After hotels and airlines, I became a frequent visitor to the airport.

0 1 What is the frequent flyer program?

When it comes to frequent flyer program, airlines and hotels usually come to mind immediately, and even the definition of frequent flyer program is described in this way: frequent flyer program refers to a marketing means introduced by airlines, hotels and other industries to customers who often use their products, focusing on mileage accumulation or integral accumulation to reward mileage, which is a market means to attract business travelers and improve the competitiveness of companies.

My hotel frequent flyer program

As a trapeze with a flight record of over 99%, I am naturally the object of development of all frequent flyer companies. The hotel is simple. Since I once bought a gold card in a hotel in China, I have basically become a loyal member of the China Lodging Association, and most of my reservations have been changed from Ctrip APP to China Lodging Association APP.

It can be said that Zhu Hua's frequent flyer program is very successful. It is definitely a classic case of frequent flyer program to change me from a low-frequency user to a high-frequency user and from public domain traffic to private domain traffic through the form of paying membership.

My airline frequent flyer program

But in the airlines with mature frequent flyer programs, I didn't feel the real frequent flyer program.

I have almost all airlines' frequent flyer card numbers, but my ticket reservation didn't go through the airline. This is an interesting phenomenon: no matter what channel I use to complete the ticket reservation, the airline will give me accumulated miles and points, and I will exchange them as usual, but I didn't go through the airline APP when I made the ticket reservation.

Then the question is, does my plan count as a frequent flyer plan? Are users like me universal?

"Flying with your heart" is true love.

Of course, there is another special case in the airline's frequent flyer program, that is, "China Eastern Airlines flies at will". I have to admit, after buying Freelance for half a year, the most commonly used APP for booking air tickets is Eastern Airlines, which gives me a better feeling than the experience and stickiness of using China Lodge Club. Because as a paying member, once I place an order to fly at will, I will not buy a plane ticket, but redeem my membership rights.

In this case, all other airlines and platforms are weak in my eyes. In my eyes, air tickets are no longer the amount to be paid, but the rights I enjoy as a paying member.

In the end, I got more than 20 thousand flying rights at the cost of more than 3 thousand flying cards, and the user experience is definitely a drag.

Unfortunately, "fly with your heart" can't continue to follow your heart.

Unfortunately, flying with heart is destined to be a short-term transitional product in the extreme situation of low attendance and low passenger flow. After the epidemic eased slightly, either the products were removed from the shelves or many restrictions were added.

I think one of the core reasons here is the limited capacity of airlines. The average attendance rate of 8 1% before the epidemic could not support the transformation from income management mode to equity management mode under normal circumstances. Without the support of excess capacity, even if the marginal cost is lower, it will eventually evolve into a zero-sum game between the two sides, which cannot be a long-term sustainable business model.

03 Airport Edition "Flying with Heart"

Some time ago, I bought the airport version of "Flying at will" at Yinchuan Airport: the core right is that I can use the airport check-in, consignment, fast track, first-class lounge and other services indefinitely within half a year. The price is only 399 yuan, and I can use it immediately after on-site handling, and I can also bring a person.

As a business traveler who often departs from Yinchuan Airport, as long as the use value is greater than the membership fee, it is cost-effective, and in the process of using it, it really greatly improves the travel efficiency and user experience. The more you use it, the more you earn.

As a high-frequency business travel user, there is still a basic expectation for the frequency of use. If you think it is cost-effective, you must place an order to buy it. If you buy it, you will definitely use it. The process of using it is the process of turning it into a frequent traveler.

04 airport frequent flyer program is

Incremental user realization of idle assets

Why idle assets?

From the point of view of the airport, the main concern is whether the marginal cost of service is low enough and whether there is excess capacity. If the marginal cost is not low enough and the production capacity is insufficient, it will lead to the inability to use the equity management model instead of the income management model for pricing.

At present, VIP rights and interests of most airports are in the stage of excess capacity, and as rights and interests such as fast track and lounge, the marginal cost of use is extremely low.

Therefore, the rights and interests of the airport frequent flyer program belong to the dual conditions of overcapacity and low marginal cost, that is to say, the airport VIP service has the attribute of idle assets.

Why incremental users?

If I am a gold card user of an airline, a platinum card member of a bank and a government guest, and others pay for my VIP rights, I certainly can't buy a card at my own expense. In other words, those channel users are in stock, and they are users of B-side channels, because B-side pays the bill. Therefore, the airport passenger card is completely unattractive to these people.

The development goal of the airport frequent flyer program is precisely those business users who have their own needs and are willing to pay for the service and pay attention to the travel experience. Compared with the users of existing airport VIP services, they are all incremental users, and there is no problem of the loss of existing users.

Airport frequent flyer program is a breakthrough attempt to create private sector traffic.

In the past, only 2B airport had no private domain traffic.

As we all know, airports mostly serve B-end users. The main customers are airlines, and there are many non-aviation services, such as catering, retail, duty-free shops and advertising companies. In terms of VIP services, they basically serve the B-side channel. The channel pays the airport to buy VIP services, and provides them to its high-end members, such as airlines, governments, banks, etc., for free as value-added rights. That is to say, the airport has not been built by itself.

Airport frequent flyer program is a breakthrough attempt to create private sector traffic.

Yinchuan Airport Guest Card is delivered through product innovation, pushing and converting members, online operation of official WeChat account, online booking and offline service.

With the help of airport traffic, many internet companies, such as Ctrip, Golden Century, Longteng and other well-known enterprises, have been made, which shows that the value of airport traffic is enormous. However, the airport has not converted its throughput into private domain traffic, which is indeed a great loss.

Therefore, this attempt is of great symbolic significance to enhance the core competitiveness of the airport. The future airport is likely to become a traffic portal for offline services and online operations. Finally, the model innovation of airport+internet is realized, and the airport has typical decentralization characteristics. In the future, each airport can establish a frequent flyer program belonging to local high-frequency business users, and increase the airport's non-aviation income while providing differentiated services for frequent flyers.

There is still a lot of room for expansion of the airport frequent flyer program.

In the membership system. The passenger card is only a part of the airport frequent flyer program. On this basis, more membership levels can be superimposed, including higher-end membership levels such as free members, which will make the frequent flyer program more complete and thus cover more users in quantity and quality.

In marketing strategy. In addition to this form of on-site push, more forms of display and promotion can be carried out at the airport; Moreover, more innovations can be made, such as distribution through channels, online promotion and communication through traffic platforms, so as to increase the marketing efforts of frequent airport passengers;

In terms of membership rights. It is not limited to fast-track and first-class lounge, but should integrate more rights and interests into airport scenes such as airport self-operated products, airport merchant products, restaurants and duty-free shops. At the same time, with the help of e-commerce platform, more targeted products and rights are supplemented, such as one-stop travel booking, other airport guests' rights and interests, airlines providing special air tickets, and member malls providing more e-commerce products. To provide more diversified rights and interests for frequent travelers;

In terms of operational strategy. You can add points, coupons, lucky draws, membership days, etc., and you can also get through with airlines, hotels, bank credit cards, etc. , and enjoy mileage, points, etc. Therefore, airport frequent fliers are presented as an independent track and category, and the airport scene is integrated into the existing mature frequent flier plan to realize the complete closed loop of the user's frequent flier plan.

To sum up, Yinchuan Airport Passenger Card, as another frequent flyer program innovation after hotels and airlines, will transform high-frequency business users with demand and no channels into VIP services for free by setting idle airport resources as passenger rights cards, and realize the mode innovation of incremental realization of idle resources. I believe that all airports with the three elements of people, goods and new retail will definitely have more model innovations, and we will wait and see.