Lufthansa’s Secret Loyalty Programme

Jun 14, 2017

One of the most important design considerations for any loyalty initiative for consumers, is simplicity. The simpler a scheme is, the better, as it will lead to greater levels of customer engagement.
As a Loyalty practitioner, I keep my hand in through participation in as many schemes as I can, and with an international client base I travel frequently and hence I look to benefit from my favourite Frequent Flyer Programme, (FFP).
The FFP I use most is, unsurprisingly, BA Executive Club. However, recently I have come to the conclusion that the whole BA experience is not what it used to be and one particular incident pushed me over the edge. And so, I started to actively consider switching my allegiance. My next best option is a switch to a Star Alliance partner airline, so I explored the Lufthansa Miles and More scheme. But it’s not so easy…. I was forced to send them an email to ask how I can evaluate the ease of reaching their Senator level, the equivalent of BA Gold that gives access to the lounge.
Having had some experience of FFP’s in a professional sense, I knew I had to frame the question carefully as the airline industry is very complex. I gave them some specific examples, of routes, carriers and ticket classes and here is their response: “The number of status miles you receive for a particular flight depends on many factors such as the booking class, the distance you travel and the operating carrier so we cannot inform you of the mileage credit you will receive before you board your flight”.
Having specifically explained that I was actively considering switching my loyalty from BA to Lufthansa, you can imagine my sense of utter frustration and disappointment.
Perhaps I will consider paying for lounge access and flying with the low-cost carriers. I can probably save enough to reward myself with a flight wherever I want and with my airline of choice and still I will save money…. As the BA representative said to me the other day, “we are the most expensive budget airline around”. Loyalty, what loyalty?