Building customer loyalty via loyalty programs

Each airline is concerned with rewarding its loyal customers. Nearly all the airlines develop their own
ways to cater to regular flyers either on a certain route, or brand loyalists in general. However, loyalty
programs at their core work the same: Travelers collect bonus points that can be turned into purchases
or discounts in the future. And it is not only about accumulating enough fly miles to receive a free flight.
Loyal customers can earn points when spending money on things like renting cars, booking cruises, using
credit cards (which a bank co-brands with an airline), and other marketing partner services. Also, the
number of mile points now relies on how much a customer spent on a flight — the higher the ticket
price, the more points a frequent flyer gets. So, loyalty programs offer incredible profit opportunities for
airlines in the first place. Second, Promoting a small number of ultra-low fares

Promoting a small number of ultra-low fares

This case with low-cost airlines is a smart marketing move. When the flight booking opens, the
occupancy is low, so the price is also low to foster purchases. Low-cost airlines tend to promote those
low prices on the dedicated platforms to start the buzz around “insane offers”. A price for the destination
in general may seem incredibly low. So, here’s the trick: The given price is just a small number of fares
that will be available until the occupancy increases. Then, it will appear at different distribution
platforms, media resources, social networks, and “special deal” aggregators. However, this fare bucket
will be closed, so an average fare for this flight will be much higher.By promoting ultra-low-cost flights,
carriers make headlines and increase the number of travelers visiting their websites, even though only a
handful of them will really fly so cheap.

Advertising stopover destinations

Marketing in business is most often associated with advertising the product. A great example of how
travel products are advertised can be seen in the Icelandair Stopover Campaign. The campaign, really
old, was launched in the 1960s and spiraled to its highest popularity in the 2000s. In a nutshell, it allows
travelers to make a 3-day stop in Iceland on the way to European or North American cities. You can find
numerous ads dedicated to its Stopover campaign, promoting different sides of its service. he campaign
became increasingly popular among leisure travelers, as it allowed for visiting a new country on the way
to your final destination. Then pack your bags, make a transfer, and you’re back to your home or
destination city. Icelandair open up an accessible route for tourism both for European and American
travelers. Using its own infrastructure of hotels in Reykjavik, Icelandair Stopover quickly became its
primary marketing engine that boosted both sales and created a base of loyal customers.