Frequent Flyer Programs Research Articles

FLYWISE AIRWAYS WEBSITE

Abstract— The FLYWISE Airways website is a user-centric platform designed to streamline the booking process and enhance the overall travel experience for passengers. With its intuitive interface and robust functionality, the website allows users to easily search for flights, compare fares, and make secure online bookings. In addition to booking flights, the website also provides valuable information about FLYWISE Airways’ services, fleet, and destinations. The website’s responsive design ensures a seamless experience across all devices, making it easy for passengers to access the information they need, whenever they need it. With its focus on user convenience and accessibility, the FLYWISE Airways website is poised to become the go-to platform for travelers seeking a hassle-free booking experience. The FLYWISE Airways website is designed with mobile responsiveness in mind, ensuring that passengers can access the website from any device, including smartphones and tablets. This ensures that passengers can easily book flights and access important information while on the go. Keywords – Flight booking, air travel, online reservations, flight search, compare fares, secure booking, flight information, manage bookings, seat selection, extra baggage, in-flight meals, frequent flyer program, mobile responsiveness, user-friendly interface.

From silver to platinum: The impact of frequent flier tier levels on air travellers’ behaviour

We estimate the switching costs created by tier levels, one of the main components of airline frequent flier programs, by exploiting discrete tier thresholds. We first demonstrate that travellers increase their demand to reach a higher tier level just before the end of the calendar year when tier levels are determined, but do not manipulate demand in earlier months. This allows for a novel fuzzy discontinuity approach to identify causal demand effects of higher tier levels, from which we derive the airline switching costs. While the lowest level creates only negligible switching costs, the switching costs associated with the highest tier level are in the range of 30%–41% of the price of a ticket, representing an important determinant of travel behaviour in airline markets. These results especially provide evidence of the use of tier levels to induce loyalty from high-frequency travellers for whom free flight awards alone would not create substantial switching costs.

Airline Market Risks and Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A): A Thematic Study

This research endeavors to assess airline executive decision-making coping with critical crises during the pandemic by scrutinizing the Market Risks and Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) sections within the 10-K financial reports. This study delves into the quarterly financial reports (10-Q) of Delta Air Lines (DAL) spanning from the 1st quarter (Q1) of 2020 to the second quarter (Q2) of 2023 and discovered primary challenges and market risks that were of concern to top executives. To underscore the significance of top executives’ decision-making activities within a chosen airline, this research project explores significant discussions disclosed in the financial reports. The findings show “revenue”, “cost”, and “fleet” were three most discussed topics while “liquidity, asset, and payable accounts”, “failing cost-saving strategies and poor Return on Investment (ROI)”, “policy changes in ticket cancellation and frequent flyer program”, “failing new technology”, and “proprietary data security” emerged as the top five market risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Executives responded to these challenges by implementing corresponding strategies aimed at ensuring sustainability, such as labor downsizing, reforms to retirement plans, flight frequency reduction, simplification of aging fleets, cancellation of aircraft orders, cost-reduction initiatives, and adjustments to routes and hubs, among other measures. Noticeably, frequent flyer loyalty program remained lucrative.

Brand awareness and its influence on repeat customers in the airline industry

India’s aviation industry is seeing growth, and the country is host to several domestic airline firms.In India, the domestic aviation industry is predominantly composed of private airlines, accounting for over 75% of the market, making it one of the aviation markets with the highest growth rates globally. Currently, there are 454 functioning airports in the country, out of which 16 are international airports. The aviation sector is projected to have a resurgence with an anticipated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% in 2011. The Civil Aviation Ministry’s current predictions indicate that increasing traffic movement and revenues—which climbed by about US$ 21.4 million in 2009—will enable India’s Airports Authority to create higher margins in 2009–2010. Acknowledging and. Recognizing and delivering high-quality service begins with knowing exactly what clients want. Service quality is one of the finest measures for assessing the opinions and expectations of clients. Customer performance within an organization determines customers satisfaction with services. Passenger happiness affects customer sovereignty. It is possible for customers to be really satisfied and still not be loyal, or vice versa. Companies need to have a deeper understanding of the relation between online behaviour and contentment in order to divide internet marketing tactics between programs that promote behavioural intention and happiness. The findings will benefit airline managers by enabling them to monitor and improve the quality of their workforce, improve customer service, and increase passenger satisfaction. In India, buying airline tickets again and again is rather usual, particularly for business or frequent visitors. Numerous domestic airlines in India have frequent flyer and loyalty programmes as a means of encouraging consumers to keep using them when making travel reservations. Furthermore, a lot of Indian travellers buy their flights using online travel agents (OTAs), which make it simple for consumers to compare options and costs across several airlines. To entice users to make additional reservations, these OTAs frequently provide cashback or discount incentives for recurring bookings. Furthermore, a lot of Indian airlines entice customers to buy tickets with them again and again by providing a range of promotional deals, discounts, and cashback incentives at different periods of the year. In general, Indians frequently buy plane tickets again and are influenced by loyalty programs, frequent flyer programs, discounts, cashback offers, and the ease of booking through online travel agencies.

