What Makes or Breaks Airline Loyalty?
Back in 2001 I flew to London for vacation. I left my wallet on the counter at the newsstand in Heathrow Airport, and didn't realize it until I was back at Newark airport. I figured it was lost forever, but I called Virgin Atlantic anyway to see if there was anything they could do. Within 24 hours the airline staff had retrieved the wallet from the Heathrow Lost & Found (with all the cash still in it), gave it to a flight attendant to hold on the next flight to the States, and had a Virgin Atlantic employee drive up to my house in Connecticut to return it. Talk about going the extra (thousand) miles for a customer.
Is loyalty to an airline possible? Some airlines say that customers simply care about price and schedule, but we have proof that there's a lot more to why customers choose an airline. We highlight some findings from a new research study in today's issue of 1to1 Weekly. The research suggests four key drivers to airline loyalty: one-to-one communications; a positive customer experience from ticket purchase to in-flight care to luggage handling; keeping the brand promise in all marketing communications and employee behavior; and executing frequent flyer programs well. And as the skies become more crowded with competitors, loyalty becomes a bigger deal.
What do you think? Why are you loyal to a particular airline? What's your favorite? Have a great story to share?
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