Alaska Airlines adds loyalty to flight pass subscription pitch

Alaska Airlines is adding a touch of loyalty to its flight subscription program. In addition to adding Salt Lake City as an eligible market, the carrier will now give some subscribers MVP or MVP Plus status for enrolling in the program.

Flight Pass members will be able to enjoy the perks of being Mileage Plan elite members throughout their subscription, including upgrades to First Class and Premium Class, earned bonus miles and free checked bags. – Neil Thwaites, Alaska Airlines regional vice-president of California

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Subscribers who pick the 1x or 2x per month frequencies will now gain status for the duration of their subscription. This translates to $1200/year for MVP status – plus access to a monthly flight booked 14+ days out. At $399/month a customer gets the monthly flight, with just a two hour advance purchase requirement, as well as MVP Gold status.

Adding elite status into the offering definitely drives up the value proposition for the Flight Pass product. Higher fares overall since the product’s initial launch also help improve the value for customers.

From the airline’s perspective, the program adds value by shifting the number and type of customer booking trips with the company. Over the summer SVP Merchandising & Innovation Charu Jain noted that it was successful in driving that shift.

Charu Jain (@cjain1), SVP Merchandising & Innovation for @AlaskaAir, now joins the #FTEEMEA stage.

Every time there has been a crisis we've come out stronger. So we've used the pandemic to pivot to be better for the planet and to better serve our employees and customers. pic.twitter.com/EqvD0qR4L8

— Seth Miller (@WandrMe) June 8, 2022

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This sentiment was echoed in the company’s press release, “Flight Pass has grown steadily among frequent travelers on the West Coast, particularly among Millennials and Generation Z from Northern California.”

Trips between the major metro areas within California are the most popular bookings. The $49/month plan (6 trips/year, 14-day advance purchase) is the most booked offering. Notably, the 6 trips/year plans do not include the elite status comp. It will be interesting to see if this helps drive subscribers to upgrade their commitment.