Hawaiian alters frequent flier plan
The changes increase flexibility and options for air travelers
IN WHAT ONE analyst called a milestone in the history of frequent-flier incentives, Hawaiian Airlines announced yesterday it has added features to its HawaiianMiles program that the airline says will give travelers more options for receiving discounts.
Aloha Airlines was less cheery about the announcement, saying its frequent-flier program is simpler and offers better value.
REDEEMING RULES
HawaiianMiles members can now redeem frequent flier miles according to a three-tier system. The program has no blackout dates, restrictions, penalties or round-trip booking requirements. The rates are:
TRANS-PACIFIC FLIGHTS
(One way)
SuperSaver: 17,500 miles
Saver: 25,000 miles
AnyTime: 35,000 miles
INTERISLAND FLIGHTS
(One way)
SuperSaver: 5,000 miles
Saver: 7,500 miles
AnyTime: 10,000 miles
On the 'Net: www.hawaiianair.com
Source: Hawaiian Airlines
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The new system allows passengers to fly anytime and anywhere in Hawaiian's route network using their frequent flier miles. The main restrictions lie in how many miles will be required to fly given routes at given times. Travelers whose accumulated miles fall short of earning a free flight can buy miles to meet the threshold. And there are no dates or routes for which the program can't be used.
"This change if you will ... this may be one of the top two or three memorable moments in reward redemption history over the last 25 years," said Randy Petersen, editor and publisher of Inside Flier magazine, which covers airline frequent flier programs.
In essence, Petersen said, Hawaiian has "removed the 'No'" from its program, allowing customers wide latitude on when and how they use their miles.
The carrier has made two changes to enhance the program's flexibility. One entails a new three-tier award structure, which replaces a two-tier structure that is commonplace among airlines. Petersen said Hawaiian's three-tier structure is unique in the industry.
Two-tier structures typically set redemption levels for certain distances of flights for coach and first-class, said Keoni Wagner, a Hawaiian spokesman. These usually are a regular rate for some flights and a rate that is double the regular level for flights that do not have many seats available. Hawaiian's new structure creates a middle tier, which is about one and one half times the basic rate.
A second change allows passengers to redeem miles for a one-way flight.
Combined, these two changes open several options for travelers.
"This structure just makes it far easier to book the dates you want without paying an arm and a leg in miles," Wagner said.
Aloha Airlines, dismissing its rival's innovation claims, said it has many of the features that Hawaiian is presenting as new.
"Aloha's AlohaPass frequent-flier program already offers one-way mileage awards in a more simplified structure," said Thom Nulty, Aloha's senior vice president of marketing and sales. "In addition, Aloha's Alii Loyalty program members already can redeem double miles for round-trip unrestricted travel, which is the equivalent of Hawaiian's Anytime redemption."
"We believe the AlohaPass program has greater value," Nulty said. "And Aloha's AirAwards' credit card is the only airline mileage card that earns 1.5 miles for every dollar spent -- that's 50 percent more than Hawaiian's card."
Hawaiian's move comes amid persistent consumer complaints that frequent-flier programs do not offer meaningful rewards. Petersen said these complaints often are based more on emotion than reality. Last year about 30 million passengers, or 7 percent of all air travelers in the United States, flew on free tickets, which was about the same percentage as other years, Petersen said.
The problem, he said, is that many people have had difficulty using their miles when they wanted to. The industry has exacerbated the problem by requiring customers to redeem miles online. In many cases, Petersen said, travelers walk away from attempts to book online, believing that they could not use their miles for the dates and routes they wanted, when they could have used the miles if they had better understood the system.
Petersen said customers were not likely to flock to any airline simply because of a frequent-flier program. However, Hawaiian is likely to achieve greater customer satisfaction, and the goodwill and loyalty that go with it, because of the program, he said.
The only question, Petersen said, involves the complexity of the program, which provides passengers up to 14 mileage award combinations. In the end, the same features that make the program unique and flexible also might make it baffling.
"While they've tried to simplify this," he said, "it may be more complicated."
But Wagner said the beauty of the system is that it will be easy to use.
"Anyone who goes online and tries it will find that it's actually made the process much easier," he said.