Lufthansa Innovation Hub: Broken Loyalty

[Dschack]

ANZEIGE

Moin

Ich habe heute den neuen Newsletter vom Lufthansa Innovation Hub erhalten. Spannend, dass man intern anscheinen auch mal erkennt, dass das alles nicht so in die super Richtung geht. Ob jetzt die angesprochenen Highlights der Konkurrenz das Maß aller Dinge sind, sei mal dahingestellt. Aber interessant allemal ob das ein Vorgeschmack auf zukünftige Änderungen im Programm sind?

Hier der Inhalt:

Hi there, The World Aviation Festival took over Lisbon this week. Less mud and live music than at a traditional festival. Much more NDC, networking, and people saying, “Let’s definitely follow up after the conference.” The event brought more than 4,500 aviation professionals and 600 speakers to the Portuguese capital. We followed the action from Berlin this year, which meant fewer business cards, fewer sore feet, and, thankfully, no conference coffee. Suddenly, even Berlin’s €4.80 flat whites felt like a fair deal. For those of you who did make the trip, perhaps you’re reading this on your flight home, sorting new contacts or checking whether Lisbon earned you enough status points to protect your tier. That last one brings us rather neatly to today’s topic: Airline loyalty. At TNMT, we have a fairly clear view on this subject. It may also not earn us many complimentary drinks at the next airline loyalty conference. We believe most airline loyalty programs are outdated. They have become highly sophisticated points currencies, status machines, and profit centers. But too often, they no longer do what their name promises: create actual loyalty. That is why one of our 10 Wishes for Travel in 2026 was for airlines to fundamentally reinvent their loyalty propositions and rebuild genuine customer preference. Nine and a half months later, it is time for our Q4 performance review. Have loyalty programs meaningfully evolved? Are airlines moving beyond miles, tiers, and increasingly complicated redemption tables? And are they creating enough real value to make travelers choose one carrier when a cheaper or more convenient alternative appears? After reviewing in-flight connectivity and agentic commerce in our previous editions, this is the third critical wish we are putting under the microscope. It may also be the one most likely to trigger disagreement among airline professionals. Perfect. Scroll down to see our assessment. Enjoy. Your Lufthansa Innovation Hub Team

Research

Reviewing Wish #3: Can Airline Loyalty Become Loyal Again?​

Let’s review the state of airline loyalty. At the beginning of 2026, we wanted airlines, hotels, and other travel brands to stop optimizing loyalty programs primarily for enrollment and start optimizing them for trust. Recognize travelers as individuals, not segments. Make redemption intuitive, not transactional. Design for loyalty that is genuinely earned, not merely counted. So how much has changed over the past nine months? Let’s be fair: nine months is not a particularly long time to reinvent programs that have been built and optimized over several decades. And our data confirms that no revolution has taken place yet. We analyzed more than 500 news articles published in 2026 across 18 airline loyalty programs, representing full-service and low-cost carriers in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. When we categorized them by topic, the same three traditional themes continued to dominate: Status levels and tier changes. The rewards and benefits members can earn. New co-branded credit cards with banks and financial institutions. Together, these three areas accounted for more than half of all airline loyalty press coverage.

