Customer loyalty programs such as airline frequent-flyer miles are an attempt to

Table of Content

Index of Figures

1 Introduction
1.1 Research Question and Methodology
1.2 Definition of Customer Loyalty and Loyalty Card
1.3 Different Types of Loyalty Programs

2 Lufthansa's Miles & More Program
2.1 The History of Lufthansa's Miles & More Program
2.2 The Network of Star Alliance
2.3 Ways of Earning Miles in Lufthansa's Miles & More Program
2.4 Ways of Spending Miles in Lufthansa's Miles & More Program
2.5 Status Levels for Members of Miles & More
2.6 Customer Data Protection and Miles & More

3 Frequent Flyer Satisfaction Survey: Lufthansa's Loyalty Program
3.1 The Survey as a Method of Data Collection for Empirical Research
3.2 The Design of the Survey
3.3 Data Collection of the Survey
3.4 Discussion of the Collected Data

4 The Most Important Advantages for Frequent Flyers
4.1 Free Executive Lounge Access
4.2 Free Amenities Attract Frequent Flyers
4.3 The Feeling of Being a Special and Important Customer
4.4 The Priority Pass as an Alternative Lounge Access Program
4.5 The Importance of Collecting Miles is Decreasing

5 Suggestions for Improvements to Lufthansa's Miles & More Program
5.1 Change in the Earnings Ratio of Miles
5.2 Enhancement of Spending Miles and Reward Value
5.3 Introduction of New Benefits for Frequent Flyers of Miles & More
5.4 Improvement of Customer Satisfaction with Miles & More

6 Conclusion

Appendix

Reference list

Index of Figures

Figure 1: Booking classes Lufthansa flight 30.11.2018 Hannover to Warsaw page

Figure 2: Booking classes Lufthansa flight 02.12.2018 Warsaw to Hannover page

Figure 3: Price and connection selected for Hannover to Warsaw return page

Figure 4: Fare rules and conditions of the Hannover to Warsaw return ticket page

Figure 5: Miles earned and ticket price Hannover to Warsaw return page

Figure 6: Miles redemption for a Business class ticket on Lufthansa page

Figure 7: Price for a paid business class ticket to Singapore on Lufthansa page

Figure 8: Miles & More cards for different status levels page

Figure 9: Gender of the respondents to the survey page

Figure 10: Age groups of the respondents to the survey page

Figure 11: Frequent flyer status of the respondents to the survey page

Figure 12: Rating of Miles & More miles value by participants page

Figure 13: Use of miles within 12 months page

Figure 14: Value of benefits for frequent flyers with Miles & More page

Figure 15: Flights taken on Star Alliance carriers page

Figure 16: Survey card for visitors to Lufthansa lounge (front) page

Figure 17: Survey card for visitors to Lufthansa lounge (back) page

1 Introduction

1.1 Research Question and Methodology

Why should airlines invest in customer loyalty programs? Is a good loyalty program the key to success in the airline industry? The airline industry is affected by many factors, such as kerosene prices, government regulations regarding climate change and significant competition. Low-cost carriers offer their passengers tickets for a fraction of the price of premium full service carriers, such as Lufthansa. If a customer only wants to travel from destination A to B, the choice is often made by the price of the ticket. For the basic product (the flight from A to B), there is no longer any difference between low-cost airlines and premium carriers, and the percentage ofthe latter's loyal customers is decreasing1. There­fore, premium airlines must adjust their business plans to compete with low-cost airlines. Low-cost airlines offer a “no-frills” concept; the customer must pay for any extra services in addition tohis seat. If the customer wants to choose his seat in advance or have a snack on the flight, he must pay additional fees. Some full service airlines have now also adopted this concept. Therefore, premium airlines must find an effective way to make customers willing to pay more when the same route can be achieved more cheaply else­where, especially in a time of low-cost carriers.

