Michael Spelfogel’s Post

I've often found co-branded airline (and hotel) credit cards to be lacking when compared to cards that offer transferable points such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Gold, etc. With Cardless announcing new partnerships with Avianca LifeMiles and Qatar Airways, I'm hoping to see them shake up the landscape a bit and motivate legacy banks to improve. #creditcards #airlines #loyalty #traveltips #creditcard #frequentflyer

New Post: Alliance shocker: SAS to tie-up with Air France-KLM and SkyTeam, ditch Star Alliance - Scandinavian Airlines plans to leave the Star Alliance frequent flyer group it helped found more than 25 years ago. Instead, SAS intends to move to the SkyTeam alliance as part of a new tie-up with Air France-KLM. The move, which still must win regulatory and shareholder approvals, comes after Air France-KLM won a bid to provide exit financing for SAS to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter. “This is an important day for SAS and for Air France-KLM. We are pleased to be part of the winning bidding consortium selected by the board of SAS,” Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith said in a statement. “With its well-established position in Scandinavia and strong brand, SAS offers tremendous potential to Air France-KLM,” he added. “This cooperation will allow Air France-KLM to enhance its position in the Nordics and improve connectivity for Scandinavian and European travelers. We look forward to being a part of this new chapter in SAS’ history and thank the board of SAS for their trust.” If approved, the deal would give Air France-KLM a non-controlling 19.99% stake in SAS. While that stops short of being a full takeover, it comes amidst a broader wave of consolidation in the European airline industry. Most recently, Germany’s Lufthansa Group won a deal for a 41% stake in ITA Airways – the Italian carrier that rose from the ashes of perennial loss-maker Alitalia. Next up could be Portuguese carrier TAP, which was just put up for sale as the government seeks to privatize the state-owned airline. That’s sparked speculation about who could emerge as a potential buyer, the Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM and International Airlines Group (IAG) all seen as possibilities. IAG is already the parent company of several airlines, including both British Airways and Spanish brand Iberia. As for Air France-KLM’s stake, SAS said it would “continue to operate and serve its customers as usual throughout the implementation of the transaction,” expected to come during the second quarter of 2024. Few details were immediately shared, but it is likely that SAS would continue to operate under its own brand – just as Air France and KLM have done since those two carriers merged in 2004. However, the tie-up would allow Air France, KLM and SAS to coordinate their schedules across hubs in Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. “In doing so Air France-KLM will strengthen its footprint in Scandinavian markets, where the SAS brand and loyalty program are well-established,” Air France-KLM said in a statement. “Such commercial cooperation would benefit Scandinavian customers through extended connectivity and broader access to the worldwide network of Air France-KLM.” No firm timing was given on SAS’s shift from Star to SkyTeam, with the carriers

🛩 The best advantage of an airline loyalty program is the free additional luggage! ♦ Those complimentary 23 kilos become a pain reliever for anybody who has too many clothes, especially now that airlines tend to be more strict on the size and weight of our carry-on. And that luggage is not included in the basic fare (it could even become an expensive add-on with low-cost airlines). ▶ The difference between France and the US on this is quite interesting: while on Air France, I need to complete approximately 4 long-haul or 10 to 15 short-haul flights, I could directly unlock that benefit with United by signing up for a co-branded credit card at my bank. ▶ With only one national airline in France, there is not so much competition for AF, but with the rise of "free agents" movement, tougher loyalty conditions, and smaller airlines that are specialised in specific routes (I see you, FrenchBee), locking in your regular customers through co-branded partnership is vital.

I've been ignoring credit card offers for years, but maybe it's time to reconsider. Why? Airline loyalty is just not worth it anymore. The recent uproar over Delta Airlines' changes in status qualifications has had me questioning airline loyalty program value. A committed United traveler, I've wasted entire days taking obscure and wasteful routes just to acquire points and segments to keep my annual status. Think of all the time and effort squandered. Here's a different take: forget loyalty to one alliance. Simply buy the cheapest, most direct business class seat using a non-affiliated rewards card (like AmEx or Chase Sapphire). You'll lose the preferential luggage tag, but you'll gain back time and forgo the disappointment of upgrades never clearing (my last United flight had 3 Global Services and +20 "1K" members on it... goodbye business class upgrade). Has anyone adopted this strategy? I plan on pricing out direct biz flights vs alliance flights over the next 6 months and making a call... #airlinetickets #alliances #loyaltyprograms #amex

