Reflections on ITA Airways' Volare program: some nice ideas, but a lot of confusion
I waited a few hours to post my thoughts on the launch of the Volare program, waited to see the reactions [...]
I waited a few hours to post my reflections on the launching of the Flying program, I waited to see the reactions on social media, not those of Sunday experts, but those who comment with knowledge of the facts, because they are old Millemiglia customers or because they are members of other loyalty programs.
In this article:
I am undecided whether to quote Fantozzi calling this program "A crazy shit" or Shakespeare "Much ado about nothing."
I say this because I don't think there is a different way to describe what ITA Airways, Italy's new national airline, has just given birth to after five months of gestation.
Never mind the delay with which the program starts, was supposed to be active on January 1 and instead will be active starting today, Tuesday, March 1. Never mind the fact that we have been told for months that. the airline is part of the SkyTeam alliance and instead you don't get the benefits expected when flying with other companies.
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Today I think it was presented The worst loyalty program in the history of frequent flyers since they were invented 40 years ago.
The program makes water all over the place:
#1 Executive users are kicked in the teeth
All loyalty programs pamper their elite customers. They do this with exclusive benefits, such as allowing access to higher-level lounges, such as LH's Senator Lounges or BA's First Galleries. They give away true free class upgrades (as Finnair does), free seat selection, and especially generous bonuses when it comes to point accumulation and bonus points.
The Volare program treats premium and executive customers the same, except for 1 extra bonus point per euro spent.
#2 Accelerators penalize loyal customers
Some aspects were inspired by the FlyingBlue model, which is a multiplier that allows users enrolled in the program to earn miles based on ticket spending and status held.
The fact is that in FlyingBlue between the basic level and the top level the difference is 100%. Whereas in the case of Flying, the difference is 30%.
New FB members get 4 points per euro, Platinum customers get 8. In ITA's program they start with 10 points and go up to 13. This is also a slap in the face to those who are loyal to the made-in-Italy carrier. Not only AF/KLM, in fact, but also all companies that adopt this method have a higher reward the higher the status held.
#3 Not expected to accumulate qualifying (and non-qualifying) points by flying with partner airlines
Maybe it's just an oversight, maybe it's a way of buying time while waiting to see if MSC and Lufthansa will take over.. Today ITA has a small network; no European airline has so few planes in its fleet, and covers few destinations, this further limits the possibility of accumulating points by flying, since to go anywhere-unless it is the classic U.S. destinations-you have to choose a different carrier.
#4 Multipliers penalize domestic passengers
If you fly a lot to Italy, you will not earn big bonuses. In fact, an economy ticket for a domestic flight will not earn any multiplier unless you book a flex fare.
I don't find it absolutely correct, it is fair if you have basic economy fares to limit the accumulation, but we know very well that often a domestic flight with ITA costs more than an international or even intercontinental flight. Why shouldn't someone who pays 300€ for a domestic flight have an extra multiplier?
#5 Obtaining status, for what it offers, will be very simple
The levels are 30k, 60k and 90k qualifying points to obtain the 3 elite levels.
To a user today Executive, thanks to the status match, to renew the level will only need to spend just under €3,500 on intercontinental business class tickets, so even one flight. Again, no program makes the highest level of loyalty program so easy and accessible.
The same is true for a new entrant who, ready to go, with the same €3000 ticket will find himself with an a/r Premium flight with 60k qualifying points in his pocket.
This is because the executive level allows you to earn 13 basis points for every euro spent, in case the expenditure is incurred on business class flex tickets on long haul you will get a bonus of 100% thus reaching 26 points for every euro spent. A new member starts with 10 basis points, which is doubled with the same ticket.
The result is that there will be a lot of high-level users, thus limiting the benefits to true frequent flyers. Crowded lounges, more people with priority boarding than those without priority.
A book could be written about the prize table
#1 The table and the average price.
What is the point of this, if not to confuse users? Why publish the average cost by mixing classes if not to make the number of points required seem lower?
#2 What is meant by....
If it's a fixed table, what does DA mean -- in front of the required number of points? It doesn't really make sense. If the table is fixed by destination and there are no seasonality or other limitations, then the requested rate is accurate, otherwise what does it mean FROM... on what basis will it change? When will it be found out?
#3 There is no premium economy in the premium table.
It is not known how many points it takes to book an award ticket in the middle class, the class that ITA has repeatedly said it wants to enhance and carry on its entire long-haul fleet. Forgetfulness?
#4 The table for prize tickets is a total TAKEOVER.
In all respects. Sure, domestic flights start at 2300 points + tax, but it is well known that, except in special cases, frequent flyers use their hard-earned points for long-haul tickets. Here ITA has outdone itself; it has gone where no one before has been able to go.
One table for all intercontinental flights, no carrier in the world has such a solution. Those who use a table and not dynamic pricing have differences based on distance flown or by geographic area, just as the old Alitalia did. Instead, for Volare an 8-hour flight to New York is worth the same as one to Tokyo or Sao Paolo of almost 13 hours.
Same for a Rome/Athens flight and a Rome/Moscow or Tel Aviv flight.
That is, if the ...Da... was not inserted precisely for such cases.
#5 From 390 thousand points for an intercontinental round-trip ticket
Using the same example for obtaining status, an executive user will have to spend 15 thousand on intercontinental business class tickets to accumulate enough points for an award ticket.
On the contrary, if we talk about a traveler who travels mainly in Italy and starts from the lowest level, he will have to spend almost 40 thousand euros on tickets to get the same points.
#6 An award ticket in business costs 5 times one in economy
Again, I think this is unique to ITA Airways. I can't think of any other airline that applies in a fixed table such a large difference between the two travel classes. In the old Alitalia it was double and it is double in almost every airline that uses a fixed table or fixed pricing.
#7 Are all airplane seats available?
This sentence leaves no room for interpretation, it would seem that ITA is making all available seats on all flights bookable with points. Of course, this would be a sensational thing since previously it was almost impossible to find more than two seats in business class and no airline goes that far. If that were the case, it would be really nice. Too bad, though, that everything else is incredibly bad.
