Air Berlin wins top honours at Loyalty 2010

Air Berlin's 'My Route' programme feature, devised by global loyalty marketing agency ICLP, has today won the Loyalty Innovation 2010 award as voted for by a panel of loyalty professionals at the Loyalty 2010 conference in Kuala Lumpur.  The My Route initiative was also credited with the additional distinction of a "People's choice award", as voted by the conference delegates.

The judging panel praised My Route for the way in which it engaged customers and differentiated Air Berlin from other carriers. Air Berlin utilised ICLP to re-design their 'topbonus' Frequent Flyer Programme (FFP) for its relaunch last year. As part of this, a new product called 'My Route' was developed to engage business customers and differentiate Air Berlin from other carriers. With My Route, priority status members can select their favourite, or most frequently travelled route, within Europe and then collect double reward miles for this route. This approach captures valuable customer insight, which allows Air Berlin to thoroughly understand their customers' purchasing behaviour and tailor communications accordingly.

Alexander Meili, strategic director of ICLP, comments: "We wanted to create a truly innovative and interactive solution for Air Berlin which was part of a long-term customer focused strategy and creates true ROI. Based on our experience of the airline sector and our focus on customer insight, we came up with the My Route concept to engage customers directly and to differentiate the brand from its competitors. We're thrilled to have made a difference to Air Berlin's bottom line and continue to support its growth."

Since its launch in April 2009, a significant proportion of topbonus status members have selected their favourite route, and travel by members who have chosen My Route has risen. In addition, the return flight rate of members has increased.

Johannes Ganser, Head of Loyalty & Partnerships at Air Berlin comments: "We approached ICLP with a clear brief to help us understand our best customers more and ultimately increase their loyalty to Air Berlin. Through its creativity and experience in this sector, ICLP supported the relaunch of our programme which our members have become truly excited by. My Route increases customer satisfaction as well as loyalty."

Loyalty 2010 is the world's largest gathering of FFP experts and is on 23 and 24 February 2010 at the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.