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Article: Fly me to the moon; Frequent-flyer miles.(A boom in frequent-flyer miles)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 4, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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30m miles well spent
The earning and spending of frequent-flyer miles has become a big business--perhaps too big
FREQUENT-FLYER miles have come of age. Twenty-one years ago this week, American Airlines launched AAdvantage, the world's first mileage-based frequent-flyer programme. Today, some 100m people around the world belong to at least one such scheme. One in three American adults collects frequent-flyer miles. But how safe are they?
Airlines first introduced mileage schemes to build up customer loyalty. They also provided a vast marketing database, allowing airlines to track a passenger's travel history and to focus advertising. Today, ...