Is easyJet about to launch a loyalty scheme?
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Whilst there is nothing out there to show you, the word on the street is that easyJet is finally going to launch a ‘proper’ loyalty scheme.
We’ve been here before, of course. In 2018 to be precise.
There is no guarantee that it will finally get off the ground this time, but with a new CEO (Kenton Jarvis) and turmoil amongst British Airways frequent flyers the timing is as good as it will get.
What appears to be happening is that the other big US management consultancy firm – not the one which advised British Airways on the Executive Club changes – is (allegedly) working with easyJet on a loyalty strategy.
What also seems to be true is that a major US recruitment company is ringing senior people in the UK travel loyalty industry and asking them:
Do you want to become CEO of a start-up loyalty programme for a UK airline?
Who could this be?
What about Flight Club?
easyJet suspended new invitations to ‘Flight Club’ some time ago.
This was easyJet’s ‘invite only’ loyalty scheme for top flyers which had a number of ‘soft’ benefits. Whilst not openly advertised, it is discussed on the airline website.
The criteria for being invited to ‘Flight Club’ was:
- flown 20 flights or more in the past 12 months, or
- flown 10 flights or more, and spent £1,500 or other currency equivalent in the past 12 months, or
- flown an average of 10 flights or more for 10 years, with at least one flight every year
What did easyJet Flight Club get you?
You weren’t getting into any airport lounges with your Flight Club membership, or taking any free flights.
However, the benefits were genuinely useful, even if they went to your employer, assuming you travel on business, rather than yourself.
(If Flight Club had a weakness, this was it. At heart, loyalty schemes are seen by travellers as giving them a kickback for all the early mornings, lost weekends and missed birthdays and anniversaries they endure. Flight Club didn’t give you anything unless you paid for your own travel, because your employer would otherwise pick up the cost of the benefits.)
Here are the Flight Club membership benefits, as per the easyJet website:
- Fee-free changes – Make unlimited changes to the dates and travel routes of your bookings without paying admin fees. Just pay the difference between the original fare and that of your new flight.
- Price Guarantee – If you find an equivalent flight of another airline cheaper within 48 hours of making your booking, we’ll refund the difference. We’ll also give you a voucher worth 10% of that difference for your next flight. Just let our dedicated Flight Team know within that time.
- Our Price Promise – We promise you’ll always get the best fares for your easyJet flights. If, on a rare occasion, you find a flight you have already booked on easyJet.com for less, we’ll give you a voucher worth the price difference for your next flight.
- Preview of schedule seat releases and sales – We think the people who fly with us most often should be the first to know what we’re doing and what’s coming up, so we’ll give you advanced notification of schedule seat releases and sales to keep you in the know.
We know what an easyJet loyalty scheme will look like, because it told us
Back in 2018, easyJet had serious plans to launch a loyalty scheme. It hired a ‘Head of Loyalty’ from Etihad, who soon departed for a life outside travel.
It even put out the following slide in its financial results presentation:
This wasn’t a slide put up as a throw-away at a conference. It was announced in a formal presentation to easyJet shareholders to persuade them that the airline remained a good investment. The airline said:
- easyJet would introduce a points currency
- points would be earned on all purchases
- points would also be earned with selected partners including easyJet Holidays
- there would be a ‘range’ of redemption options, which implied that this was NOT a straight cashback programme
- ‘Points & Cash’ would be available, presumably allowing people with only a handful of points to still use them by getting a discount on a future easyJet flight
We were told that it would launch in the UK in 2019 with European expansion in 2020.
We were also promised, in 2020, the launch of a Business Rewards loyalty scheme for corporates. This was meant to follow the 2019 launch of Corporate Flight Club for businesses which make a substantial number of easyJet bookings.
None of this happened.
Why now?
easyJet is generally seen by investors as being stuck. It is caught in a pincer movement – pricier than Ryanair and Wizz Air, and lacking the access to core airports, alliance traffic and status and loyalty benefits to fight off IAG, Lufthansa Group and Air France KLM.
The 2019 loyalty scheme was meant to help close the gap with British Airways – not through Flight Club, which does little for the traveller themselves, but via a points based scheme.
If the (alleged) appointment of big name US management consultants and the mysterious phone calls being made to UK loyalty executives are a sign that things are moving, it is good news.
British Airways Executive Club will be at its most vulnerable in April 2026 when many people will be waving goodbye to their Gold and Silver cards. easyJet should plan to be up and running before this, ready to status match BA members whilst they still have a card that can be matched.
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