Growing up, I remember my sister and I finding ourselves giddy with excitement, unable to sleep the night before our annual Singapore Airlines flight to Europe.
As a kid, I loved to fly. Thirteen hours of endless games and movies, flight attendants serving us copious amounts of peanut packets (a ‘free flow’ service we abused until we landed), in-flight meals with desserts.
Each time we boarded, the chief purser would greet my father and shake his hand, addressing him by name. It was a ritual I would become accustomed to as my father is a Singapore Airlines Lifetime PPS member after decades of business travel.
As I grew older, my family continued to travel well by making full use of my dad’s accrued air miles (and those we had tallied ourselves, being junior Krisflyer members). My parents enjoyed the occasional upgrade while they abandoned us kids in Economy, falsely promising to trade seats with us mid-journey so that we could get a taste of the ‘high life’ we would hopefully one day be able to afford ourselves.
Eventually, the miles inevitably ran out and my family made the logical decision to fly more affordably, opting for LCCs for short-haul or simply choosing airlines with more reasonable rates. It was never a question about loyalty; Singapore Airlines is still my favourite. However, its price points became so much harder to rationalise when cheaper options were becoming increasingly available, with little difference in comfort.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the only way to continue earning miles with SQ was to continue purchasing tickets at full fare, or to use a particular credit card that offered air miles in return – something I am definitely guilty of.. Needless to say, my ability to express my customer loyalty to Singapore Airlines became much harder, especially once I got my first job and finally departed the comforts of my parents’ financial umbrella.
Photo credit: Suhyeon Choi
In the industry, there is always talk about how to garner customer loyalty, especially as room and flight rates are commoditised. Occasionally, I’ll hear someone say that loyalty is dying because ‘millennials are brand agnostic’ and only focused on price and value for money. In reality, it’s a bit of both.
I cannot speak on behalf of ‘the millennial generation’, (I refuse to portray the ubiquitous ‘millennial’ as a homogenous group) but what I can say is that of course there are airlines, hotels and travel companies that we love and have affinities for. However, that ‘loyalty’ cannot be measured by the frequency with which I opt for these brands because price point is just that critical.
People are seeking value for their hard-earned dollar and it is increasingly difficult to rationalise paying a premium for a brand we like, when our loyalty does not yield that much improvement in service and comfort in return.
It’s a catch-22. To continue to use my preferred airline now, I need to hoard a pretty formidable number of miles, which takes a fair few flights to build. My credit card may scrape in a few miles here and there, but nothing will reap points the way booking a full fare long-haul flight can.
‘Air miles’ as a reward for staying loyal is just not a cost-free benefit. If we step back, the amount we need to spend to accrue enough miles to not just redeem a flight but qualify for a basic membership tier, is prohibitively expensive. The gaping hole it would burn in my pocket isn’t justifiable, when more affordable alternatives are available everywhere. Despite how much I may love their comfort and service, the cost simply isn’t worth it.
Travel companies and airlines particularly, need to change the way they approach and encourage loyalty among customers. They need to start thinking of regular customers more holistically and build an idea of who they are and what they value, beyond their own brand. Airline loyalty programmes need to catch up and adapt to changing consumer lifestyles and figure out how to identify themselves as brands within that.
Taking a step in the right direction is the Delta SkyMiles programme, which has recently partnered with Lyft and is offering customers free miles for every dollar spent on the ride hailing app.
flydubai is adjusting their OPEN loyalty scheme in partnership with Amadeus to award points through every dollar spent (instead of miles travelled). It also allows members to redeem them on flights unrestricted by date or destination, as well as pool points with family or friends.
HK Express and U-Fly Alliance’s reward-U programme is an even better example. It also allows customers to build points through dollars spent, but points are redeemable not just on flights but across products from retail, insurance and eventually to dining, transport and telecoms.
Companies need to reimagine what loyalty truly means, beyond the simple purchase, collection and redemption of air miles. It is increasingly clear that consumers favour reward schemes that extend beyond just part of the travel experience i.e. flying, in favour of one that can encompass the diversity of things they value, both home and abroad.
