Kingfisher King Club is a relatively new program but has a strong following of 1.5 million members. We recently spoke with Anshu Sarin, Vice President — Guest Loyalty and Kingfisher Holidays at Kingfisher Airlines.
InsideFlyer
How is the membership in oneworld coming along? When do you think Kingfisher will be a member of the global alliance? And what does this membership mean to King Club members?
Anshu Sarin
We are extremely excited to join the oneworld alliance as it is a big strategic step for us and our guests. Currently we have presence in eight international destinations and are working towards significantly increasing our international footprint. This strategic alliance will allow our frequent flyer members to fly across the world seamlessly–earning and redeeming King Miles across partner airlines whilst enjoying a host of elite tier privileges. Integration into the oneworld alliance is a 15- to 18-month process. We started the integration process in the latter part of 2010 and aim to integrate completely with all partners, as per schedule.
IF
Are there any new partnerships where members can earn and redeem miles?
Sarin
Some of the significant partners that we recently added to our portfolio are Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards, VOILA Hotel Rewards, British Airways, FINNAIR, AVIS Global, and Conde Nast Travelers magazine. In addition, we also offer exclusive co-branded credit cards in partnership with American Express and ICICI Bank, along with point conversion partnerships with almost all leading banks of India.
IF
Tell us a little about your children’s program, Little Wings and Family Club program. Why offer this program?
Sarin
The Kingfisher experience is not just about flying from point A to point B and our relationship with members is not just restricted to flying benefits for the individuals. Family Club and Little Wings programs are great platforms that enable us to bond with not just the frequent flyer of the family but the family as a whole. Via the Family Club every member of a family can not only earn King Miles, but also pool them in one single account. Every mile earned is valuable and never goes unused. It’s a great way to thank family members who may not be flying frequently, however every King Mile they collect contributes to earning rewards faster. Little Wings offers our young flyers (between the ages of two to 12 years) a fun-filled unique experience along with the ability to earn precious King Miles. Upon enrollment, Little Wings members get their personalized passports. Every time they fly with us, our pilot personally autographs their passports. They also get exclusive reward options along with fabulous rewards.
IF
Other than free flights, what can your members spend their miles on and what are some of the most popular awards with your members?
Sarin
I am delighted to say that we offer a wide range of reward options–ranging from free flights, upgrades to Kingfisher First, lounge vouchers to non-air rewards on our Air Boutique ONLINE. Air Boutique ONLINE offers King miles redemption across a portfolio of products including accessories, merchandise, books, electronics and other reward items of which using miles for electronics is most popular among our members.
IF
What are some of the benefits that King Club offers frequent business travelers?
Sarin
In addition to our award-winning experience on Kingfisher First, we also award business travelers 200 percent of miles on all flights and up to five times the Sector Points, which can help them get their tier upgrades faster. The King Platinum tier provides truly unique and unmatched benefits–Global Concierge Service for any kind of assistance in hotel reservations, renting a car, gifting flowers or medical emergencies, complimentary Gold card for a companion, lifetime non-expiry of King Miles, along with at-par flying benefits like upgrade vouchers, airport lounge access and priority check-in.
IF
What does King Club do in the social media arena?
Sarin
Social media is an interesting channel and with the growing popularity of Facebook and Twitter, this platform becomes an inevitable medium of communication for us. We have a dedicated Kingfisher Airlines fan page on Facebook and a Twitter account, which we monitor regularly to engage with our fans, endorse key offers and product launches. It’s a great medium to directly interact with our loyal guests.
IF
Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about King Club?
Sarin
We are a young program and are constantly striving to offer superlative value and world-class service to our members. We would like to not just thank our members via this interview for their continued patronage but would also like to mention that if there is anything we can do to make their experience with us better, we would be happy to.
