Grant Martin, Skift
After a year of uncertainty, frequent flyers on Air Canada ended up almost right where they started at the beginning of the century: with the airline independently owning and operating Aeroplan.
2 months ago
Andrew Sheivachman, Skift
Loyalty is big business, and Air Canada is working hard to create a forward-looking program that leverages advanced e-commerce techniques. The airline's acquisition of Aeroplan bodes well for scaling up its program over the next few years.
7 months ago
Natalie Wong andScott Deveau, Bloomberg
It took some takeover gamesmanship but Air Canada has Aeroplan back in its fold. It looks like a higher bid for the loyalty program was still a cheaper prospect than for the carrier to do it on its own.
7 months ago
Frederic Tomesco, Bloomberg
Aimia is taking aggressive action to show the Aeroplan frequent flyer program, which Air Canada started in 1984 but Aimia now owns, can exist after the airline adopts a new loyalty scheme in 2020. That might be true, and Aimia's investors seem to be buying it. But we still think the best move is for Aimia to sell Aeroplan back to Air Canada.
7 months ago
Frederic Tomesco and Kristine Owram, Bloomberg
Customers holding Aeroplan points likely would prefer Aimia to sell to Air Canada, and that may happen. But we suspect Aimia, which owns Aeroplan, does not want to sell to Air Canada for a bargain price. Thus, the company is exploring other options.
8 months ago
Frederic Tomesco, Bloomberg
Air Canada has all the leverage. While the airline probably would prefer to control Aeroplan, it doesn't need it. Given the circumstances, why shouldn't the airline play hardball?
8 months ago
Scott Deveau, Bloomberg
Air Canada's surprise bid to take over Aeroplan once again may be an indication of how hard it is to start a new loyalty program from scratch. Or it may just be cutthroat business strategy. Nobody knows.
8 months ago
Grant Martin, Skift
In June of 2020, Air Canada and Aeroplan will officially split. Aeroplan last week announced a new strategy and made the case for members to stick with its program after the milestone parting.
8 months ago
Grant Martin, Skift
Aeroplan is laying out a case for members of its loyalty program to stick around after its split from Air Canada in 2020. And for those who don't care about elite status, it may not a bad deal.
8 months ago
Scott Deveau, Bloomberg
As Skift reported Thursday, Canada's largest airline wants to control its frequent flier program. As Bloomberg reports here, that's bad news for Aimia, which will lose its contract in 2020.
2 years ago
Brian Sumers, Skift
It was a big deal when Air Canada spun off its frequent flyer program. And it was probably a good idea for the time because Air Canada needed the cash. But times are different now, and Air Canada is in stronger shape. It makes sense it wants to control its own program.
2 years ago