The Great British Airline Loyalty Battle
Photo Credit: Virgin Atlantic secured prime advertising locations at British Airways' Heathrow Terminal 5 hub. Virgin Atlantic
Skift Take
As many British Airways flyers brace for status downgrades, rivals are seizing a rare chance to convince the UK’s most valuable travelers that there’s another way.
Fierce rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic is nothing new, but recent weeks have seen a new front emerge in the battle for Britain’s most coveted jetsetters.
Monday marked the last day of a limited edition status-match campaign by Virgin Atlantic. Put simply, the airline matched British Airways status in its Flying Club program, avoiding the need for passengers to rebuild from the ground up.
The initial promotion, launched ahead of Valentine’s Day, cheekily asked: “No longer feeling the love from your airline?”
A marketing assault has seen Virgin’s ‘Save Your Tiers’ messaging – a play on changes to tier points – splashed across online and out-of-home advertising. It quickly became the most visible flashpoint in a loyalty land grab unfolding across the UK airline market.
A Question of TimingThe campaign arrived at a particularly sensitive moment for British Airways, whose sweeping overhaul of its long-run
