American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are longtime partners. That relationship is set to get a lot deeper as the two establish a “west coast international alliance” with more long-haul lift coming.
loyalty
Premium products, loyalty continue to drive Delta’s growth
lta Air Lines closed out 2019 much the way it started the year. Revenue is up and costs are mostly under control. Perhaps most important, however, is that the company is seeing gains in premium revenue and the SkyMiles loyalty program.
Norwegian declares itself "fully funded through 2020 and beyond"
Norwegian’s financials, or potential lack of such, have raised eyebrows in the aviation world for some time now. Hoping to put those fears to rest – and continue selling seats as it heads into the traditionally slower winter season – the carrier announced the closing of a ~$275 million financing round. The company declared, “After the completion of the transactions, Norwegian is fully funded through 2020 and beyond based on the current business plan.”
IAG snaps up Air Europa to boost Latin American operations
Consolidation continues in the global aviation market, this time delivering a shift in transatlantic services. International Airline Group announced this morning its intentions to buy Air Europa. The Spanish carrier will become part of the Iberia operation within IAG though remain an independent brand, at least to start. The deal is valued at 1 billion euro and full integration is expected by 2025.
A WiFi Challenger: PaxEx Update 1 Nov 2019
Can LiFi replace WiFi on board, opening up more spectrum for passengers? And can new satellite launches deliver the capacity that airlines need for inflight connectivity? Plus an expanding award chart and plans for a massive fleet expansion in India.
MilePlay: Inside the numbers of United’s loyalty gamification & personalization push
Personalization and gamification. If you’re running a loyalty program these are key considerations that drive member engagement and incremental revenue generation. It is hard to judge the results from the outside looking in, but United Airlines opened up recently, sharing the success of its MilePlay promotions.
Aeroplan seeks a hybrid loyalty solution with program relaunch
Aeroplan is coming home and Air Canada has a LOT of big ideas on what that will mean for the future of its loyalty program. The program won’t relaunch for members until late 2020, but significant changes are already underway to lay the groundwork for the new program. Mark Nasr, AC’s Vice President, Loyalty & eCommerce, recently spoke with PaxEx.Aero to review some of the changes that members can expect to see.
Delta seeks subscription success with SkyMiles Select
Is it a new, lower elite tier that passengers can just buy outright, a threat to the co-branded credit card cash cow that drives so much of the airline’s profits, or just another way to get passengers to pay up for services at a margin far beyond their hard costs? Probably a bit of all three and then some.
PaxEx Update: World Aviation Festival 2019
So much happening at the World Aviation Festival this year but a few bits stood out above the rest for direct impact on passengers. Here are a few of the highlights from Air Canada, TAP Portugal, EasyJet and more.
New challengers at every level: PaxEx Update 2019-08-30
New cabins on the horizon for economy and business class, short-haul and long; might travel get more comfortable rather than less? Plus some good news for travelers looking to get online in the sky or earn free travel with their points.