Choice between FSCS and LCCS - Relative Importance of Corporate and Government Initiatives

With a modest start in 2003, Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) have become a dominant player and the most preferred mode of air transport in India. As per the latest reports, the market share of LCCs had touched 82% during FY 2022. This type of progress could not have been achieved without proactive initiatives taken by both the Airline Management and the Government of India. This article tries to analyze various initiatives taken up at the corporate level and at the Government level to make air travel accessible and affordable to the general public. Five attributes under corporate initiatives and four attributes under government initiatives have been identified and analyzed through a survey collected from 300 passengers from Bengaluru, India. The data is analyzed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results show that the UDAN scheme – an initiative of the Government of India (GOI) is the most important attribute that passengers consider when choosing an air carrier. This is followed by Brand Image, Safety/ Reliability. Two more initiatives of the GOI namely De-regulation policies and Tariff Structure are the next two important attributes followed by Airfare. Advertising and Promotion, Infrastructure Development, and Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) are the least important attributes.

Full-Service Carrier (FSC) vs Low-Cost Carrier (LCC): Purchasing Decision-Making Process of Passengers

The demand for the aviation industry has grown as a result of the shift in people's travel preferences brought on by rising wealth and expanding trade in the world and in our nation. Air travel is now preferred due to state assistance, new airports, superior aircraft, and the relative drop in expenses. This study's main focus is on the consumer purchase patterns of two airline companies that operate in the very competitive aviation sector. Depending on whether the airline is a full-service carrier or a low-cost carrier, these variables change. The "Factors Affecting Airline Preferences Scale" was created and distributed to passengers of two airline organizations at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport (a full-service carrier (FSC) and a low-cost carrier (LCC) operating in Turkey) to assess the extent to which variables like airline reputation, advertising, frequent flyer programs, price, service quality, and digital marketing tools like websites, e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and mobile applications have an impact on the process of ticket purchasing decision of passengers. It was shown that the passengers' purchasing decisions were influenced by reputation, service quality, frequent flyer programs, price, digital marketing initiatives, and advertisement. It was shown that depending on whether the airline is a full-service carrier or a low-cost carrier, the impact of these elements differs.

Airline Reservation and Flyer Management System

Airline reservation and flyer management system is a web-based application designed for a specific airline company. It provides a platform for frequent fliers to register and manage their flights, including the utilization of miles earned through the airline's frequent flyer program. The application allows frequent fliers to log in and input all the necessary details related to their travel within the airline company. The airline offers a range of domestic services to various locations, and users can easily search for available flights and book seats on their preferred flights. The payment for the bookings can be conveniently made online. Upon successful payment, users receive a ticket with a unique ticket number and comprehensive travel details. It is important to note that the airline company exclusively offers booking and ticketing services to individuals who have registered with their frequent flyer program. In case of any changes or cancellations, the system provides a ticket cancellation feature. Users can cancel their booked tickets, and this functionality also extends to travelers who are associated with a registered user. This ensures flexibility and convenience for all parties involved. Overall, the Magical travels streamlines the flight booking and management process for frequent fliers, while offering a secure and user-friendly interface for accessing and utilizing the airline's services.The website may utilize various technologies and frameworks, such as React, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and server-side languages, to create a seamless and engaging user experience.

Tourism embraces blockchain towards the smart tourism era

Blockchain, also known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), has attracted a considerable lot of attention from academics and industry professionals. When it comes to the tourism industry, the exploitation of blockchain technology could result in significant gains. Among the possible uses are digital identity management, tokenization of frequent flyer programs, accommodation, and transportation. After conducting a comprehensive review of the scientific literature published in this field over the past five years, we identify the most significant blockchain-enabled services and uses of this technology within the context of smart tourism. We analyze the benefits of blockchain technology for the travel industry, local economies, and tourists, laying the groundwork for future studies. Moreover, we present a novel context-aware mobile application that uses artificial intelligence and blockchain to create a hybrid cyber-smart tourist application.