What that means: new cards, revised tiers, and additional ways to collect points still drive most of the conversation. At the same time, the member perspective tells a less flattering story. Travelers keep complaining about the structural devaluation of loyalty currencies. Reward flights require more points, dynamic pricing makes redemption value harder to understand, and benefits that once felt attainable increasingly move out of reach. Status is also being repriced. More programs are shifting away from rewarding miles flown or trips taken and toward rewarding the amount of money spent. From an airline economics perspective, that is understandable. From a traveler perspective, it can make “loyalty” feel less like recognition for repeatedly choosing one airline and more like another spending threshold. In simple TNMT terms: programs may be becoming financially more sophisticated while becoming emotionally less rewarding. And that is worth pausing on because trust is difficult to build when members feel that the value of their points can change faster than they can earn them. So at a high level, the airline loyalty playbook still looks remarkably familiar, and in some cases even more transactional than before. But the aggregate view hides a more interesting development. When we looked more closely, we found three areas where loyalty programs are beginning to move in a genuinely more innovative direction. And those are what we’ll explore next. POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT #1: AI IS PUTTING LOYALTY DATA TO WORK The first positive development is still relatively small, but strategically important: AI is beginning to connect loyalty data with the actual customer experience. Two airlines deserve particular credit here: Alaska Airlines and Delta. Both are using AI to turn loyalty data into more useful, personalized customer experiences. Let’s look at each initiative one by one, starting with Alaska. “Alaska Inspires” (launched in 2024) connects natural-language trip inspiration directly with Alaska’s Atmos loyalty program. Recommendations can reflect a member’s points balance, status, travel goals, and previous preferences, turning loyalty data into an input for destination discovery rather than something travelers see only after booking. The product itself is not new. But its relevance in 2026 comes from the measurable results now available. Alaska reports a 7% conversion rate, compared with 5% for its standard booking widget Alaska also reports 90% user satisfaction and a 75% reduction in trip-planning time. “Delta Concierge” provides the more recent scaling signal. Delta first introduced the AI assistant in beta, then expanded it to all SkyMiles members in August 2026. Inside the Delta app, members can ask about upcoming trips, baggage, disruptions, eCredits, mileage balances, and Medallion status. They can also take actions, such as rebooking or canceling eligible flights, through the conversation. The two products address different parts of the journey. Alaska focuses more heavily on inspiration and conversion. Delta focuses on service and trip management. But the underlying shift is the same. Airlines have traditionally stored loyalty data in separate systems and used it mainly to calculate status, points, and eligibility. These two tools bring that information into the main digital customer interface, where it can shape recommendations and actions in real time. That is what makes this development relevant. Alaska and Delta offer a credible blueprint for airlines looking to make loyalty feel more personal, more useful, and more closely connected to the actual travel experience.

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT #2: LOYALTY IS EXPANDING BEYOND THE FLIGHT The second positive development is the growing focus on earning and redeeming outside of flights. The idea itself is not new. Airlines have spent decades extending loyalty into everyday spending through co-branded credit cards, which remain major revenue drivers. But several developments in 2026 suggest that airlines are beginning to think more broadly. The ambition is no longer just to increase card spending. It is to make loyalty relevant across more of the traveler’s journey and daily life. One visible shift is the closer connection between airline and hotel programs. In July, Japan Airlines and Marriott Bonvoy expanded their existing partnership through reciprocal status recognition and additional cross-program benefits. The collaboration lets members progress faster through both ecosystems and receive recognition across flights and hotel stays. Delta and Hyatt announced a similar strategic partnership in September. Once launched, eligible elite members will be able to earn World of Hyatt points on qualifying Delta flights and SkyMiles on qualifying Hyatt stays. And in India, IndiGo BluChip and ALL Accor introduced reciprocal point conversion, allowing members to move loyalty value between flights, hotel stays, dining, and experiences. These partnerships address a key weakness of traditional airline loyalty. A traveler who flies only three or four times a year may not interact frequently enough with a stand-alone airline program to build a meaningful relationship. Connect that program to hotels, dining, mobility, and experiences, and you suddenly have many more opportunities to earn, redeem, and stay engaged. Beyond cross-program partnerships, a second way loyalty is expanding beyond the flight is through experiential rewards. Air France-KLM launched “Flying Blue Experiences” in January, allowing members to use miles for premium access to concerts and major sporting events at venues such as the Accor Arena and Stade de France. That may sound like a relatively small product extension, but it tackles another structural weakness of loyalty programs: Points often feel abstract. Experiences do not. Another 5,000 miles sitting in an account may not create much emotional attachment. Access to a sold-out concert, a major sporting event, or a memorable travel experience is much easier to understand and value. This also opens loyalty programs to less frequent and younger travelers. They may never fly enough to reach top-tier status, but they can still become engaged members if rewards feel attainable and relevant to their interests. The strategic shift is subtle but important. Loyalty is slowly expanding from rewarding repeated flights toward connecting a broader ecosystem of travel and experiences. We are still far from a fully integrated model. Many partnerships remain fragmented, limited to selected tiers, or unnecessarily difficult to understand. But the direction is promising. The strongest loyalty programs of the future may be the ones giving members the most useful reasons to stay engaged between flights.