Loyalty programs cost airlines a large amount of money, which is also the reason that these programs do not exist in the low-cost travel industry. To benefit from loyalty pro­grams, airlines need to understand why customers join these programs and what expecta­tions the customers have. If such understanding does not exist, or the program does not offer what the customer wants and expects, loyalty programs are a waste of money, espe­cially in the airline industry. To only have a loyalty program is insufficient; the customer must perceive in it the value for themselves. If a reward program offers highly prized rewards, but the customer cannot perceive and determine the value, the reward is sense­less, as it can only have the value that the customer perceives. The same is true of the reverse: a reward that can be granted cheaply by the issuing company can be very valuable tothe customer. In this case, a low-cost reward is attributed a high value bythe customer, which is the best outcome for a company's loyalty program.2 With frequent flyer loyalty programs, it must be possible for the customer to understand the requirements to gain rewards, the steps that are necessary to meet these requirements and additional costs that are involved in exchanging air milesfor rewards. Transparency is a key factor here.

Customer loyalty programs are currently prolific throughout all industries. Points, re­wards, savings and vouchers highlight possibilitiesfor customers to savemoney. Saving money and obtaining something for free at the same time attracts customers everywhere. Drugstores, grocers, luxury brands;almost every company offers a loyalty card. The fol­lowing bachelor thesis concentrates on the advantages of loyalty programs to customers by analyzing Lufthansa's loyalty program, “Miles & More”.

The following research questions are answered:

What is the most important benefit for customers who earn miles and remain loyal to Lufthansa's loyalty program, Miles & More? How do customers perceive and accept the benefits that are offered to them by the Miles & More program? Why should Lufthansa invest in its loyalty program, Miles & More? What can be easily done to make the Miles & More program more appealing to customers?

This thesis firstly covers definitions of customer loyalty, loyalty cards and the different types of loyalty programs. Section two deals with some important details of Lufthansa's Miles & More program, such as the background of Miles & More, important facts about Star Alliance, the possibilities that Lufthansa offers its frequent flyers to earn and spend reward miles, information about the different status levels of Miles & More, and basic knowledge about data protection with Miles & More.

In addition to the established research, an empirical study in the form of a 15-question survey was performed on several platforms to which frequent flyers have access. This survey is discussed in the third section of this thesis. To obtain information about how frequent flyers value the Miles & More program, this first-hand information was required and used to evaluate the Miles & More program. The performed survey can be found in Appendix 1, page 51 ff., and the results of the survey can be found in Appendix 2, page 58 ff.

The survey consisted of four parts: the first part contained information about the topic itself and data protection. The second part compromised four questions about the flying pattern of each participant, and the frequent flyer status that each participant had with Miles & More. The third and most extensive part of the survey dealt with the number of miles that each participant owned, the benefits for frequent flyers with Miles & More, and the satisfaction of the participants with the program. The last part contained questions for statistical reasons, such as the gender and age of the participants. The fourth section of this thesis further addresses the results of the survey and provides explanations for why the most important benefit of Lufthansa's Miles & More program is so significant for customers. The fifth section deals with improvements to make the Miles & More program much more appealing to customers, regarding frequent flyer satisfaction, the earning and spending of frequent flyer miles, and the addition to the program of new benefits for frequent flyers. This thesis concludes the topic in the sixth section.

1.2 Definition of Customer Loyalty and Loyalty Card

The concept of loyalty cards was brought over from the United States and the first loyalty card in Germany was established in 1959 by the Breuninger department store. Initially, the cards were made from paper, but these were later exchanged for stylish plastic cards; the same style that is in use today. This loyalty card created a connection between the department store and the customers and is still given to customers by the Breuninger store. Open to new inspiration, Mr. Breuninger wanted to bring an enjoyable shopping experi­ence to his home city of Stuttgart.3 As the demand for loyalty cards increased, so too did their numbers. At present, customers can use loyalty cards for nearly every shopping transaction to earn rewards. Free rewards and gifts strengthen the demand for more loy­alty programs and reward cards.4

