the airlines, there is profitability as well as safety in numbers. For frequent fliers, there’s more choice and more deals with which to accrue miles and redeem miles with alliance partners, not just the airline they fly with.
MORE MILES FOR YOUR MONEY
Collecting miles and managing them can be complicated, especially if you are a member of more than one loyalty program. These days you can earn miles with airlines and hotels - transfer them back and forth, buy miles, sell miles, use a credit card and earn double or triple miles, redeeming them for flights, upgrades or weekend trips. For some, racking up the miles has become a hobby or even an obsession because the deals are just too good to ignore – that is if you know what and where to look. Frequent flier Gary Leff is 200, 000 miles shy of achieving American Airlines’ Lifetime Platinum – when you accrue 2 million miles you get to keep your platinum elite status for life. These air mile millionaires, who only fly First Class, say it’s not about being wealthy but smart.
HOTEL LOYALTY PROGRAMS
On any trip, hotels are just as important as the flights, and they’re being more creative and innovative to entice new guests as well as retain their regular ones. Even boutique hotels are introducing loyalty programs – Kimpton Hotels in the U.S. has been treating regular guests to a wine-tasting weekend at a vineyard in Oregon. If you are travelling between Los Angeles, New York City and London, the Four Seasons will keep your suitcases so that when you come back through, all your clothes are dry cleaned and ready for you.
MILAGE RUN
200 frequent fliers who can’t get enough of racking up the miles flew from Chicago to New York to Frankfurt to Toulouse to Oslo then back to Frankfurt. CNN’s Morgan Neill joined the group at Frankfurt to experience a mileage run with frequent flier guru Randy Petersen to try and understand the insane lengths to which these frequent fliers will go in order to get to the next elite level status.
We’ll be presenting the show from London and have a piece on George Clooney’s new movie "Up in Air", where his character flies around firing people and leads a lonely life, only obsessed with air miles. For the frequent fliers we’ve spoken to, they seem eager to see the film but are by no means phased by the movie’s dark message.
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