Virgin Atlantic Extends Flying Club Members’ Validity
Virgin Atlantic Airways said it is extending loyalty status for its Flying Club members for another six months, including its Nigerian passengers.
The airline in a statement by Promise Ukandu, Manager, Marketing and Communications – Nigeria, Virgin Atlantic said that the extension was one of its ways of protecting Flying Club members who had been impacted by the global travel restrictions caused by COVID-19. It said it is also introducing improvements to make Flying Club even more rewarding.
The airline explained that any member with a new or existing booking that departs from September 1, 2020, purchased using miles, would receive the same tier points as if they were booking with money. The statement explained that this would offer more opportunities to air travellers to reach the 400 tier points required to progress from Red to Silver status, or the 1,000 tier points needed to become a Gold member and unlock a host of incredible benefits.
The statement hinted further that the airline, having become the first United Kingdom airline to automatically extend loyalty status in March 2020, with all Flying Club Gold and Silver members given an extra six months’ tier status and all voucher validity extended, the airline was now further extending validity by an additional six months.
With this, the airline said all members would have an extra year in total to maintain tier status and redeem a host of benefits. The automatic extension, it emphasised gave members more time to use their valuable miles, achieve tier points or use rewards such as Companion, Upgrade or Clubhouse vouchers. Furthermore, in a first for any UK airline loyalty programme, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members will now also be able to earn tier points on Virgin Atlantic redemption flights using miles – providing greater opportunities for customers to progress or maintain their tier status, every time they fly with Virgin Atlantic.
Oli Byers, Senior Vice President, Data and Customer Loyalty at Virgin Atlantic, said the airline recognised its loyalty programme was extremely important to the Flying Club members and wanted to ensure most loyal customers didn’t lose out on their benefits while they’ve had less opportunity to fly with the carrier because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