But what exactly is customer loyalty? Customer loyalty is defined in three different ways, depending on the perception and focus of the customer, supplier and the business connec­tion between customer and supplier. Firstly, the supplier definition includes all actions taken by the company to bind customer and company together with the aim to gain cus­tomer loyalty. Customer loyalty is important for vendors, as a loyal customer buys more and returns to make repeat purchases. This customer rarely moves to competitors. Sec­ondly, the customer definition expresses the willingness of the customers to always buy at the same group of companies or at the same online store. Follow-up sales and customer loyalty are the results. Thirdly, there is the business connection between supplier and customer, which can be defined as a prearranged transaction with the hidden aim of build­ing a long-term connection. The exchange of merchandise, money or intangible goods is necessary to identify the business connection and the customer loyalty.5

Customer loyalty and loyalty cards are strongly connected. A loyalty card is a form of identity card, and can be made from plastic or paper, or be made available in digital form. This card gives the user a certain bonus or discount when the customer buys items in shops or online stores, which belong to the loyalty card brand.6 The way this discount is offered differs between companies, and can include discounts, rewards or vouchers. Com­panies such as Payback offer a certain amount of points for every euro spent, which can be transferred into rewards, vouchers or money. Lufthansa offers air miles with its Miles & More program, which can be used for different rewards. Loyalty cards form a bond between retail stores and customers with the aim to prevent the customers from buying from competitors. The customer wants to save money and/or receive something for free for shopping at a specific brand or airline.7 A loyalty card should enrich the shopping experience of the customer.

Is this truly the case for the Lufthansa Miles & More program and its customers? This question is answered in a later section of this thesis.

The problem, especially in the airline industry, is that the emotional aspect during pur­chasing decisions is decreasing (this aspect can also be observed in other industries).8 Airlines attempt to attract more customers by using loyalty programs to foster a positive attitude in the customer toward the airline. In combination with improved service and safety and the offer of additional service benefits like the loyalty program itself, airlines attempt to increase their bond to the customer.9 To create loyalty between the customer and the company, the airline must first invest a significant amount of money. These costs can be recovered, as marketing costs are subsequently lower for attracting new customers. The aim is to reach customers who are willing to spend a lot of money with the airline, as thisraises the individual value of the customer for the airline. Every customer is assigned an individual value by the airline, which rewards each customer with a different loyalty status.10

1.3 Different Types of Loyalty Programs

Loyalty card programs are divided into single partner programs and multi partner pro- grams.The earning and redemption process depends on the kind of loyalty program. Loy­alty cards that belong to a single partner program are only distributed by one company. Single partner programs cooperate with other companies for a better redemption process with wider options.11 Lufthansa's Miles & More belongstoasingle partner program. Due to cooperation with several partner companies, members can enjoy a wider choice of re­wards for their miles. Conversely, multi partner cards can be used for earning and spend­ing rewards at many different companies and points are collected in a single account. The choices for earning and gaining rewards are usually higher. Payback is a good example ofa multi partner loyalty program in Germany.12

As explained above, Lufthansa's loyalty program, Miles & More, is a single partner pro­gram. Due to Lufthansa's cooperation with other companies, Miles & More members enjoy a wide range of possibilities to spend miles and are not at a disadvantage in com­parison to multi partner programs; in fact, they have a significant advantage over custom­ers of other airline loyalty programs, which do not have such a wide ranch of program partners.

2 Lufthansa's Miles &More Program

2.1 The History of Lufthansa's Miles & More Program

In 2018, Lufthansa celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Miles & More program. The program was established on 1st January 1993, and members have since earned 1.6 trillion miles.13 With over 30 million members (10 million active members), Lufthansa's Miles & More program is one of the oldest and biggest loyalty programs in Europe, with over 50,000 new sign ups each month. Miles & More has around 300 partners for earning and gaining rewards.14 The Miles & More program is managed by 300 employees and became an independent company in 2014 to increase its potential for growth. This has resulted in a turnover rate of more than 10%, and the company is performing well.15 At first, these numbers appear to be highly impressive, but these statistics also demonstrate that over 60% of all members do not use their Miles & More cards actively. Why is this the case? Are these inactive members of Miles & More unsatisfied with the benefits and free amen­ities offered to them by the program? Do competitors of Miles & More offer better amen­ities and benefits? Is the Miles & More program attractive enough to customers to remain the biggest loyalty program in Europe?