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Air France have mortgaged their loyalty program joining the likes of United Airlines and American Airlines. Interestingly enough in the article below it mentions that Flying Blue didn't raise as much money due to lack of earning from co-brand cards compared to the US carriers. Which leads me to two thoughts. First, today I got my copy of the second edition of the Complete Guide to Loyalty Programs from Philip Shelper Loyalty & Reward Co. Phil is based in Australia and although they have regulated interchange for co-brands credit cards the market there is still pretty robust. If you want to see an interview on this topic with Lance Blockley from the The Initiatives Group where he talks about credit card volume increasing by three times (yes 3 times) since regulation, then drop me a line and I'll share it with you. Second....will another European program be next? Will IAG Loyalty take the plunge and use the proceeds to pay off the billions of debt sitting on their parent company's balance sheet. No doubt topics to be discussed at Ai Events | Airline Information Mega Event in 2024 - drop Christopher Staab a message if you are interested in discussing/presenting on this (or other loyalty, ancillary or airline co-brand) topics. https://lnkd.in/eJYmUMQA

🛫 #Lufthansa is allowed to buy 41% stake of #ITA Airways after #EU antitrust check. The transaction shall be completed within 2024. Options for the #acquisition of the remaining shares in ITA Airways have been agreed between Lufthansa Group and MEF and can be exercised from 2025 at the earliest. Following the closing, ITA Airways is to become the 5th network airline to be closely integrated with Lufthansa Group while keeping its brand name ITA Airways. As part of the multi-hub, multi-airline and multi-brand system successfully established by the Lufthansa Group, the Italian airline will utilize numerous #synergies, for example in sales, the loyalty program Miles & More or also in aircraft and fuel purchasing. https://lnkd.in/d5hi7EGG

With airline-led offer creation and distribution, carriers like Emirates and the Lufthansa Group are not just improving their retail infrastructure but also setting the stage for innovative offer optimization strategies. The journey towards dynamic pricing and offer optimization is reshaping airline retail. Find out how gaining offer distribution control is the first essential step toward this new era of airline retailing. Read the PROS blog here: http://ms.spr.ly/6040iPf8u #DynamicPricing #OfferOptimization #FutureOfAirlineRetail #AirlineInnovation 📷 Amit Khandelwal, Divisional VP, Revenue Optimization & Distribution, Emirates takes the stage at Outperform with PROS 2023, with Benedikt Zimmerman and Surain Adyanthaya

New Post: Alliance shocker: SAS to tie-up with Air France-KLM and SkyTeam, ditch Star Alliance - Scandinavian Airlines plans to leave the Star Alliance frequent flyer group it helped found more than 25 years ago. Instead, SAS intends to move to the SkyTeam alliance as part of a new tie-up with Air France-KLM. The move, which still must win regulatory and shareholder approvals, comes after Air France-KLM won a bid to provide exit financing for SAS to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter. “This is an important day for SAS and for Air France-KLM. We are pleased to be part of the winning bidding consortium selected by the board of SAS,” Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith said in a statement. “With its well-established position in Scandinavia and strong brand, SAS offers tremendous potential to Air France-KLM,” he added. “This cooperation will allow Air France-KLM to enhance its position in the Nordics and improve connectivity for Scandinavian and European travelers. We look forward to being a part of this new chapter in SAS’ history and thank the board of SAS for their trust.” If approved, the deal would give Air France-KLM a non-controlling 19.99% stake in SAS. While that stops short of being a full takeover, it comes amidst a broader wave of consolidation in the European airline industry. Most recently, Germany’s Lufthansa Group won a deal for a 41% stake in ITA Airways – the Italian carrier that rose from the ashes of perennial loss-maker Alitalia. Next up could be Portuguese carrier TAP, which was just put up for sale as the government seeks to privatize the state-owned airline. That’s sparked speculation about who could emerge as a potential buyer, the Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM and International Airlines Group (IAG) all seen as possibilities. IAG is already the parent company of several airlines, including both British Airways and Spanish brand Iberia. As for Air France-KLM’s stake, SAS said it would “continue to operate and serve its customers as usual throughout the implementation of the transaction,” expected to come during the second quarter of 2024. Few details were immediately shared, but it is likely that SAS would continue to operate under its own brand – just as Air France and KLM have done since those two carriers merged in 2004. However, the tie-up would allow Air France, KLM and SAS to coordinate their schedules across hubs in Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. “In doing so Air France-KLM will strengthen its footprint in Scandinavian markets, where the SAS brand and loyalty program are well-established,” Air France-KLM said in a statement. “Such commercial cooperation would benefit Scandinavian customers through extended connectivity and broader access to the worldwide network of Air France-KLM.” No firm timing was given on SAS’s shift from Star to SkyTeam, with the carriers