American Airlines now lets you earn AAdvantage miles and status flying private jets. They’ve partnered with TLC Jet and spending earns 1 redeemable mile and 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent on base flight charges.
Credit: TLC Jet
Elite mileage bonuses don’t apply, and the flying doesn’t count toward Million Miler – this isn’t an ‘airline partner’ it’s an AAdvantage partner, and TLC Jet says miles will post between 48 hours and 30 days after travel. TLC offers pay-as-you-go private charter with no prepaid deposits and no minimums.
American is entering the private jet market as a brand, loyalty, and distribution partner. Of course they already market charter service on their own aircraft as well.
- The biggest angle here is customers who already buy private flights can do it through TLC and earn AAdvantage status.
- With Gold 40,000 Loyalty Points and up to Executive Platinum at 200,000, private jet travel offers a spend-to-status path.
- Put that spend on an AAdvantage credit card, and $100,000 in private jet travel alone earns Executive Platinum.
There’s an interesting narrative for American, but probably financially small. Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer Steve Johnson framed it as serving travelers who want more premium experiences. They can get paid a small amount for some of that business without being in it themselves (although they do charter aircraft).
This is much bigger for TLC since it gives them distribution, credibility, and differentiation. TLC founder Justin Firestone co-founded Wheels Up (of which Delta owns a stake and exercises control) and worked as a strategic advisor to American. That relationship is probably what drove the deal through the AAdvantage bureaucracy more than the revenue potential of selling the miles and loyalty points.
But Didn’t American Airlines Wage A War Against Customers Flying From Private Terminals?
American Airlines tried to get the government to restrict Dallas-based JSX, which sells all-first class flights that operate from private terminals.
- They argued that Part 135 operations were less safe because they didn’t have to follow the same pilot certification rules (the 1,500 hour rule for co-pilots, mandatory age 65 retirement).
- And that private terminal flying raised security problems for the nation, since passengers didn’t have to go through TSA.
American CEO Robert Isom admitted in a closed door meeting that this was really a commercial dispute – customers might like JSX’s prouct better and choose to fly them instead of American, so he wanted them shut down.
TLC promotes that “security procedures and baggage checks are normally minimal compared to flying commercially.” American is marketing and profiting from private terminal, private charter flying under that same part 135 that they condemned. That’s not new. They also partner with part 135 carrier Contour Airlines. With TLC they’ll happily monetize it as an AAdvantage partner, while condemning it when it’s competing for premium business.
Of course, that makes it much harder to pretend their objection to JSX was that Part 135 premium passenger flying is too lax on security or pilot rules.
If I could afford to fly private the last thing I’d be thinking about is the AAdvantage Program.
Most people that fly private do not fly exclusively private.
@George Romey. Adding to @Gary, I’m not flying private, I’m not surrounded by 1%ters, but two things I’ve heard may be relevant here. There’s a fair number who transition from private to commercial for international flights. And, people who can afford to fly private can be surprisingly extreme penny-pinchers. (Some suggest that cheapness is why they’re rich.) So, they’d love free miles.