Customers have different options to credit their miles inside the Star Alliance group, even when they fly with Lufthansa. There is significant competition in the market, with differ­ent loyalty programs and benefits. Therefore, a brief introduction to the Star Alliance group is provided in the next chapter. Due to the ease with which customers can change their loyalty program of choice within Star Alliance, Miles & More should maintain focus on its customers and try to prevent them from moving to competitors.

2.2 The Network of Star Alliance

The aviation industry consists of three different alliances: Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld. Lufthansa belongs to the Star Alliance network, which was created 1997 as the first global alliance in aviation.16 Star Alliance, a network of 28 airlines, includes the following airlines: Adria, Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Cro­atia Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, Eva Air, Lot Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Shen­zhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, Tap Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines and United.17 These alliances were formed for strategic reasons, such asthe use of codeshare agreements, the possibility for all partners to share a network of lounges, and to offer customers the possibility to earn and spend reward miles on part­ner airline flights.18 Airlines within these alliances can offer flight destinations via codeshare agreements to their customers that they do not themselves serve, but a partner airline does. This widens the flight network of every airline inside one of the three alli­ances and attracts more passengers.

Frequent flyers who fly often enough to receive special status with one of the airlines of the Star Alliance group, are awarded with Star Alliance silver status or Star Alliance gold status, which guarantees benefits before, during and after the flight, regardless of which Star Alliance airline the customer has taken. The assignment of either Star Alliance silver status or Star Alliance gold status depends on the miles flown by the customer. Every program has its own rules for how many flights or miles are required. The expiry of the status also depends on the airline, and on the mileage program in which the status was achieved.19

Star Alliance gold status comes with many free benefits, such as lounge access world­wide, priority check-in, priority luggage handling service, a larger amount of free lug­gage, and priority boarding, but it is more difficult to achieve than Star Alliance silver status.20 The customer must fly more frequently and therefore needs to spend more to reach a higher Star Alliance status, as the status can only be achieved when flying. Star Alliance silver status is easier to reach but comes with fewer benefits, such as priority wait-list and stand-by. The benefits of Star Alliance gold or silver status are guaranteed onall airlines within theStar Alliance group.21 The benefits attached totheStar Alliance status present a desirable reward to customers and can have a significant effect on their flight experience. Even when a loyal customer who holds, for example, Senator status with Lufthansa and Star Alliance gold status at the same time, and takes a flight with Turkish Airlines, the customer enjoys many free benefits, despite not flying with the air­line to which he is usually loyal. The customer's choice of airline is much greater when the preferred airline is a member of one of the three alliances. The free benefits attached to Star Alliance status are equal on every airline within the Alliance. However, the bene­fits of each loyalty program differ, which is explained in the next section of this thesis.

2.3 Ways of Earning Miles in Lufthansa's Miles & More Program

Lufthansa awards a passenger with reward miles in its frequent flyer program, Miles & More, when that passenger buys a ticket and flies on Lufthansa or on one of the Star Alliance airlines (tickets that were purchasedusingmiles donot earn any additional Miles & More miles).Passengers earn two types of miles: award miles and status miles. Status miles symbolize the number of miles flown and cannot be used for awards. These miles are used solely to reach a higher frequent flyer status. Award miles, on the contrary, can be used for reward flights, upgrades, gift cards, car rentals, free nights in hotels or shop­ping in Lufthansa's WorldShop.

But how exactly are the earnings ratios of award and status miles calculated with Miles & More? Every ticket booked on a Star Alliance carrier receives an assigned booking class. These booking classes differ depending on the class flown (economy, premium economy, business class and first class), the restriction attached to the ticket for rebook­ing, refund or cancellation, and the price paid. For example, a cheap flight in economy class on Lufthansa within Europe receives the lowest booking classes: E, K, L or T. The same flight in business class receives booking class P (the lowest booking class for busi­ness class). The business class ticket earns more miles than the economy ticket, as book­ing class P is in a higher fare bucket. However, the business class ticket is also more expensive than the economy ticket, which means that the number of award miles that a customer receives for a flight depends on the booking class of the airfare. The difficulty is that there are more than 20 different booking classes, which also differ depending on the operating carrier and the loyalty program to which the customer would like to credit the flight. Nearly all carriers within Star Alliance use the same system, by which a fixed number of miles for every booking class or a multiplicator for the distance flown in air­miles is rewarded (mileage-based frequent flyer program).22

