AirAsia expands loyalty programme with Big launch in Singapore

AirAsia launched today in Singapore its Big loyalty programme, which will also be introduced in China, India and the Philippines at a later date.  

This programme, which was first rolled out in 2011 in Malaysia, allows travellers to accumulate loyalty points which are redeemable for free flights and other add-ons like baggage. It has also been rolled out in Indonesia and Thailand.

In Singapore, the LCC has partnered local companies DBS Bank and StarHub, giving customers from both brands the opportunity to convert their reward points to Big points.

AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes, said the programme had 700,000 members to date, and he is aiming to “rapidly grow” this number to one million within the next few years.

“As the first low cost airline in this region to offer a loyalty programme, this is a great way for us to differentiate ourselves from the other airlines,” he added.

While AirAsia continues to be aggressive in its consumer-direct strategy, Fernandes said the airline is also starting to grow its business from the trade.

For example, it launched last year a new travel booking tool, Amadeus LCC Smart, allowing travel consultants to book AirAsia content within the Amadeus GDS.

“Doors are open to all travel agencies and we are open to do business with any of them. For instance, we have 4,000 travel agencies with us in Indonesia today,” he said.

Fernandes said: “We may look at a loyalty scheme for travel (consultants) at a later time but for now Big is more consumer-driven, and obviously (agencies) can benefit from more people flying with us.”

-TTG Asia.