Take a 14 hour flight to nowhere? That’s the genius of loyalty marketing
Dr Mumbo is a fan of the website Australian Business Traveller. He always takes its advice on which first class seat to select. (Tip: avoid 5F, go for 5A)
But the best insights into the consumer psychology of the air warrior come in the site’s community forums.
To understand the value of loyalty marketing, read this post:
Translated, what this customer is advocating is to hand Qantas roughly $2,000.
In exchange the passenger will get on the plane in Sydney, take the six hours and 40 minutes flight to Denpasar, walk through the terminal, get right back on the plane, fly through the night, and be back where they started, 14 hours later.
Tangibly, all they would get from the process is a couple of inflight meals, and an increased chance of deep vein thrombosis.
The motivation? To earn status points to get closer to the airline’s Platinum, or even the legendary PlatinumOne status which increases the chance of upgrades and offers access to Qantas lounges.
Who would fly 14 hours just to sit here? Source: Qantas
But think about the brand loyalty involved in a decision to subject oneself to a 14-hour flight to nowhere, just to boost status points.
To the gamification geniuses of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program: Dr Mumbo salutes you.
Yes, I’m a real person.
I took 12 flights in the last 14 days to “nowhere”. While still working full time in an office.
I chased, and got, top-tier status. I had some very nice lunches and dinners in incredible lounges, slept a lot, had way too much champagne, and now have miles and status for a 50,000km holiday going Business Class with my family.
Loyalty marketing quants are, as you say, geniuses.
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Thanks for the kind words on AusBT, Dr Mumbo! And yes, there are indeed some people who will do this – but mainly when there is a Double Status Credits offer running, which is the case right now. Personally I’d not do such a ‘turnaround trip’ like this… would rather make it into a weekend away! But there are also similar great fares and routing to, say, Auckland and Christchurch which can help a frequent flyer combine a weekend away with bridging the gap to prized Platinum or even Platinum One status… and as you rightly suggest, Qantas are indeed the game-masters of this!
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Actually this is not even a new, or novel, thing. Status runs are pretty much run-of-the-mill for points hackers or whatever you want to call them. There’s an entire subculture of people who would do this on forums such as Australian Frequent Flyers and Flyertalk.
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This isn’t anything new you clowns. People have been doing this with many airlies for decades.
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The obsession with “status” around flying is fascinating. I know of no other club or membership system that creates so much competitiveness and chest beating amongst its members. Does Qantas publish any numbers on how much it costs v how much they get in return from their members? I’d love to see some type of psych/social study on this obsession. Is it it anythiing to do with our supposed classless Australian society that creates so little opportunity for some individuals to be able asert their lofty position over others? Is Qantas membership status Australia’s equivalent to the British honours system?
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If you want a First Class seat, buy a First Class Ticket.
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These people are all insane surely? Like Anonymous said above, want a First Class seat just buy a First Class Ticket…….
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Not insane, just looking to get status with their airline or alliance for the best possible price in the least amount of time in order to maximise the time they have said status.
Also your comment makes no sense considering that many status run flyers are flying First or Business class on the status run as those fares provide higher status credits than Economy. They are also then obtaining higher numbers of frequent flyer points which they can use for more F or J flights.
During a double status credit offer there are some great deals to be had to get Gold or Platinum (or P1 if you’re already Plat).
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While certainly not for everyone, status runs can make sense in a variety of situations and hold value for some people. I recently completed one, which achieved me Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold in just one trip (710 status credits achieved for an outlay of $1,406). If you’d like to read my perspective about why I found it worthwhile, I’ve posted about it here: https://thechampagnemile.com.au/qantas-status-run/
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