easyJet, a UK-based low-fares airline, has said that it has increased the rate of bookings made by existing customers to 57 percent, up from 50 percent in 2010.
Accordingly, over 37million passengers are rebooking each year – a 50 percent increase compared to 25 million four years ago. Meantime the return and retention of business customers is even higher, at 62 percent.
Considering the cost effectiveness of retaining existing customers over acquiring new ones, the airline has recently launched a trial of a frequent flyer loyalty scheme to reward its most regular passengers. The trial involves more than 15,000 passengers in the UK, France and Switzerland. The benefits to participants include increased flexibility on bookings, a price guarantee and a dedicated phone number, easyJet said.
Carolyn McCall, chief executive officer of easyJet, commented: ‘More customers are trying us, liking us and coming back to us.
‘This is testament to our winning formula of low prices and warm, friendly service, as well as our unrivalled network. Popular new initiatives like allocated seating meant many people tried us for the first time and we are absolutely focused on driving loyalty so they choose us flight after flight.
‘In setting up our trial we listened to our passengers to understand what they most value and tailored the scheme to reflect this. Unlike traditional airlines difficult to use mileage schemes our loyalty scheme gives passengers benefits they really value and is simpler to run.’
The airline added that the rise in customer loyality in the recent years was further driven by a range of initiatives. easyJet’s popular features, such as the easyJet Plus scheme, which offers customers unlimited allocated seat choice, dedicated bag drop and speedy boarding, and the upcoming addition of Fast Track security at major airports in early 2015, are all designed to enable passengers to travel stress-free and return to easyJet for their future travels, the company said.
easyJet, which flies more than 65 million passengers annually, also participates in three leading loyalty schemes – Nectar, RBS Your Points and Emirates Skywards – that enable members to acquire easyJet flights when they redeem the points.