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT #3: LOYALTY IS BECOMING A SERVICE, NOT A JOURNEY The third positive development is more experimental: some airlines are trying to make loyalty something members use continuously, rather than a points balance they remember twice a year. The first route is subscriptions. Admittedly, the broad “pay a fee, receive cheaper flights” model has proven difficult to make work. Ryanair closed its Prime trial after eight months. Its 55,000 members generated €4.4 million in subscription fees but received more than €6 million in fare discounts. Looks like Ryanair’s customers understood the value proposition slightly better than the airline did. But that does not mean airline subscriptions are dead. It suggests the more promising models may be narrower and more closely connected to loyalty. In March, JetBlue launched Points On Repeat, offering three subscription tiers with recurring TrueBlue points, additional flight-earning bonuses, and redemption rebates. Instead of discounting every fare, JetBlue is selling a faster path through its loyalty ecosystem. Emirates Skywards+ follows a similar logic. Its annual subscription packages combine bonus miles with benefits such as reward discounts, upgrade offers, and lounge access. The product concentrates value among travelers already likely to use it, rather than subsidizing cheaper flights for everyone. Subscriptions therefore deepen the relationship with frequent and high-intent travelers. But high-speed in-flight Wi-Fi is opening a second, potentially much larger route into loyalty. Several Starlink adopters are making connectivity free, but only after passengers identify themselves as loyalty members. United offers complimentary Starlink access to MileagePlus members, while Alaska is rolling it out free for Atmos Rewards members. That small login requirement changes the commercial logic. In-flight Wi-Fi used to be a paid ancillary. It is now increasingly becoming a membership-acquisition tool. A traveler who flies once a year may see little reason to join an airline program for distant status benefits. But place an eight-hour flight between that traveler and free high-speed internet, and registration suddenly becomes much more attractive. For the passenger, the exchange is simple: join the program and get a valuable service immediately. For the airline, an otherwise anonymous traveler becomes an identified member with whom it can build a permission-based relationship beyond the flight.

The two approaches therefore solve different loyalty challenges: Subscriptions create more recurring value for existing, highly engaged members. Free connectivity brings less frequent travelers into the loyalty ecosystem in the first place. Of course, another membership registration does not automatically create loyalty. If airlines use the new relationship only to send generic offers, or continue devaluing the points members earn, the exercise simply produces larger databases rather than more loyal customers. But we think the direction is encouraging. Airlines are beginning to treat loyalty as an ongoing service and value exchange, not merely a currency awarded after someone buys a ticket. That feels much closer to the kind of reinvention we wished for. Did we miss an initiative or product launch that is genuinely moving airline loyalty forward? Hit reply and let us know.

Press Picks

Our Recommended Must Reads​

THE $44 BILLION TURNAROUND PROBLEM – Assaia’s 2026 Turnaround Report reveals that aircraft turnarounds across Europe and North America run more than 11 minutes behind schedule on average, contributing to an estimated $44 billion execution gap. Based on over 2 million turnarounds, the report explores how AI-powered monitoring can reduce delays, improve efficiency, and recover lost capacity. Read more by Assaia

INNOVATIONS OF THE MONTH – OAG highlights how AI is transforming airline operations, from automated flight searches and bookings to standby monitoring and air traffic congestion prediction. These innovations signal a shift toward technology that anticipates disruptions and handles travel decisions before passengers need to intervene. Read more by OAG

AI AGENTS TAKE OFF IN TRAVEL – More than 50% of transactions on AI assistant Instinct are travel-related, according to its founder. The platform lets users book flights, hotels, and other services through conversational requests, highlighting travel as a leading use case for AI agents that complete transactions on behalf of consumers. Read more by TechCrunch

BOOKING'S $100 MILLION AI BET – Booking Holdings has launched Vayo, an AI-powered travel assistant backed by plans to invest up to $100 million. The platform organizes reservations, monitors prices and disruptions, and helps travelers manage bookings across providers. Currently in invite-only beta, broader availability is expected in 2027. Read more by PhocusWire

SOUTHWEST BRINGS FLIGHT SEARCH TO CHATGPT – Southwest Airlines has introduced a ChatGPT integration allowing travelers to search destinations, compare flights, and explore fares through natural-language conversations. Users are redirected to Southwest’s website to complete bookings, marking another step toward AI-powered flight shopping. Read more by The Dallas Morning News

