Air New Zealand grabs the spotlight at Loyalty 2009

Here is the press release we issued yesterday following the Loyalty 2009 Awards.

And, here's the picture, from left to right: Global Flight's Ravindra Bhagwanani, Shahab Shadman of Amadeus, Anita Hawthorne of Air New Zealand (with the gong!) and Mark Pilling of Airline Business.

PRESS RELEASE:

Air New Zealand recognised for leading frequent flier programme

Air New Zealand wins award for the airline industry's most innovative frequent flier programme at Loyalty 2009 conference

Vienna, 12 February 2009: The outright winner of the 2009 Loyalty Awards was named as Air New Zealand at the Loyalty 2009 event gala dinner.

Launched at the inaugural Loyalty conference (www.loyalty09.com), organised by Airline Business and Global Flight and held in Austrian capital Vienna, the awards recognise the airline industry's best frequent flier programmes.

This year's Loyalty Awards went to Air New Zealand, Corsairfly and Emirates.

Air New Zealand was chosen by the 250 delegates at the event as the most outstanding loyalty programme.

"Air New Zealand's Airpoints loyalty programme combines the creative use of mobile and web technology to radically enhance its customer experience," said Iain Webster, Loyalty Business Development Consultant, who was one of the Loyalty Awards judges.

Air New Zealand uses new mobile and web technology to give customers full control of their pre-travel and travel experience with the needs of frequent fliers in mind.

The airline's award was collected by Anita Hawthorne, Manager Airpoints, Air New Zealand. "We are delighted that our customer led innovations have been recognised by the global loyalty community.  By using frequent flyer information Air New Zealand has improved the end to end customer experience with the airline," she said. 

Commenting on the Corsairfly award, judge Santiago Ontañón, General Manager, Mexicana Loyalty, said: "Corsairfly has executed a very creative way of doing a friends and family loyalty programme - it is very simple and developed for a clear target market."

French carrier Corsairfly has introduced a family focused programme in line with its overall strategy catering mainly for leisure travel.

Commenting on the Emirates Awards for its SkyRewards programme, judge Herbert, Verschuren, Director Flying Blue, Air France KLM, said: "Emirates have done what many airlines would love to do - offer seat upgrades on board."

Emirates has introduced a last-minute upgrade option for its top clients allowing them to upgrade to a higher class either at check-in or even on board the aircraft.

The Loyalty 2009 judges:

Santiago Ontañón, General Manager, Mexicana Loyalty

Herbert Verschuren, Director Flying Blue, Air France KLM

Iain Webster, Loyalty Business Development Consultant

Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director, Global Flight

About Airline Business

The Airline Business brand is the one that airline executives turn to - whether in print, on the web or at face-to-face events - when they need to make sense of our turbulent industry.
At the core of the brand is insightful, impartial and in-depth analysis and intelligence provided by the Airline Business editorial team in London, Singapore and Washington.  That team is committed to the highest standards of reporting and providing the best value for time and money possible at its events.  With its mission as being "The magazine for the airline boardroom" Airline Business focuses on the leaders and business critical issues that drive our industry forward.
Throughout the year we will continue to invest in providing our world renowned Rankings and Special Reports, such as the World Airline Rankings, which appear every month in print.

www.flightglobal.com/AB

About Global Flight

Global Flight is a specialised management company providing management-related services to airlines worldwide in the FFP/CRM field. Based on an unparalleled knowledge of all some 180 Frequent Flyer Programmes and its ability to adapt to the individual requirements of each airline, the company's customer basis has grown since 1996 to include all types of airlines from Top 10 to regional airlines worldwide.
Privately owned and acting independently of any suppliers, the company can fully focus on delivering value at the critical management level of loyalty issues rather than upselling other products or services.
www.globalflight.net

For more information

Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director, Global Flight:
Tel: +33 5 61 71 16 57
E-mail: info@globalflight.net