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Skift spoke with IAG Loyalty CEO Adam Daniels about the program’s plans to partner with more airlines and other businesses in the loyalty space.
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IAG Loyalty, the company that owns and operates Avios, is probably one of the most overarching programs in the airline industry — and it wants to continue expanding.
While Avios houses IAG brands like British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, the frequent flyer currency is beginning to partner with other airlines outside of IAG. So far, Avios has signed on Qatar Airways and Finnair. The program is also in talks with other carriers, IAG Loyalty CEO Adam Daniels told Skift.
The loyalty program also reported a 17% increase in new members in 2023, translating roughly to 4.9 million customers.
Skift spoke with Daniels about his ambitions for Avios and trends in frequent flyer programs as part of our Leaders of Travel: Skift C-Suite Series.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
A Growing Number of PartnershipsSkift: How has Avios been expanding and adding more partners to its program?
Daniels: If you think about our partners and our partnerships, we've probably added more big partners in the last three years than we have in the previous 10. And the likes of Uber, who are now part of our ecosystem and are issuing Avios. You've got a number of other financial services partners we introduced. Barclays as a partner a few years back, Caixa in Spain. So a lot of partners have jo