Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) has a gift for its members of its Mileage Plan loyalty program. The program christened ‘Elite Leave’ has a provision for putting it on hold for a year after having children. This is one of the many perks that elite members enjoy for their loyalty alongside the likes of lounge access, free upgrades as well as a host of waived fees.
Given that airline elite status is gained on a yearly basis and after flying for a certain number of miles, the rewards vanish if the status is not maintained. However, the elite members will not be affected by this thanks to the Mileage Plan, which will help them freeze their status for a year.
It is a competitive strategy for the airline
Alaska’s aim is to continue capitalizing on its legacy and particularly when it comes to the budget. It is also putting up a competitive strategy against the legacy airlines of American, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL), and United, which have also been on top of the game with their loyalty programs. A majority of them have been moved to revenue-based systems. In this, passengers must use up a minimum amount of money in kind while flying a token number of miles each year.
Commenting on the new Mileage Plan program Alaska’s managing director of brand marketing, Natalie Bowman said, “This is one of those things that is a very simple change, but that we as working parents knew had the potential to make a huge impact.”
Lawsuit
As the new Mileage Plan program takes effect, Alaska has found itself on the wrong side of the law having been sued by a passenger. 63-year-old Kurt Freitag filed a $10,000 lawsuit against the airline for being denied a seat on which he had been issued a boarding pass and his luggage checked.
On behalf of Freitag, Toby Tingleaf, a Salem attorney is seeking an explanation on how his client could have a valid ticket in hand and baggage on the plane yet the seat is not available. Alaska’s Airlines spokeswoman Ann Zaninovich has already denied the fact that Freitag’s lawsuit would be associated with overbooking.
It now remains to be seen whether or not Freitag’s demands for compensation of $10,000 will be met as well as his attorney’s fees. In the meantime, Alaska airlines’’ stock closed at $83.59 a fall of $0.06 or 0.07%.