Inside Air Canada’s Complicated Effort to Resurrect a Loyalty Program
Photo Credit: Air Canada has revamped its loyalty program. Pictured is one of its business class cabins. Air Canada
Skift Take
Air Canada relaunches its Aeroplan program on November 8. But are loyalty programs still relevant amid a global pandemic? An airline executive says they are. We tend to think he's right.
On his first day leading Air Canada's loyalty arm four years ago, Mark Nasr asked his team to set up introductory meetings with three banks that issued the airline's credit cards. To his surprise, one manager immediately gave him bad news. "You can't do that."
How odd. Nasr had come from United Airlines, with its massive and powerful loyalty program. When United executives wanted to speak to counterparts at JP Morgan Chase, or any other financial institutions, they got their meetings.
"Our brand is on the card, and we provide the services," Nasr said, asking for clarification. "'What do you mean I can't do that?' He said, 'No, no, I'm so sorry. But you can't do that. We have to ask permission.'"
Approval would have to come from Aimia, the publicly-traded company that owned Air Canada's frequent flyer program, Aeroplan. More than a decade earlier, the airline spun it off for cash. It kept some control for a while, but when Nasr joined, Aimia was Aeroplan's sole owner, controlli
