More than 81% of the Indian GenZs – aged between 18 and 25 years – start planning their first international trips as soon as they secure a job or receive their first paycheck, online travel agency Skyscanner has revealed in a new report. Indians are historically known to start saving as soon as they are employed and have been conservative with their travel spends. These findings highlight how the youth, especially the growing middle class, is changing the tourism landscape in the country.
Air India Marketing Chief Shares Vision for New Loyalty Program
04.04.2024 - 14:35 / skift.com / Air India / Airlines
How do you turn a net negative into a positive? That’s the challenge faced by Air India’s Chief Marketing Officer, Sunil Suresh.
He is proud that Flying Returns is the oldest airline loyalty program in India. But he also recognizes that under its former management, the scheme didn’t realize its full potential.
This changed Wednesday when the airline revealed a huge overhaul of its frequent flier offering.
Speaking to Skift before the relaunch, Suresh offered candid context around the changes.
“Over the years, [loyalty] had effectively become this little department that ‘needed to be done’, and therefore we were doing it. There was a small team running it very much like a cost center,” said the CMO.
Unsurprisingly, as a part of Air India’s five-year ‘Vihaan.ai’ transformation project, loyalty was identified as a key area of improvement.
The brief to Suresh’s team was hugely ambitious. “It was to create a loyalty program that is benchmarked and that can compete with the best in the world. We want to take the airline to be one of the top carriers in the world – the loyalty program has to follow,” said the marketing chief.
There was also an appetite to turn the program from a cost to a value creator for the business.
Suresh said the new program is focused on making processes easier, more rewarding, and with greater recognition for its members.
As the CMO himself admits, “miles-based programs were very complicated.” The result is the airline moving to a value-based system. This should make it simpler for members to work out how much they can earn.
Suresh is also confident that it is now much easier to earn Gold or Platinum status compared to other major global carriers.
He explains: “The whole transformation is about offering travelers a world-class experience. That’s what Vihaan is all about, whichever part of it you look at. Loyalty is very much contributing towards that world-class experience. If you’re a frequent traveler, you expect the airline to recognize that fact and make your travel that much easier and rewarding. That’s what this loyalty program is going to do.”
Suresh highlights big reductions in redemption ticket rates for Air India flights – sometimes by up to 50% – as well as more redemption availability as key improvements.
To make the program even more competitive, the airline has reviewed the best airlines in each of the regions it operates and has tried to more closely align its ‘earning and burning’ rates with them.
To support the changes, the refreshed program has allowed more processes to be completed online for greater self-service. For elite members, there is also a time-saving priority contact center.
The airline will also emphasize member recognition for its elite
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