Tapping the frequent flyers

While Air India jumped on the FFP bandwagon in 1994, it was Jet Airways that set the standard

- AMBI PARAMESWARAN

With Indians constantly on the move, hotel chains are deploying a common strategy: tap into the growing number of frequent air travellers," said a story in this newspaper (Business Standard, July 28, 2025).

The concept of frequent-flyer programme (FFP) was pioneered by American Airlines with its AAdvantage Frequent Flyer programme, launched in May 1981. In India, we had Air India jumping on the bandwagon in 1994. As far as I am concerned, it was Jet Airways that set the standard. While most FFPs focused on providing free miles to be redeemed for future travel, Jet Airways did a lot more. It offered, in addition to mileage points, generous upgrade vouchers to its FFP programme members (Platinum tier); the airline also allowed flight changes without any extra fees—a feature I think about whenever I am made to pay an extra ₹1,700 to get on to an Indigo flight that departs 90 minutes earlier.