Making airline coalition frequent-flyer programs profitable: An analytical investigation

This paper investigates the conditions for airline coalition frequent flyer program (FFP) to exist. A stylized economic model is proposed to analyze both stand-alone and coalition FFP. With the help of numerical analysis, we identify the profit-maximizing conditions for both types of FFP and recognize critical thresholds for a profitable coalition FFP. We find that a coalition FFP would not be profitable if the reward value were far less than the total price of airfare and partner product. In addition, the optimal reward of a coalition FFP will increase as the total price rise. Finally, coalition FFP is unlikely to be more socially efficient than stand-alone FFP. Based on the analytical results, we provide policy implications and highlight the importance of optimal rewards, partner price coordination and market supervision for the successful and profitable airline coalition FFP.

The Effect of Airline Relationship Immersion on Brand Attachment and Relationship Persistence Intention in Korea – Focused on the Frequent Flyer Programs

The core of marketing strategies in the service industry is to increase customer retention rates as much as possible by increasing customer loyalty. In particular, due to the own nature of the aviation industry which is sensitive to external factors of the rapidly changing world, one of the important strategic goals to occupy a firm competitive advantage is securing regular customers such as "Loyal Customer." The purpose of this study is to find out not only the price competitiveness of airlines but also the influence among relationship commitment, brand attachment, and relationship persistence intention in order to survive the fierce competition in the airline industry. Based on that, it is intended to develop strategies that can be used to maintain existing customers and attract new customers to find ways to be more competitive for each airline. The questionnaire consisted of four factors: Frequent flyer programs, relationship immersion, brand attachment, and relationship persistence intention and the survey subjects were passengers using airlines. Statistical processing of the collected data was analyzed using the SPSS v. 25.0 statistical package program. It was found that the relationship immersion according to the frequent flyer programs affected both the love dimension and the solidarity dimension factors of brand attachment. In addition, it was found that both emotional immersion and computational immersion, which are sub-factors of relationship immersion, had a significant effect on relationship persistence intention. The detailed factors of the frequent flyer programs to improve the relationship immersion of airlines were identified and the factors affecting the relationship persistence intention were identified. Also, it was confirmed that relationship immersion was an essential factor to increase brand attachment and relationship persistence intention of customers to the airlines. Through this, this study would contribute to play a big role in developing strategies that can be used to maintain existing customers and attract new customers, and presenting a framework for utilizing existing customer relationship marketing. Key Words: Relationship immersion, relationship commitment, Brand attachment, relationship persistence intention, frequent flyer programs, emotional immersion, computational immersion

Airline brand awareness and perceived quality effect on the attitudes towards frequent-flyer programs and airline brand choice - Moderating effect of frequent-flyer programs

Understanding customer behaviour is critical to retaining loyal customers and attracting new ones when considering an airline brand. Most airlines have frequent-flyer programs (FFPs) meant to entice passengers' decisions regarding airline brand choice. However, the determinants of the attitudes toward FFPs and their effect on airline brand choice are not well documented. This study examined the influence of airline brand awareness and perceived quality on travellers' attitudes towards frequent-flyer programs and airline brand choice. Furthermore, the study investigated whether the attitudes towards FFPs indirectly (moderates) influence the causal relationship between airline brand awareness and brand perceived quality on airline brand choice. Social Exchange Theory (SET) guided the study. An explanatory research design was adopted. Primary data was sourced through the deployment of a structured online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability, and Cronbach alpha coefficients were assessed to determine discriminant validity and reliability of the measurement instrument. Afterwards, Pearson's correlation, simple linear, and multiple hierarchical (step-wise) regression models are estimated to test the conceptualised model using SPSS 27 software. The findings indicate that airline brand awareness and perceived quality influence travellers' attitudes towards FFPs and airline brand choice. Moreover, attitudes towards FFPs positively influence airline brand choice. Additionally, attitudes towards FFPs have a conditional (moderating) effect on the relationship between airline brand awareness and airline brand choice and between airline brand perceived quality and airline choice. The results indicate that high attitudes toward airline FFPs equate to higher airline brand choice despite low airline awareness or even when the airline's quality perception is evaluated as inferior. The findings of the study have significant theoretical and managerial implications.

