Airline Frequent Flyer Programs Lag Behind in the Electronic Age: “Simplify the FFP”
By Christopher Staab, Managing Partner, Conferences, Airline Information
My recent experience highlights an e-commerce-related area where our industry has room to improve. Airlines are currently preparing to eliminate paper tickets by the end of 2007, as well to eliminate all paper from the back office. However, airline customers are still expected to hold on to their paper boarding passes for proof of flown frequent flyer mileage for cases when miles are not correctly credited to them- something which frequent flyers know happens all too often. This process can and should be more fully automated.
I recently flew on a major U.S. airline and decided to use my frequent flyer account number from one of this airline's alliance partners. Within a major airline alliance, earning miles with a partner should be a seamless process, but this is unfortunately not always the case. I placed the partner's frequent flyer number on the reservation before I traveled, but it did not appear on my boarding pass when it was printed at the airport. So, after quite an effort at the check-in counter to have my frequent flyer number placed once again on the reservation and having it rejected repeatedly by the reservation system, the check-in agent finally was able to place the number on the reservation and I then completed my travels. Despite all of this effort, I was never credited for the first flown segment, but I was credited for all subsequent segments.
I contacted the partner airline to make it aware that I had not been credited for the first flown segment and I was asked to fax my boarding pass as proof. Unfortunately, I lost my boarding pass. So, the airline then asked me to fax my ticket, which I also do not have, because it was an e-ticket. The airlines are eliminating paper tickets, but frequent flyer departments still require paper boarding passes or paper tickets to correct errors made by the airlines’ own systems. This is a blatant inconsistency.
This experience demonstrates that airline frequent flyer programs are not keeping up with other industry segments, which are quickly automating. Why in today's electronic world is the process of earning miles on partner airlines not more fully integrated and automated? The technology certainly exists for airline systems to communicate regarding flown segments for frequent flyers, eliminating a major hassle for customers. Not only is this process not currently well integrated or automated, but most major airlines in the United States still request that boarding passes for un-credited segments be sent only via fax or post - two forms of communication based upon paper in an industry trying to become paperless!
In this case, not only is technology not being utilized, but neither is common sense. I was not credited for the first flown segment of a roundtrip. If I had not flown the first segment, my return trip would have been cancelled automatically, so I obviously flew the segment. However, the airline will not accept this obvious fact or my credit card statement, indicating the itinerary and ticket number, in order to credit the miles to me. It requires a paper ticket, a paper copy of an eTicket itinerary or a boarding pass.
Several weeks ago I flew on the same airline and placed the same partner airline's frequent flyer number on the reservation and I was once again not credited for the first flown segment. I believe it's time for technology and common sense to come together and "Simplify the FFP."
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