Flyer miles started as a marketing ploy but have become a global currency, writes Brian O'Connell
MORE THAN 130 million of us around the world are members of frequent- flyer programmes - and we hold close to four trillion unused flyer miles between us.
What started out as an ingenious airline marketing ploy has quickly turned into a serious financial asset, prompting some commentators to look on flyer miles as a global currency all on their own.
In the US, for instance, flyer miles have been haggled over in divorce proceedings, and there is speculation that they may be seen reclassified as taxable income.
The system is simple:
First register for a frequent-flyer scheme, such as Aer Lingus's Gold Circle Club.
You accumulate miles every time you take a flight.
Miles can then be exchanged for flights, upgrades or gifts and other offers.
A one-way trip from Ireland to the UK will earn you 100 points; to take a similar trip for free you will need to redeem 3,000 points. A trip to Europe costs about 4,500 points. An upgrade to business class on a flight to Los Angeles or New York will cost about 6,500 points one way.
Passengers also get points for travel on partner airlines, such as British Airways and Qantas. The longer the flight and higher the class you travel, the more points you accumulate.
Aer Lingus's Gold Circle programme, which began in the late 1980s, is the largest in Ireland. You can join by clicking a link on the company website, aerlingus.com.
Once you've built up a certain number of flying miles you can take up full membership, which includes use of Aer Lingus business lounges. Gold Circle members can also use points earned against flights and upgrades.
Not everyone is enamoured of flyer miles, though. Environmentalists have long argued that flyer programmes encourage unnecessary flights by passengers eager to build up their miles. The Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe is against flyer programmes and has called for alternative marketing incentives.
Despite the concerns, flyer miles show no signs of losing their value. Once the preserve of high-flying business travellers, they have become a common and much-prized currency among holidaymakers and long-distance commuters.
More than 130 airlines issue them, handing out more than 14 million free flights a year.
For some travellers, becoming a member of a flyer programme, and subsequently logging all their flight details, can be too burdensome to maintain. And airlines often restrict the type of flights you can redeem your points for, sometimes limiting customers to unpopular flights at inconvenient hours.
Michael Gannon, marketing manager for Aer Lingus, says airlines have already taken steps to alter the way flyer programmes operate. "What these programmes do is reward people who already do a lot of flying. Nowadays we have a lot of partner groups working with us, so the flyer miles can be redeemed for things such as spa breaks or other holidays.
"We are looking to build this side of the programme, as often the last thing someone who flies frequently for work wants is another flight."
Gannon says the schemes allow people to off set the costs of leisure travel against their regular business hours in the air, and often people will have other flights already booked but use their accumulated flyer miles to upgrade or to take their kids with them.
The men who flew too much
• Frequent-flyer schemes began in 1981, when American Airlines started a mileage- based loyalty scheme called AAdvantage.
• More than 130 million people belong to frequent-flyer schemes worldwide. The record for an individual account is just over 23 million miles.
• The first big legal battle about the schemes was back in 1986, when United Airlines tried to confiscate the Mileage Plus account of Howard Landau, who was dubbed "the man who flew too much". The case was settled out of court.
• British Airways, which has close to two million frequent flyers in its Executive Club, says "miles" are among the four biggest currencies used to purchase its flights.
• The Qantas frequent-flyer programme, with more than five million members, is the largest in the southern hemisphere.
• Last year nearly one in 10 passengers travelled using frequent-flyer miles, with an average of 9,500 award seats redeemed every day.