Deal Tracker

Most Recent Investment Deals​

– VC – Ramp – The New York-based corporate travel spend management platform, which provides corporate cards, expense management, and bill payment tools, raised approximately $1.85B in later-stage funding at a pre-money valuation of approximately $60B, in a round led by Thrive Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group with participation from Founders Fund. The round follows Ramp’s acquisitions of travel platform Juno and payments platform Billhop and its UK launch in September 2026. Fortem Technologies – The US-based developer of counter-drone and airspace security systems closed a $50M Series B round led by Lockheed Martin, with participation from Unusual Machines and other strategic and institutional investors. The company will use the capital to accelerate manufacturing at its Utah facility and expand global deployment of its SkyDome defense systems. FunNow – The Taiwan-based experience and travel booking platform raised $10M in a Series C round from Hotai Motor, which takes an approximately 10% stake. The deal also integrates FunNow’s restaurant, accommodation and experience inventory into Hotai’s travel planning platform chicTrip, starting in Japan. The company will use the funds for international expansion, AI development and IPO preparations. Intellivisa – The Toronto-based developer of an agentic AI platform that handles visa, entry and compliance requirements for international travelers raised $3M in a pre-seed round co-led by Mu Ventures and Incisive Ventures, with participation from Uncommon Denominator, Recursive Ventures, P2S: AltaIR Capital, Smart Partnership Capital and United Airlines Ventures. The company will use the funds to scale its platform, building on a 2025 angel round that included venture capital firm Antler. ParkMundo – The Netherlands-based airport parking distribution platform raised approximately $2.6M in a seed round from technology and travel industry angel investors, with additional financing from Rabobank. Founded in 2013 as Vliegen en Parkeren and previously self-funded, the company will use the capital to scale its B2C and B2B distribution following a technology rebuild and rebrand. Flae Robotics – The Prague-based developer of an AI hospitality agent raised approximately $1.2M in a seed round from Purple Ventures and Garage Angels. Hotels in the UK, Germany, and the Czech Republic use its agent. The company will use the funds for product development, hiring, and geographic expansion, including a planned entry into the US market. BlueWX – The Japan-based provider of AI-based turbulence and wind forecasting raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A extension from Fidea Capital. The company’s deep-learning models predict aircraft turbulence for airlines and ground winds for wind power operators. It will use the funds to expand its turbulence forecasting to overseas airlines, develop data distribution systems and build out its sales team. TravClan – The New Delhi-based B2B travel platform for travel agents and tour operators, founded in 2018, raised an undisclosed amount in later-stage funding from Flipkart, India’s e-commerce marketplace. The partnership will give Flipkart a minority stake in TravClan and expand its international holiday offerings. TravClan will use the funds for global supply, technology and destination expansion. – M&A – Harvest Hosts – The US-based RV travel platform, which provides member access to experiences such as wineries, farms and breweries, was acquired by Choice Hotels International, the US-based hotel franchisor, for $130M in an all-cash deal backed by growth equity firm Stripes and other shareholders. Harvest Hosts will continue to operate as a standalone brand. Envoy Technologies – The US-based provider of on-site electric vehicle carsharing for residential communities, hotels and resorts was acquired by Dot Ai, the Nasdaq-listed IoT and asset-intelligence company, from BladeRanger. The all-stock deal was valued at approximately $65M. Dot Ai plans to expand Envoy’s fleet and property footprint and integrate its asset-tracking technology into the fleet. FLYR Hospitality – The London-based AI-driven hotel revenue strategy platform, formerly known as Pace, was sold by airline retailing technology company FLYR to Duetto, the San Francisco-based hotel revenue management software provider, for an undisclosed sum. FLYR Hospitality’s pricing engine and business intelligence tools will be integrated into Duetto’s revenue and profit operating system to accelerate its AI roadmap. iCoupon Global – The Manchester-based digital vouchering platform that attaches entitlements to boarding passes for airlines and airports was acquired by Dragonpass, the UK-based travel and lifestyle platform, for an undisclosed sum. The deal extends Dragonpass’s offer beyond airport lounges, while iCoupon keeps its open-network model and existing team.