The above details demonstrate the complexity of the system of earning miles, and how difficult it must be for new customers to fully understand Lufthansa's Miles & More pro­gram. The following example explains how most of the mileage programs of Star Alliance function and how the amount of earned miles can be calculated in a mileage-based pro­gram:

The assumption is that passenger P books a ticket from Hannover to Warsaw on Lufthansa in economy class, departing on 30.11.2018 and returning on 2.12.2018. A direct route is not available, so passenger P must take a connecting flight from Munich. The price pas­senger P must pay for this connection is €168.77. This ticket is the cheapest option to fly on a Lufthansa flight from Hannover to Warsaw with a connection in Munich, and the booking cannot be changed or cancelled. The ticket of passenger Pis in booking class K, the cheapest booking class for an economy ticket within Europe on Lufthansa with two connecting flights.23 Until March 2018, passenger P would have earned 500 Miles & More miles for this journey (125 miles for every segment flown in booking class K,and four segments flown for this itinerary).24

Figure 1: Booking classes, Lufthansa flight, 30.11.2018, Hannover to Warsaw

Source:https://book.lufthansa.com/lh/dyn/air-lh/revenue/viewFlights, (accessed 15.11.2018)

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Figure 2: Booking classes, Lufthansa flight, 02.12.2018, Warsaw to Hannover

Source:https://book.lufthansa.com/lh/dyn/air-lh/revenue/viewFlights, (accessed on 15.11.2018)

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Figure 3: Price and connection selected for Hannover to Warsaw return

Source:https://book.lufthansa.com/lh/dyn/air-lh/revenue/viewFlights, (accessed on 15.11.2018)

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Figure 4: Fare rules and conditions of the Hannover to Warsaw return ticket

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source:https://book.lufthansa.com/lh/dyn/air-lh/revenue/viewFlights, (accessed on 15.11.2018)

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

This situation is further complicated because Lufthansa changed the Miles & More pro­gram for reward miles in March 2018, and now rewards the price paid for the ticket re­gardless of the booking class for all airlines that belong to the Lufthansa group (Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, SWISS, Eurowings and Austrian Airlines).25

This means that the Miles & More program was changed from a mileage-based frequent flyer program to a revenue-based program for all airlines that belong to the Lufthansa group. Mileage-based frequent flyer programs have the significant benefit that more miles can be earned on cheaper and longer flights, which can be used for expensive tickets in premium classes. However, in mileage-based programs, the award space into which re­demption flights are booked, is often extremely limited. Revenue-based models of fre­quent flyer programs favor frequent flyers who fly in higher fare classes and pay more for their tickets. In this case, award space is not limited, and the customer can book every seat on a flight if there is space available.26

Miles & More now combines the two models of mileage-based and revenue-based fre­quent flyer programs. Miles for flights taken on airlines that belong to the Lufthansa group are calculated with the revenue-based model. All other flights taken on Star Alliance car­riers are calculated with the mileage-based model. However, awards are still handled as before: every award is booked into a defined booking class, which means that awards are sometimes not available, or the availability is extremely limited. For flights that belong to the Lufthansa group, this means that miles are only awarded for the price of the flight; any taxes and surcharges will not gain miles. Status miles are still calculated based on mileage (different booking classes earn different numbers of miles, regardless of the price paid for the ticket) on all Star Alliance carriers, as explained above. This means that for all airlines ofthe Lufthansa group, status miles and reward miles are no longer calculated in the same way. After March 2018, every euro spent on flights within the Lufthansa group is rewarded by a factor of four in miles (a factor of five or six for members who hold frequent flyer status with Miles & More), when the flight is credited to Miles & More. All other Star Alliance airlines, which do not belong to the Lufthansa group, still used to the old system, by which the miles are calculated for different booking classes (as explained above).27

