The New Frontier For Loyalty: Making Money Large firms often use the latest buzzwords to make it sound like they know something about loyalty that you don’t. As a loyalty manager, the reality is that you most likely know more about loyalty, are more in tune with your member base, and have your pulse on […]

The post The New Frontier For Loyalty: Making Money appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Lessons from online dating help show why a status match programme is the best way for airlines to acquire high-value passengers, fast. Consider online dating, and you might imagine gorgeous girls and hunky guys falling in love at first swipe. The reality is not so sweet, as robot profiles, matches that go nowhere and a […]

The post Status Match Would Be The Cover Photo of An Airlines Dating Profile appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Oliver Ranson

This is my favourite podcast so far in 2022. Let’s Talk Loyalty host, Paula Thomas, has a powerful conversation with loyalty industry heavyweight Mark Ross-Smith. While Mark currently heads up StatusMatch.com, a global status management firm that works with some of the worlds largest airline brands, Mark remains one of the top industry thought-leaders and […]

The post Positioning Airline Loyalty Programs for New Value Creation appeared first on Travel Data Daily by David Feldman

According to a recent SEC filing, American Airlines AAdvantage generated $1B cash in Q2 2022, representing a 73% gross margin for the loyalty business. American Airlines AAdvantage program has been valued at almost $30B, while at the time of the valuation, the entire airline group was valued by the market at less than $15B. Gary […]

The post Loyalty Programs Need More Control to Fuel Growth of Airline Industry Valuations appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Each year I review past loyalty predictions and make new predictions for the upcoming 12 months. The report card for my 2021 predictions is 4 out of 5 transpired throughout the 2021 year. The big one which didn’t happen – yet – ‘a loyalty program will buy/acquire an airline‘ – is coming. Perhaps the call […]

The post Airline Loyalty Predictions for 2022 appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Over the past two years –  airlines, hotels and travel companies extended complimentary status for elites because, Covid. These elite status extensions were mainly justified under the premise of ‘goodwill’ – the idea that elites couldn’t requalify for status based on the published program criteria through no fault of their own. Often due to their […]

The post Will airlines & hotels ever end the unlimited free elite status extensions? appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeremy Adamson, who is the author of the recently launched publication, titled Minding the Machines – Building and Leading Data Science and Analytics Teams [Available on Amazon]. Jeremy has a strong background in building and leading big data and analytics, teams, and it’s no surprise that in […]

The post Leadership Interview – Building Data Science Teams appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

The magic of loyalty is something we’ve all experienced in our lifetimes, and yet, few of us can articulate that powerful feeling while linking it back in a business context. The magic of loyalty cannot be explained with numbers. Like falling in love – the magic of loyalty is a moment in time that you […]

The post The Magic of Loyalty appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Some of the brightest people in the travel sector have hung up their boots and are beginning new careers in other industries – and good for them. It can take real courage to shift industries. [side note: A great story on Qantas pilots becoming bus drivers here] These same travel companies are lining up for […]

The post Airlines – Wakeup and Smell the Money appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Each year I publish in advance my thoughts and insights as to where the travel loyalty industry is heading. While 2020 was a tough one to predict, there were direct target hits, the most notable being #5 prediction for 2020 “Airlines That Neglect Loyalty Will Suffer“. It’s now evident that loyalty programs are worth more […]

The post 5 Predictions for Airline Loyalty in 2021 appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Something is absent from airline marketing messages in 2020. Something that airlines have spent the better part of the last century branding customers with. That something is love. Let’s rewind back to 2019. You’re about to jump on a plane to visit friends in Las Vegas for the weekend. Even though you’re crammed into that […]

The post Love is the answer for the travel industry appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

The airline industry is on its knees and at the mercy of Governments, Shareholders and cashed-up billionaire investors who’ve always wanted to be millionaires. With limited signs of recovery, and an 18-month outlook that looks at best, dire – many airlines will simply run out of cash and round upon the heap with the likes […]

The post The 4 Keys to Running a Future Successful Airline appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

In 2020 –  United Airlines announced a US $5B loan secured by MileagePlus, proving once again that the Loyalty Program is more valuable than the Airline. Last month, American Airlines President Robert Isom shared on a Wolfe Research call that the AAdvantage Loyalty Program is valued at US $18B – $31B. The Delta Air Lines […]

The post Airline Loyalty is a C-Level Role appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

What is the new normal for the aviation industry? Are we destined for an eternity of wearing masks, social distancing, quarantine periods, Government restrictions? Is the aviation industry doomed? Will flight schedules be back to 1930s levels? How the heck does all of this happen? What can we do as a collective to overcome current […]

The post The Travel Industry Will Soar One Day Again Soon appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Extend elite status or Not to extend elite status? That’s the million-dollar question circling around the travel loyalty industry lately. The unprecedented grounding of aircraft, significant decline in demand, and empty hotel rooms are forcing management to be creative and discover new ways to generate cash, stimulate demand, and in some cases – survive as […]

The post Should Airlines & Hotels Extend Elite Status in Times of Crisis? appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

“Show me the money!” That’s what Jerry Maguire says to keep his Client in Cameron Crowe’s 1996 film starring Tom Cruise in which Jerry, a sports agent, is let go by his employer and finds his own way. It’s also an excellent mindset for those seeking successful airline careers. Over the last 40 years, the […]

The post Loyalty & Revenue Management – The Super Duo appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Oliver Ranson

Take a moment to consider the following: Who are the most valuable passengers to the airline? How do the airlines track and measure total passenger loyalty? Today, airline loyalty members represent between 20% and 70% of total pax depending on the airline, and it means there is a significant percentage of passengers who are not […]

The post Shadow Loyalty Members – The Revenue Hiding in Plane Sight appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Airline feedback is broken. Everyone knows it, but nobody will admit it. Customer feedback surveys with static questions that demonstrate the airline has no idea what the customer experience should be. Very few airline employees have ever held elite status in their career – and that creates a significant disconnect between airline management and loyal […]

The post Joy – The New Airline Loyalty Metric appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Pitching your product to an airline loyalty program? Here are 5 tips from someone who has run a global airline loyalty program into the most profitable and successful years for the airline. These tips are brutally honest. No sugar coating today. Put your seat in the upright position, fasten your seatbelt by putting the buckle […]

The post 5 Tips For Pitching Your Product To An Airline Loyalty Program appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith

Successful data-driven airlines typically attribute value of the airline loyalty data they collect within the loyalty program based on the commercial application of that data. That is to say – how much top-line revenue that data can generate versus what income could be generated without that data. That is why investors, financial analysts and board […]

The post Monetizing Data: How Much is Airline Loyalty Data Worth? appeared first on Travel Data Daily by Mark Ross-Smith