The Dawn of the Untethered Frequent Flier
Photo Credit: In a new era for frequent fliers, smart executives are pivoting their strategies from all-in on business travelers to having “premium” leisure pick up some of the slack. Adobe / GUID
Skift Take
With business travel down, is there a future where we see a surge in free agents untethered to loyalty plans? This might be on the horizon for certain segments.
On Experience
Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here.
Pre-Covid, airline status was a bragging right of a certain tier of the traveling public.
Road warriors would rack up the miles, and in turn, unlock "game-ified" levels of elite status. From the entry-level American Airlines Gold, all the way to Swiss and Lufthansa’s rarified Hon Circle, these schemes are built and refined by airlines to create stickiness and addiction.
We're all familiar with the unlocks that come with this: little things that make the traveling experience more pleasant: early boarding, access to international lounges, preferred seats, and the ability to actually get through to someone on the phone. Look around at any airport boarding line, and you’re sure to spot the various status tags dangling from someone’s Tumi bag. The status signaling is implicit: I’m important enough that my company spends the money to fly me all around!
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