The effects of frequent flyer programs in the competition with high speed rail: A case study of air passenger preference in Japan

This study tried to evaluate the effects of Frequent Flyer Programs (FFPs) in competition with High Speed Rail (HSR) by conducting conjoint analysis, using data from our questionnaire surveys at Komatsu airport in Japan. The effects of FFPs, which were evaluated as passengers’ Marginal Willingness to Pay (MWTP) for flight mileage points, were compared with passengers that flew on the competing route with HSR, and those that flew on the non-competing route with HSR. We found that FFPs seem to be more effective at attracting not only FFP members on business, but also FFP members not on business, on the competitive route with HSR. However, the power of FFPs to increase customer loyalty would become weaker after the COVID-19 pandemic if we consider the negative impacts of COVID-19 on business travel demand. On the other hand, when we focus on the non-business passenger, after the pandemic, FFPs would still be effective at cultivating customer loyalty on the competitive route with HSR.

Reaching for Gold: Frequent-Flyer Status Incentives and Moral Hazard

This paper studies how frequent-flyer program members change their purchase behaviors as they progress toward achieving elite status, with moral hazard playing a significant role.

Investigating Gamification Effect of Frequent Flyer Program on Brand Loyalty in the Aviation Industry

The frequent-flyer program is a loyalty program offered by airlines, also credited as the pioneer of gamification in services. This study empirically investigated the gamification effect of frequent-flyer programs on air passengers’ brand loyalty. A conceptual model based on the gamification theory was suggested. A questionnaire-based survey method was used for data collection from domestic air passengers in India. Data were collected from 418 respondents selected using convenient purposive sampling, and 356 filled questionnaires were used for analysis. Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. The path analysis and mediation test supported that the FFP game-element was positively associated with the air passengers’ loyalty. The psychological and behavioral outcomes of the game element fully mediated the relationship between the game element and the loyalty of air passengers towards aviation companies. This research would be helpful to the aviation managers to plan policies for enhancing loyalty.

Frequent Flyer Cost Estimation

The marketing activity of a modern airline is quite diverse. Under the conditions of an oligopoly, airlines develop their business in competition for a passenger.In modern conditions in Russia, the use of dumping methods of the early 1990s is very ineffective. There are no weak airlines left on the long-distance air transportation market, and in regional markets large companies lose to small regional carriers due to the high cost of performing flights on large-capacity aircrafts of the airline’s fleet.Generally, non-price methods of competition come out on top. Flexible tariff policy, advertising, and high service in servicing passengers remain leading traditional methods of competing for a passenger.This article is devoted to the study of another marketing method for attracting passengers, or rather retaining passengers on the airline’s flights, which is development of bonus programs, frequent flyer programs. PJSC Russian Airlines (Aeroflot) was chosen as the object for the study. The subject of the research is the «Aeroflot Bonus» program.The objective of the study is to study the cost of the program. For research purposes, this is the value of the frequent flyer program point. The problem proposed to be solved is to determine the amount of expenses for implementation of the bonus program of frequent flyers. When solving the problem in its staging part, the assessment is not limited to direct costs associated with the costs of marketing efforts in the form of costs for organising a special advertising department, issuing bonus cards, software, and wages. The estimation refers also to indirect costs in the form of unreceived proceeds from free bonus tickets. Besides, a rough estimate has been made of the airline’s hidden costs due to an unpaid seat on the plane. The study conclusions indicate that hidden costs will be taken into account in calculating the cost of a flight and the bonus program has a right to exist.

The Importance of Frequent Flyer Programs: An In-depth Analysis

This paper discusses the important roles of frequent flyer programs (FFPs) in the airline industry with an emphasis on FFPs as a tool for airline business development, a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, and an airline tool of highest return of investment among CRM initiatives. An FFP is a sort of loyalty program sponsored by an airline or a group of airlines that rewards regular passengers with extras and prizes to make flying with the airlines convenient. Thus, advantages and disadvantages of FFPs between airline businesses and passengers are critically discussed. The paper examined existing and recent literature reviews with some add-on case studies. Interestingly, FFPs can be both push and pull factors for airline competitiveness enhancement, analytically reviewed. All discussions presented has revealed that FFPs can be a forceful tool for creating airline competitiveness, depending on how the airline manage it professionally or not. It can be summed that if the airlines manage their FFPs effectively, they can retain their existing passengers and be able to keep the market share. Hence, the airline competitors cannot effortlessly enter to the selected market.

