How does an airline make money?
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The Secret: What's one of the most valuable parts of a big US airline?
Its frequent-flyer program, selling miles to credit-card banks. Banks buy billions in miles to give out on co-branded cards. When United borrowed against MileagePlus in 2020, it valued the program at about $22 billion, more than the whole airline's stock-market value at the time. Source: Skift – How Is United Airlines' Loyalty Program Worth $22 Billion? (2020)
Why They Stay: Why do frequent flyers stick with one airline even when it costs more?
Elite status perks like upgrades and free bags. Status resets if you spread your flying around, so travelers concentrate on one carrier. That's lock-in the airline didn't have to pay for with lower fares. Source: Wikipedia – Frequent-flyer program
Why They Leave: When do loyal flyers defect?
When the airline devalues miles or status rules change. Loyalty is only as strong as the perceived value of points. When Delta tightened its status rules in 2023, frequent flyers revolted publicly and the airline scaled the changes back within weeks. Source: AP – Delta scales back loyalty-program changes after customer revolt (2023)