Summary
- Aurigny’s FrequentFlyer program offers points-based rewards for flights, with redemption costs varying by distance. Flexi ticket holders earn double points.
- Blue Islands’ Blue Skies Club awards 250-500 points per flight, with 5,000 points plus £20 in taxes required for reward flights.
- Eastern Airways’ Route Pass offers discounted rates for frequent travelers on specific routes, while Loganair’s Clan Loganair rewards members with flat-rate points for different ticket types, with redemption costs varying by tier.
Readers familiar with the wonderfully diverse world of commercial aviation in the British Isles will likely be aware of some of the region’s leading frequent flyer programs. UK flag carrier British Airways’ Avios-based Executive Club is among the most notable of these loyalty schemes, with Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club also being a resourceful program for passengers who are partial to a bit of long-haul flying.
However important as these schemes are, frequent flyers are also a valuable asset to the British Isles’ regional carriers. If anything, given the more limited nature of the networks that these airlines serve on a daily basis, such operators are even more reliant on repeat traffic in order to retain a regular flow of passengers. With this in mind, let’s look at four such programs at the British Isles’ leading regional carriers.
Aurigny – FrequentFlyer
Starting alphabetically with Aurigny Air Services Limited, the Guernsey-headquartered regional airline’s loyalty program is known simply as FrequentFlyer. The scheme is free to join, and, according to the airline’s website, it has no minimum travel requirements. This means that while it is most useful for those flying with Aurigny on a regular basis, less frequent passengers can still join.
Photo: Benthemouse | Shutterstock
As is standard at frequent flyer programs around the world, members earn points based on the flights they take, and these can then be redeemed to pay for future journeys. At Aurigny, the amount earned roughly correlates to the distance of the flight taken, ranging from 150 points each way from Guernsey to neighboring Alderney, to 500 to international destinations such as Berlin and Barcelona.
While these amounts are earned when booking tickets using Aurigny’s Light and Smart tariffs, passengers splashing out on Flexi tickets earn points at a double rate. In terms of redeeming these points, the cost of a full redemption is typically around eight times what you earn on a single flight, with 1,200 required for a one-way trip to Alderney, and so on. Members can also pool points in a household account.
Blue Islands – Blue Skies Club
Over in neighboring Jersey, fellow Channel Islands-based carrier Blue Islands has a loyalty program known as the Blue Skies Club. According to the airline, it works on the basis of members earning 250 (Blue Fly tariff) or 500 (Blue Plus) tariff points per flight, regardless of the route flown. In terms of converting these into a reward flight, members have to shell out 5,000 points plus £20 in taxes and charges.
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The Blue Skies Club is open for anyone above the age of 12 years old to join. While the flat rate for earning and spending is convenient, it is notable that passengers have to travel 20 times at the lowest tariff to redeem a reward flight, compared to just eight for an equivalent redemption at Aurigny. However, the reward flights do give passengers access to tickets in the higher Blue Plus tariff, which includes:
- 2 x 23kg hold luggage.
- Seat selection.
- Flexibility as standard.
Eastern Airways – Route Pass
Over on the UK mainland, Humberside-based Eastern Airways has a somewhat different offering up its sleeve for its frequent flyers. Rather than allowing its most loyal customers to earn points based on the flights that they take, the airline has instead devised a product that it calls a Route Pass. This is aimed at passengers who fly multiple times a year on the same route, either for business or leisure.
Photo: Benthemouse | Shutterstock
In order to get a quote for the product, potential customers have to fill out an online form to be sent to Eastern Airways’ customer support team. However, Business Traveler reported in 2013 that passengers could use the Route Pass to effectively get four fully flexible return flights for the price of three, saving passengers £366 on the route between Aberdeen and East Midlands. Eastern lists its benefits as:
- Savings of up to 40% on five round trips a year per route.
- Unlimited pre-flight booking changes.
- 30 kg checked baggage allowance.
Loganair – Clan Loganair
Up in Scotland, regional giant Loganair’s loyalty program is known as Clan Lognair in a nod to the country’s history. Much like Blue Islands’ Blue Skies Club, members of this frequent flyer scheme earn a flat rate of points regardless of the route flown, with more expensive tariffs earning more points. These totals range from 250 Clan Points in Fly, 400 Clan Points in Fly Flex, and 800 Clan Points in Fly Flex+.
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These points, which expire after 36 months according to Loganair, can then be used to book a reward flight, which costs 4,000 points plus any related taxes. This means that, when buying tickets in the most expensive Fly Flex+ tariff, it only takes five flights in order to be able to redeem a free journey, compared to 10 in Fly Flex, and 16 in Fly. Interestingly, only 24,000 points can be redeemed a year per person.
Did you know that these regional carriers had loyalty and frequent flyer programs? How many are you signed up to? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!