How airlines are changing their loyalty programmes amid Covid-19 – The National

  • Date: 23-May-2020
  • Source: The National
  • Sector:Transport
  • Country:UAE
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How airlines are changing their loyalty programmes amid Covid-19 – The National

How airlines are changing their loyalty programmes amid Covid-19. Air miles are a crucial source of revenue for carriers as the pandemic throws the aviation sector into crisis. Frequent flying isn't so much of a thing right now, but loyalty programmes are in many cases getting better as airlines fight to keep customers and generate sorely needed revenue after the coronavirus ransacked travel.. Introduced nearly 50 years ago, air miles are a way for the industry to make money.. " the programmes appeal to a carrier's very best revenue-producing customers, so there is abundant need to keep these consumers happy," says Jay Sorensen, a former Midwest Airlines executive who is now president of consultancy IdeaWorksCompany. ". In the near term, consumers will see a windfall of cheap travel for redeeming points or miles.". In April, the Treasury Department was in talks with some carriers about accepting loyalty programmes as collateral as they rushed to raise funds.. United Airlines Holdings has extended Premier memberships through 2022 and made it easier to qualify for reward flights and earn points.. Meanwhile Emirates Airline is letting elite Skywards members maintain their statuses by fulfilling just 70 per cent of their tier travel requirements, as