Alaska Bets Starlink Will Boost Customer Loyalty as It Scraps Basic Economy Perks


Skift Take

Alaska is doing away with earning points on basic economy seats, but it thinks the installation of Starlink across its fleet will funnel more customer loyalty.

Alaska Airlines is betting that customers will get more value from its Starlink partnership rather than earning loyalty points on a basic economy seat. 

“We now offer Starlink. Before, to bring someone into Atmos [loyalty program], it was about points earning, but that Saver customer in our research is going to value the Starlink product a lot more than a nominal points accrual,” Alaska Airlines vice president of loyalty, alliances, and international Brett Catlin told Skift at the IATA AGM in Rio de Janeiro.

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