Dear Alex,
Last Easter my family used Emirates frequent flyer programme (FFP) redemption tickets for a trip between Kolkata and Cairo via Dubai. We found that the cash component for each redemption ticket was only 5 per cent, with 95 per cent of the ticket’s value coming from mileage points.
Yet when I had to redeem my points for a trip with Singapore Airlines between Kolkata and Bali via Singapore, I had to shell out 30 per cent of the ticket’s value in cash, so only 70 per cent came from mileage points.
This clearly shows that the value of mileage points between airlines can differ widely. Passengers need to be made aware that the value can vary depending on the surcharge, taxes and fees policy of a particular carrier.
I would like to compliment airlines such as Emirates that do not impose high surcharges and taxes on their redemption tickets. It would be useful if Business Traveller could list the value of mileage points offered by airline FFPs.
Dibyendu Bose, Kolkata
Alex replies:
I am afraid this task is best left to FFP experts such as Global Flight in Toulouse (globalflight.net). To compile such information on a global basis is extremely complex and constantly changing because FFPs and their rules vary from airline to airline and market to market. It is interesting that you prefer Emirates’ FFP but, to be fair to other carriers, every passenger has his or her likes and dislikes judging by the comments posted on our online forum pages (businesstraveller.com/discussion).
