LOYALTY FLIES WITH CANADIAN
By Adnews Staff
Loyalty Management Canada has switched its Air Miles frequent-flier program from Air Canada to Canadian Airlines International. Loyalty made the switch because Canadian flies 400 more routes worldwide, Loyalty group manager Lisa McLachlan told Adnews last week. Air Canada disputes this claim and says it flies to more destinations. When you take into account the routes covered by its partner airlines, says Air Canada, it flies to 500 cities in 110 countries. Canadian won't give worldwide figures but says it flies to 118 cities in Canada, while Air Canada flies to 67. Air Canada says its own frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, has over 2.5 million members and grows at a rate of 30,000 to 35,000 members a month. Air Canada also announced this week that it has made a deal with Deutsche Lufthansa AG that will allow Aeroplan members to collect frequent flyer points on Lufthansa flights, starting June 15. Air Canada will reciprocate, allowing its passengers to collect points for Lufthansa's Miles & More frequent flyer plan. Lufthansa is cancelling a partnership with Canadian to join up with Air Canada.