Under the new regulations for Lufthansa's Miles & More program, passenger P (the as­sumption is that passenger P does not have any frequent flyer status with the Lufthansa Miles & More program) would now earn only 352 miles for the four segments of the Hannover-Munich-Warsaw-Munich-Hannover flight, instead of the 500 miles that he would have earned before the changes to the program. With this journey, the passenger would earn around two miles for every euro spent, when the amount of 352 earned miles is divided by the ticket price of €168.77 including all taxes. The advantage of these changes is that the customer can see, immediately before paying for the ticket, how many miles he will earn when crediting the miles to Miles & More. The disadvantage is that cheap tickets will earn fewer miles after March 2018, which will make rewards much more expensive for the average customer who compares prices and is looking for a deal. However, customers who pay full fare ticket prices or frequently fly in business class and first class will benefit from these changes and earn more miles, especially when they have a frequent flyer status with Miles & More.

Figure 5: Miles earned and ticket price, Hannover to Warsaw return

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source:https://book.lufthansa.com/lh/dyn/air-lh/revenue/viewFlights, (accessed on 15.11.2018)

There is also the possibility to earn miles with the Lufthansa Miles & More credit card or with hotel stays, car rentals, and several promotions described on the Miles & More web­site. However, these possibilities are often restricted to several countries (credit cards, promotions) and require significant explanation. Therefore, these methods of gaining Miles & More miles are not further described.28 As all the relevant information about earning miles has been provided, the thesis explains in the next chapter how these earned miles can be used.

2.4 Ways of Spending Miles in Lufthansa's Miles &More Program

There are several ways that Miles & More reward miles can be used: reward flights, free hotel accommodation, upgrades on existing airline tickets to a higher service class, rental cars and vouchers, to name a few examples. Miles can be used for award flights on all Star Alliance airlines and on partner airlines. A wide selection of ways in which members can use their miles is presented on the Miles & More website. The donation of miles is also one of the possible options.29 Not all these rewards are an effective way of spending Miles & More miles.

For example, a round trip ticket for one passenger in business class between Germany and Singapore requires 134,000 Miles & More miles and €660.70 in taxes and fees (the graphic below only depicts the one-way flight from Hannover to Singapore; for a round­trip ticket, the number of miles must be doubled). The award space that these tickets book into is different to the normal booking engine process and the normal booking classes. Often, only one or two seats are released for a specific flight, depending on the booking situation. Therefore, awards for non-popular destinations are easier to book than for pop­ular destinations during holidays. For example, finding award space with Lufthansa for connecting flights from Hannover to Bangkok was impossible during research for this thesis. Not even one seat became available in a research window of four weeks. Custom­ers must be aware of this.30 Using miles for flights does not mean that these seats are available on every flight, especially as certain booking classes need to be available for awards, as explained in section 2.3.

Figure 6: Miles redemption for a business class ticket on Lufthansa

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: https://book.miles-and-more.com/mam/dyn/ui/booking/FlightAvailability;jses- sionid=owxWQ6fCNXYHMIqoux8iqGD_6AQFlxqUJ8S0IsL7iwmMbefFo9sW!- 1098483976!682530002!1543340533698, (accessed on 27.11.2018)

The same route ontheLufthansawebsitecosts approximately €2,226.66when using cash, which the next figure demonstrates. When the cash amount for taxes and fuel (€660.70) is deducted from that amount, which the customer also mustpay when miles are used, the cash amount of €1,565.96 can be used as equal to 134,000 Miles & More miles. This means that in this case, 134,000 Miles & More miles have a value of€1,565.96. The value for each Miles & More mile is in this case approximately 1.16 cents. With the example in chapter 2.3 (sample flight to Warsaw), the customer would have earned two miles per euro spent. This means that the customer must spend €67,500 on tickets with Lufthansa in order to earn enough miles for one free flight to Singapore. Using miles for flights does not mean that the flight is entirely free, as taxes and fees must always be paid for award flights, as mentioned above.

In the two cases presented, earning and spending miles makes little logical sense. Under the new regulationsof Lufthansa's Miles & More program, in which the number of miles awarded is based on the price of the ticket, it would be nearly impossible for the average

traveler who collects miles only by flying to accumulate 134,000 Miles & More miles. However, there are many more routes and possibilities in which the usage of miles can save the customer a significant amount of money. The customer must always compare whether the use of miles makes sense for him orifit is wiser topay for the entire trip with cash. In either case, these miles are difficult to earn in the first place.