Investigation into the Hub-and-Spoke model using brand and frequent-flyer program

Purpose: This paper seeks to understand if customer acceptance on flying through a hub has changed today, compared to the findings from past research conducted many years ago. The study involves investigations of Singapore Airlines, a successful FSC in terms of its ability to generate sustainable profits for many consecutive years as reflected in its annual financial reports. The carrier also has a strong corporate brand, a world-class airport hub as well as a frequent flyer program, which makes it attractive to explore. Design/methodology/approach: The survey method is utilized in order to seek the answers to the three questions developed in the literature review. Descriptive statistics are employed to analyze 723 datasets using SPSS v20. Findings: Although the paper shows that some findings resonated past arguments, some others have changed. Brand has no longer become a significant factor for passengers when deciding to travel with a full-service carrier (FSC) via its hub, and an FFP that is likely to hold less compelling attractiveness with passengers with regard to purchasing consideration.Research limitations/implications: The research involved only passengers traveling two routes in Southeast Asia, therefore the generalization of the findings must be carried out with caution. Future studies to extend this research to different geographical markets are necessary to investigate if similar behaviours are also observed, as described in this study.Originality/value: This paper offers insights into in the hub-and-spoke airline business model discipline. The author suggests that the role of strong brands and frequent flyer program to attract passengers travelling via a hub have diminished. Nowadays, even FSC passengers are more concern with airfare.

Gamification as a marketing strategy for Garuda Indonesia loyalty program

This paper addresses issues about how gamification can provide a breakthrough marketing strategy for Garuda Indonesia Loyalty Program. Garuda Indonesia is a well-known national airline in Indonesia. However, the survey found that the Garuda Indonesia loyalty program and does not attractive enough for consumers. Garuda Indonesia should maintain its loyalty program to attract more consumers. Moreover, the frequent flyer program is one way to differentiate the products offered by an airline from other competitors. Answering that phenomenon, Garuda Indonesia launched a mobile application that has several offers for consumers. However, Consumers still tend to choose other mobile applications. Garuda Indonesia’s marketer should encourage consumers to use the mobile application with the loyalty program inside the mobile application. The study suggests that Garuda Indonesia can add the gamification concept to the Garuda Indonesia Mobile application to increase loyalty to GarudaMiles users.

The effects of frequent flyer programs in the airline industry on customer loyalty

Customer Loyalty Programs are one of the handiest tools to raise brand awareness, and secure long-term and strong ties between a brand and existing consumers. Airline companies have been using frequent flyer programs (FFPs) to retain customers with the expectation of increasing passengers’ loyalty levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the significance of FFPs for customer loyalty, which is of great help for customer retention in the civil aviation industry in the sample of passengers flying from the new Istanbul Airport. Furthermore, we questioned the effectiveness of various services and products offered within FFPs for loyalty, which is decomposed into two main components, behavioral, and attitudinal commitment of loyalty. We evaluated the significance of various demographic factors on passengers’ perception of FFPs services and privileges, and customer loyalty. The study confirmed the vital role of FFPs to build up brand loyalty, where profession, duration of the membership to FFPs, and gender are essential factors.

Passengers’ perception of safety and its relationship with demographics, service quality, satisfaction and loyalty in airlines sector - A case study of Vietnam to Australia route

Our understanding of airline passengers' perception of safety and its association with their satisfaction and airline service quality measures is limited in the literature. This study aims to conduct a systematic examination of airline passengers’ perception of safety and its association with demographics attributes, service quality measures, overall satisfaction and loyalty by using Vietnam to Australia route as a case study.We conducted a questionnaire survey of 436 respondents travelling on a full-service airline flying from Vietnam to Australia. Only 53.4% of respondents feel safe while travelling in the airline while 28.9% feel neutral safe and 17.7% feel unsafe. We found that the four service quality measures of SERVQUAL model (Tangibles, Reliability, Assurance and Empathy) and airline specific measures (Flight Experience, Ground Service, Airline Employees and Flight Schedule) had significant effects on the passengers' perception of safety. Also, respondents' differences in educational qualification, frequency of travel, ticket types and the membership of frequent flyer program (FFP) had a significant effect on their perception of safety. Likewise, passengers’ overall satisfaction and loyalty to the airline also had a significant effect on the perception of safety. No effects on the perception of safety were found for differences in gender, age, nationality, income and purpose of travel.Although all airlines flying in and out of Australia must meet Australia's Safety Management System regulations and requirements, our findings emphasize the importance of understanding the relationship between passengers' perception of safety and their satisfaction. There is an opportunity for the airline operator to secure a lead in the market share of air travel by improving service quality measures that can influence passengers' perception of safety.