Singapore Airlines is planning to launch a corporate frequent flyer programme later this year.
Subhas Menon, the carrier’s European vice president, who revealed the news to Business Traveller, said the programme has yet to be named.
Corporate frequent flyer programmes allow small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to earn benefits from the flights taken by their employees, in addition to the miles or tier points earned by those individual travellers.
SIA is a member of Star Alliance, but is not one of the 11 members of the alliance’s Partner Plus Benefit programme (those members are Air Canada, All Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Germanwings, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, TAP Portugal, United Airlines).
Menon said: “Our corporate frequent flyer programme is being designed and we will launch later this year. There is no title for it yet, but we are progressively improving our website and when the time is right we will launch the new programme.”
SIngapore Airlines is currently trialling a new website – to have a look click here.
SIA has two loyalty programmes for individual flyers — Kris Flyer and Priority Passenger Scheme.
Commenting on the changes many airlines have made to move frequent flyer programmes over to a more revenue-based earnings and rewards (see news, January 30), Menon said: “We were one of the last airlines to launch a frequent flyer programme, but long before that we had a recognition programme which was only for first and business class passengers – the Priority Passenger Scheme.
“This was only for recognition and that has been converted into a revenue-basis.
“We would like the entire programme [including Kris Flyer] to be revenue-based, and that will happen progressively, but we have to match what’s happening in other Star Alliance airlines.”
Menon said there was a necessity for this to happen within the airline industry since “the numbers of entitled members in these programmes are ballooning and airlines have to fine tune the programmes because the lounges can’t cope”.
He said that SIA does not have this problem with its own programmes, and added that “no drastic changes” would be made.
“As an example of that, the new premium economy being introduced this year allows members to earn 110 per cent compared with what they earn in economy,” he said.