Figure 7: Price for a paid business class ticket to Singapore on Lufthansa

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: https://book.lufthansa.com/lh/dyn/air-lh/revenue/viewFlights, (accessed on 27.11.2018)

The thesis now continues to describe the different status levels with which Lufthansa awards its frequent flyers, and the benefits that each status guarantees its members after achieving the necessary number of miles or flights.

2.5 Status Levels for Members of Miles & More

The Miles & More program has three status levels for frequent flyers: Frequent Traveler, Senator and HON Circle.31 Depending on the number of miles flown on Star Alliance

[...]

1 See Holz, S., Kundenclubs: Gestaltungsempfehlungen für Kundenclub-Marketing, 1997, S.73.

2 See Musiol, G., Kühling, C., Kundenbindung durch Bonusprogramme, 2009, S.3.

3 See http://etailment.de/news/stories/Die-Kundenkarte-wird-50-Jahre-alt-6682, accessed on 30.10.2018.

4 See Blacha, K., Frustration in hierarchischen Kundenbindungsprogrammen, 2014, p.1.

5 See Bagusat, A., Kundenbindungsstrategien für Business-to-Consumer-Märkte, 2006, S.11-17.

6 See https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Kundenkarte, accessed on 31.10.2018.

7 See http://etailment.de/news/stories/Die-Kundenkarte-wird-50-Jahre-alt-6682, accessed on 31.10.2018.

8 See Holz, S., Kundenclubs: Gestaltungsempfehlungen für Kundenclub-Marketing, 1997, S.39.

9 See Holz, S., Kundenclubs: Gestaltungsempfehlungen für Kundenclub-Marketing, 1997, S.73.

10 See Kotler P et al., Grundlagen Marketing, 2004, p.534.

11 See Ranzinger, A., Grundlagen: Kundenbindungsprogramme kennen und auswählen, 2017, S. 2-3.

12 See Ranzinger, A., Grundlagen: Kundenbindungsprogramme kennen und auswählen, 2017, S.3.

13 See Worldshop magazin by Lufthansa 2018, p.2.

14 See Worldshop magazine by Lufthansa 2018, p.194.

15 See https://www.capital.de/wirtschaft-politik/miles-more-baut-neugeschaeft-aus, accessed on 02.11.2018.

16 See https://www.staralliance.com/en/about-star-alliance-hq, accessed on 02.11.2018.

17 See https://www.staralliance.com/en/member-airlines, accessed on 02.11.2018

18 See Lo Coco, T., Bonusprogramme der Aviation -Branche, 2009, p.18.

19 See https://www.staralliance.com/en/recognition, accessed on 03.11.2018

20 See https://www.staralliance.com/en/gold-status, accessed on 03.11.2018

21 See https://www.staralliance.com/en/silver-status, accessed on 03.11.2018

22 See König, A., Luxreisen zu Insiderpreisen,2015, p. 133 -147.

23 https://book.lufthansa.com/lh/dyn/air-lh/revenue/viewFlights, access on 16.11.2018.

24 See König, A., Luxreisen zu Insiderpreisen,2015, p. 140.

25 See https://www miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/program/information?no- deid=728429825&l=de&cid=18002&mamid=web_mam_1217_earnkvfl__mmp, accessed on 03.11.2018

26 See Jha, J., K., Loyalty programs in airlines, 2013, p.3.

27 See https://www miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/program/information?no-

deid=728429825&l=de&cid=18002&mamid=web_mam_1217_earnkvfl__mmp, accessed on 03.11.2018

28 See https://www miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/homepage?l=de&cid=18002, accessed on 04.11.2018

29 See König, A., Luxreisen zu Insiderpreisen,2015, p. 153-165.

30 https://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/homepage?l=de&cid=18002, accessed on 04.11.2018

31 See König, A., Luxreisen zu Insiderpreisen,2015, p. 44.