preview

Tourism and Hospitality Marketing: Case Study on Frequent Flyer Programs

Better Essays

Tourism and Hospitality Marketing
Group Assignment
(Case Study on Frequent Flyer Programmes)

Group Members: Mary Tan Seok Gek

Date: Sep 09, 2009

[pic]

Introduction to Airline Frequent Flyer Programmes

Two events contributed to the emergence of Frequent Flyer Programmes (FFPs) in the airline industry. First, deregulation of the industry in 1978 created a more customer- oriented marketing strategy. Second, the growth in information technology precipitated the ability of the airlines to process and store large amounts of data on their frequent travellers. ( Winship, Tim, 1999).

Today there are over 70 FFPs in existence worldwide. Large carriers such as American, United and Delta have …show more content…

Frequent Flyer Programmes in Achieving Brand Loyalty

“Loyalty is mutual, it is something that cannot be acquired; it has to be earned”. (Razo, 2005, p.189).The main objective of FFP is to entice the passengers to stay with a particular brand or group of brands.

In order to succeed, it is imperative for FFP to have a set of well defined objectives or it will be impossible to plan and organize a well-executed programme. A set of defined objectives may include customer retention, reduction of attrition, brand differentiation, increasing the share of customer, increasing the market share and attracting new customers. (Razo, 2005).

Two of the key elements of any loyalty programme are member benefits and rewards. In the airline FFP, these may include upgrades, free tickets, higher class check-in, excess baggage allowance, exclusive gifts, and exclusive access to first and business class lounges for a particular number of miles accrued. In order for an airline to gain a competitive advantage, it has to create rewards and benefits which are compelling enough for members to remain loyal and yet economical enough to be financially viable.

“Customers’ tastes, needs and wants changes over time. Thus, it is wise to conduct a market research and collect feedback from current and potential members to determine what would constitute compelling benefits. These benefits must possess genuine value for members and at the same time be unique

Get Access