Airline loyalty programs are incredibly valuable assets and have been instrumental in helping airlines weather the crisis that plagued aviation in 2020. In our featured podcast, Paula Thomas of Let’s Talk Loyalty chats with Evert de Boer, Managing Partner at On Point Loyalty, about the benefits of these schemes, and how airline executives are looking at their frequent flier schemes with new eyes in the current environment.

Valuable loyalty programs

The value of airline loyalty programs cannot be underestimated. Research has shown that the top 10 most lucrative programs combined are worth more than $113 billion, often more valuable than the airline itself!

In 2020, we’ve seen just how valuable these programs can be, as US airlines turned to their loyalty schemes to leverage funding in order to weather the pandemic travel downturn. American Airlines, United, Spirit and Delta all used their frequent flier programs as collateral to secure new funding, unlocking billions in new debt as a result.

In this week’s featured podcast from Paula Thomas at Let’s Talk Loyalty, she chats with airline loyalty expert Evert de Boer about these airline assets and how airlines are taking a fresh look at the value of their programs.

Evert de Boer is the Managing Partner at On Point Loyalty and has worked in airline loyalty strategy for over two decades. His collaboration with more than 35 airlines globally has allowed him unrivaled insight into worldwide loyalty schemes, leading to the publication of numerous articles and whitepapers as well as a book - 'Strategy in Airline Loyalty: Frequent Flyer Programmes,' which was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018.

Listen to the podcast

You can listen to this episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty on the show website here.