The Virgin Group and Virgin Atlantic have announced a new brand-wide loyalty program with differentiated reward opportunities. The program offers a chance to earn and spend “miles,” the currency of Virgin Atlantic’s frequent flyer program, across a range of products and services.
A new company, Virgin Group Loyalty Company (VGLC), will be established to own and manage the program. Virgin Red, an existing loyalty start-up within the Virgin Group, will also be integrated into program. VGLC will launch in 2019 and will be owned by Virgin Group and Delta Air Lines.
Flying Club will continue to be owned and managed by Virgin Atlantic as its frequent flyer program and will continue to use miles as its currency. Flying Club members will continue to earn tier points and earn and spend miles for Virgin Atlantic’s, Delta’s, and other partners’ programs.
Andrew Swaffield has been appointed as CEO to lead VGLC. Andrew was previously Chief Executive of Avios and oversaw its creation, and most recently was CEO of the Monarch group. Prior to that he spent 17 years with British Airways and 10 years with Thomas Cook.
Swaffield says of the new program, “Virgin is one of the most admired brands in the UK and across the world, serving 53 million customers each year across 60 companies. Customers expect to be rewarded for their loyalty and we want to ensure customers get the very best rewards possible. Our ambition is to bring the Virgin companies together and combine their appeal to customers, working together to create a truly outstanding offer.”
Oli Byers, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Customer Loyalty at Virgin Atlantic, adds, “Today Flying Club offers Virgin Atlantic’s customers compelling and valuable rewards for flying on Virgin Atlantic, Delta, and a range of Flying Club partners. This will continue to be the case, but at the same time we’re excited to work collaboratively to build a stronger loyalty program and unleash the power of our shared brand to reward customers for their loyalty.”
This news comes in the wake of a milestone in Virgin Atlantic’s history. The company has become the first airline to achieve Level 3 Certification on the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard 18.1. This enables the company to provide more options for customers while facilitating distribution.
IATA’s NDC program has simplified airline distribution by aligning it across all booking channels. In addition, the program provides a foundation for delivering diverse offerings to meet a variety of customer expectations. Virgin Atlantic shares a distribution platform with Delta Air Lines intended to make retail experiences more consistent, regardless of booking channel. The NDC program facilitates this more consistent experience, and both airlines are developing APIs that share NDC core principles.