 

[gru_muc]

IMHO: much ado about nothing…

 

[Luftikus]

Schrecklicher KI-Wust.

 

[ArnoldB]

tl;dr künftig auch noch für eine M&M Mitgliedschaft zahlen und dank AI-Analysen noch mehr ausgenützt werden

 

[red_travels]

kann man den Roman auch zusammenfassen?

künftig auch noch für eine M&M Mitgliedschaft zahlen

dann verschwindet mehr als die Hälfte der Nutzer von heute auf Morgen

 

[Loungepotato]

Meinen die mit "Loyalty", dass man den "besten Kunden" (steht oft in den Schreiben), die "loyal" LH buchen und SEN und HON werden, die kostenlose Sitzplatzreservierung in Light-Tarifen streicht?

 

[KaitouMasato]

Meinen die mit "Loyalty", dass man den "besten Kunden" (steht oft in den Schreiben), die "loyal" LH buchen und SEN und HON werden, die kostenlose Sitzplatzreservierung in Light-Tarifen streicht?

Das ganze ist wie die Hotel-Stati, die sich auch nicht mehr lohnen, weil kein Frühstück mehr dabei und Upgardes auch nur hier und da.... irgendwann ist die Puste raus, wenn es nichts mehr für den Status gibt

 

[Loungepotato]

Das ganze ist wie die Hotel-Stati, die sich auch nicht mehr lohnen, weil kein Frühstück mehr dabei und Upgardes auch nur hier und da.... irgendwann ist die Puste raus, wenn es nichts mehr für den Status gibt

Geht halt wie beim Hotelstatus scheibchenweise. Erst nur noch F&B Credit, dann Frühstück nur noch mit höherem Status (bei Bonvoy mit Titanium noch OK), dann keines mehr. Es nervt, wo es doch Kundenbindung machen und angebliche Wertschätzung ausdrücken soll.

 

[YoungMario]

Das ganze ist wie die Hotel-Stati, die sich auch nicht mehr lohnen, weil kein Frühstück mehr dabei und Upgardes auch nur hier und da.... irgendwann ist die Puste raus, wenn es nichts mehr für den Status gibt

Also im Vergleich zum Miles and More SEN finde ich den Diamond/Royal AMB bei IHG um Welten besser … Gratis Frühstück, Early Check In, Late Check Out, Upgrades, 100% Punktebonus, Willkommensgeschenk … Und mit den Punkten, die ich über das Jahr hinweg sammle, gehen sich jedes 2 - 3 Nächte im IC Thalasso aus … Bei M&M SEN geht es aber nur in eine Richtung, nach Unten …

 

[3LG]

Dann ist Senator quasi Hilton Diamond?

 

[hegi]

Zumindest wird der Tenor von uns Foristen wiedergespiegelt. Mal schauen ob sich was ändern wird oder die Reaktionen darauf sein wird die Phantasiezuschläge nochmal zu erhöhen...

 

[i_miss_flying]

Lufthansa hat es halt echt drauf. Dem Newsletter, in dem die erneuten Verschlechterungen angekündigt wurden und mit dem Zitat "Vor dem Hintergrund aktueller Entwicklungen im Markt" begründet wurden, folgte wenige Minuten später ein Newsletter von SQ an die PPS Mitglieder, in dem deren Veränderungen angekündigt wurden: Pyjamas in C werden eingeführt; neue Amenity Kits für alle Reiseklassen mit deutlich aufgewerteten Artikeln, und so weiter.
Und in einem anderen Newsletter sieht man Mister Ritter wie er stolz die Auszeichnung für das F Essen bekommt. Das ist schon fast Satire, wenn man bedenkt, dass man in der neuen F über Nacht stundenlang nur das Eco Essen bekommen kann, weil ja nur noch ein F Flugbegleiter dabei ist und die "Nachtwache" keinen Plan hat und nichts machen kann.... Und die meinen das wirklich ernst !

 

[hegi]

Das (unser) Problem scheint wie immer in der Marktwirtschaft zu sein, dass sie es sich scheinbar erlauben können die Zitrone weiter aus zu Quetschen...

 

[pemko]

ANZEIGE

[...] Hotel-Stati [...]

der Status (sg.), die Status (pl. - mit lang gesprochenem U)