The Loyalty Group’s contract with Canadian Airlines remains in place for the time being, despite that airline’s takeover by Air Canada back in December.
The takeover has had no impact on collectors’ Air Miles account balances or on consumers’ ability to collect and redeem their reward miles, says John Wright, senior vice-president for The Loyalty Group – the company that issues Air Miles.
"Negotiations are currently underway with airline representatives to continue the program now that it’s part of Air Canada, but they are at a very early stage," says Wright, adding that the exact nature of the negotiations will be kept confidential.
He adds, however, "I can say that we are confident that these discussions will result in a new partnership that will benefit consumers."
Air Miles buys unsold blocks of seats from Canadian to offer collectors who amass enough points to redeem for a flight.
"We’ve had a relationship with Air Miles for some time," adds Renée Smith-Valade, a spokesperson for Canadian in Calgary. "The contract is still in place and the ongoing nature of our relationship (with Air Miles) with respect to our integration with Air Canada is still under consideration."
Air Miles can also be redeemed nationally on charter airline Canada 3000, and regional carrier Air Montreal, as well as on international flights with American Airlines, KLM, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines. In addition to free flights, Air Miles also offers more than 100 non-flight rewards.
Laura Cook, a spokesperson for Air Canada in Toronto, says Canadian is in the process of reviewing all commercial agreements.
"But I’m not going to speculate on what may happen," she adds.
Meanwhile, the announcement last month that Canadian is dropping out of the Oneworld alliance has no impact on The Loyalty Group.
"We are not affiliated with any of the alliances," says Wright. "Canadian and American are part of the Oneworld alliance, for example, but we also buy seats on United, which is part of the Star Alliance."
Earlier this month, members of Air Canada’s Aeroplan program and Canadian Airlines’ Canadian Plus program were granted the reciprocal right to redeem points for travel on each other’s flights as well as those of their regional carriers.
"There has been a team of people from both carriers spending many, many hours over the past two months merging the two programs," said Smith-Valade. "It’s a big milestone for us."
She adds that members can expect to find out more through newsletters, while a general ad campaign will also be rolled out "very soon." DE
