Asian Airlines Offer Perks To Keep Elite Travelers On The Ground On Board

SYDNEY, Aug. 10 (Reuters) – From wellness workshops to dinner with a celebrity chef and flights to nowhere, Asia’s major international airlines are working hard to retain their most lucrative customers as travel related to the pandemic extends beyond 18 months.

As flights start to rebound in the US and Europe, international travel is still down 96% in Asia due to strict travel restrictions, making it more difficult to maintain a relationship with premium customers. on the ground.

Frequent flyers, many of whom are business travelers, are coveted by full-service carriers like Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX), Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIAL.SI) and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (0293. HK) from Hong Kong. airlines want them back when travel resumes.

Before the pandemic, around 5% of international passengers globally flew in premium class, but they accounted for 30% of international revenue, according to data from the airline industry group IATA.

Asian airlines have granted status extensions of at least two years to elite-level customers who have been granted access to airport lounges and other perks such as priority seat access and upgrades to higher flight classes.

Olivia Wirth, CEO of Qantas Loyalty, said customers have made it clear to the airline that such extensions are important.

“They work in many cases for years to achieve these high statuses and high standards, so it was really important to us that we continued to be loyal to them just as they had been to us in years past,” she said. said.

For airlines, extensions are relatively inexpensive considering the potential future reward.

Elite ground members do not have access to airport lounges filled with fine wines, made-to-order meals, and day spas, although Qantas has arranged a Sydney dinner for a few of them with Celebrity Chef Neil Perry and CEO Alan Joyce in June.

Singapore Airlines, which does not have a domestic market, said it has organized virtual wine tastings, wellness workshops and online courses such as miniature clay art and coffee brewing and has offered a first class in-home dining experience.

Some other engagement initiatives are paid for by the flyer. Michael Dean, a Qantas Platinum One traveler, said his status earned him his preferred business class seats on a 747 flight from Brisbane last year – for A $ 747 ($ 550) per seat – just before Qantas pulled the jumbo jet off.

“It wasn’t cheap, but a lot of fun,” he said.

HEY BIG SPENDER

With ground flights, airlines around the world have also stepped up their engagement with another lucrative group – customers who travel less often but spend large sums on co-branded credit cards that allow users to earn more air miles. ‘they can exchange for flights.

Airlines make money from these cards by selling loyalty miles to credit card issuers to use as rewards for cardholders.

Consumers continued to spend on co-branded cards at a rate similar to the broader credit card market during the pandemic, Qantas data and American Express Co (AXP.N) data on its Delta Air Lines Inc co-branded cards (DAL.N) shows.

Evert de Boer, Singapore-based managing partner of consulting firm On Point Loyalty, said the industry feared earlier in the pandemic that consumers would switch from airline co-branded cards to cards offering cash back or savings. other incentives, due to the cessation of travel.

“But that didn’t happen at all,” he said. “You can actually see that people want to travel.”

During the pandemic, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific expanded their loyalty programs into broader lifestyle brands, adding more opportunities to earn miles through e-commerce, restaurants and hotel stays, like Qantas has been doing this for a long time. Read more

These highly engaged members could become increasingly important to airlines amid industry predictions that business travel will be affected in the long term by video conferencing and environmental concerns.

Fiona Downes, a Qantas Platinum One leaflet, said it could take two to three years after the borders reopen for her work trip to return to pre-COVID levels. Her points balance has increased thanks to the credit card spending, but she also hopes the airline will allow her to maintain her elite status.

“I would definitely like to know that when I start flying again – even on a small scale, but as things start to pick up speed – I am in no way at a disadvantage or starting from scratch,” she said. declared. .

($ 1 = AU $ 1.3602)

Reporting by Jamie Freed; edited by Richard Pullin

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