Air India's New Loyalty Program: Everything You Need To Know
03.04.2024 - 10:45
/ skift.com
/ Campbell Wilson
Air India’s ongoing transformation is one of the most closely watched developments in the aviation world – and rightfully so. The recently privatized airline, which serves a country of 1.4 billion people, is playing catch-up with its international peers.
Speaking last month at the Skift India Summit, the airline’s CEO, Campbell Wilson, compared the overhaul of the 92-year-old carrier to a launching a start-up.
Alongside new planes, IT software, and training, a major area for improvement is its Flying Returns loyalty scheme. Although it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, the frequent flier platform feels stuck in a different era altogether, having last been updated in 2012.
Air India’s new program goes live today and it’s a massive improvement. Here are six key changes for earning and redeeming those all-important reward points:
The airline previously granted points based on the distance traveled. Air India will now award points to customers depending on the fare paid. This brings the scheme in line with other international carriers. In the U.S., the system is already in place with airlines such as JetBlue, Southwest, Delta, and United.
Under the old scheme, any unredeemed points expired three years after they were earned. In the new program, the airline will keep the points alive, so long as the member flies with Air India at least once every 24 months.
This is a great option for customers who don’t have enough points to earn a completely free ticket. It works by part-paying the price of the fare with miles and topping up the balance in cash. This should reduce the likelihood of miles going to waste.
One of the common complaints with airline loyalty pricing is the limited number of seats available for redemptions. To help address this, Air India is moving to a hybrid model.
In economy, every seat will be bookable through points. The number of points needed will increase as the date of travel gets closer.
A current bugbear for many Air India frequent fliers is the higher number of points needed for redemptions compared to other carriers. Now, Air India is benchmarking itself against its peers, and the numbers look much better.
For example, on India’s busiest domestic route, Mumbai to Delhi economy class redemptions will now be available from 5,000 points, instead of 10,080 points. Even on international flights, prices have been cut.
For instance, on Delhi to New York JFK, redemptions start at 62,000 points compared to 80,000 points in the earlier program. United Airlines, which competes on the route (albeit serving Newark), charges anywhere between 50,000 to 125,000 points using a dynamic-pricing model for each economy seat.
Last but not least, Air India has also implemented the ability