View from the Wing Archives.
A downgraded Air Canada passenger struck up a gate conversation with a stranger about her new elite status, only to learn later he was the airline’s COO. He gave her his business class seat, offering a small but powerful reminder that airline leaders learn the business best when they stay close to customers.
Most loyalty programs are run by people who understand spreadsheets better than members. Flying Blue just went the other way, tapping someone who has spent years on the member side of loyalty: helping travelers understand points, search awards, and navigate the programs from the outside. That is rare — and very good news for a program that is already one of the strongest worldwide.
Business class doors have quickly become the next must-have feature after flat beds and direct aisle access, but that does not mean they always make the seat better. On some aircraft, especially narrowbodies, the space used for doors may be better spent on a longer bed, a wider aisle, or a roomier overall seat—raising the question of whether doors deliver real privacy or just the appearance of it.
Air Canada has finally pulled back the curtain on brand new cabins for its Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A321XLR, and business class seats and new cabins are only part of the story. The airline’s COO filled in what the launch materials do not: why Air Canada obsessed over design details, how it is thinking about door certification and retrofit plans, and where these cabins fit into a bigger fleet and product strategy.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I wanted to get to the airport because our tickets would allow us to visit the Air Canada Signature Suite. I was really looking forward to this! I’d been before and I was blown away. I’ve also been to the one in Vancouver and it was very special. So I happily plunked down extra miles for my family to visit.
Airlines are at risk of killing their golden goose. Miles motivate customers, but customers need to be able to use their miles. Airlines have gotten better at selling their seats for cash, frequent flyer programs want to retain their margins, and so members get squeezed.
As a result, airline executives call for ‘revisiting the model’ of frequent flyer programs – the model that made them successful, multi-billion dollar enterprises.
For a currency to continue to be attractive, it needs to deliver value – managers can’t just focus on sales to third parties, they have to focus on the customers who ultimately want the miles. And they want it because of the travel possibilities that it opens up, from redemptions to treatment with the airline. It’s important not to forget that the programs can actually create loyalty to the airline itself and not just to the in-wallet plastic; actually putting butts in seats and at a premium.
For banks like American Express, Chase, and Capital One, lounges sell credit cards. For airlines, lounges bring in revenue. They sell tickets. They keep customers loyal and spending more to do so. They also bring in revenue from… selling credit cards. And they bring in revenue from partners (unless they’re in oneworld, where partners don’t pay each other for lounge access in the same way).
Customers no longer buy tickets just on schedule, price, and perceived reliability. Airline seats are no longer just commodity products.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
