Frequent Flyer Program

Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) Is a loyalty program offered by many airlines. Typically, airline customers enrolled in the program accumulate frequent flyer miles (kilometers, points, segments) corresponding to the distance flown on that airline or its partners. There are other ways to accumulate miles. In recent years, more miles were awarded for using co-branded credit and debit cards than for air travel. Acquired miles can be redeemed for free air travel; for other goods or services; or for increased benefits, such as travel class upgrades, airport lounge access or priority bookings.
Pre history
Before there were frequent-flyer programs, there were Raleigh cigarette coupons and S&H Green Stamps. The idea was similar: encourage repeat business by rewarding customers for their loyalty. Before such primitive loyalty programs could develop into what we now know as FFPs, two events had to occur:
• Deregulation (1978) created the marketing environment.
Pre-deregulation, airline marketing was almost exclusively "strategic": image advertising with complementary product offerings (Southwest, the "Love" airline, featuring flight attendants in hot pants; sophisticated TWA featuring a piano lounge on the upper deck of their B747s).
• Computerization created the necessary systems infrastructure.
FFPs as we know them would be impossible without massive data-storage capabilities to warehouse the customer files, and the sophisticated database software necessary to manage that data.
Absent either of the two, FFPs probably would be unnecessary or impossible (without the computer-tracking mechanisms which make such large-scale customer tracking possible).
The Beginning
In May 1981, American Airlines (AA) introduced AAdvantage, the first FFP. Its goal is to retain AA's most frequent customers by rewarding them for their loyalty. The tactic, specifically, called for tracking members' flown miles (as a measure of their revenue contribution to the company), and awarding