Lord knows I'm no fan of Elal, I'm definitely not one to defend them, but Matmid is one of the few things in Elal I actually think makes sense (
). Not perfect, but not something in need of a major overhaul.
Most airlines, particularly US based airlines, have a wide demographic and can afford lucrative opportunities in their frequent flyer programs that a small percentage of their base will exploit. Elal on the other hand, and I say this with all due respect and as both a Jew and a DDF member, has a demographic that is shall we say, "always looking for a deal". This makes a lucrative frequent flyer program much less profitable than a legacy US carrier that relies on high levels of spoilage and poor redemption values.
Additionally, pre-Covid, Elal had a very low number of seats go empty, which is pretty unique for an airline. When you're likely to sell the seat as a revenue ticket, "giving away" inventory for awards is more expensive than other airlines that can safely assume that seat will be empty regardless.
We have to understand that Elal is a business like any other, and expecting them to offer with nothing in return is preposterous. So when you think of how Elal can make their program better, what you have to think is how Elal can make more money off Matmid not less.
Traditionally frequent flyer programs generate revenue for an airline in one of two ways. 1. Printing miles to sell to partners (such as banks), 2. Gaining/retaining loyal customers. So off the bat, yes, Elal needs a lot of help in 1. And saying a better Matmid program will attract more people towards earning Matmid points and therefore allow Elal to sell more points, while true is a simple math equation. Per point they need to be profiting. If the program is overly lucrative to the point that they can be making more money on the seats being redeemed than they are selling the points, it's a loss for them. So putting 1. aside for now, I'd like to focus on 2.
Whose loyalty is Elal looking for?
Well you have the budget/infrequent traveler. While they may collect and utilize every point they can, ultimately what attracts them is the 3 Ps (not provided by the SBA), price price price. So no Matmid incentive for Elal there
Then there are the frequent/corporate travelers, the golden goose of the airline industry. Well those customers care about route networks and comfort/care. Yes, all things equal they may take the frequent flyer program into account, but at the end of the day it's about the service.
You see Elal doesn't have a direct competitor. They are either convenient or not. Yes, someone sticking to the flagship NYC route will have competition to choose from, but for the vast majority of those customers it will come down to soft and hard product, and timetables, which are not comparable.
In summary, I don't see how Matmid will help them compete.
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify
Interesting. I would say Matmid has one of the simpler programs out there. Comparing them to the dynamic, multiple level pricings of most programs these days, Elal seems to be of the simplest. Unless you are referring to the technology, yes. Elal is sorely lacking in the technology department, but hey, that's most companies in The Startup Nation.
1) Multiply earning rates and redemption rates by 50 to be in line with other mileage currencies.
2) Add the ability to change and cancel bookings online.
1) Semantics. It's the same value, just looks different. I'm not saying they shouldn't make their program look more like other programs, but at the end of the day What's the difference if you earn 1 point per flight and require 50 for a free flight, or if you earn 500 per flight and require 2500 for a redemption. It may look shinier, but it's still the same program. Al Zeh Nemar putting lipstick on a pig.
2) Absolutely. But they should have that ability for rev flights first. The goes back to technology, see above
1) Get rid of points' expiration
2) Align elite benefits with other airlines, including systemwide upgrades, and dedicated fares to book award space
Has LY reached out to you?
1) This targets the budget flier that cares about price above all else. What does Elal gain by catering their program to that demographic? They will just book with the lowest carrier the next time. In fact points from credit cards used to not expire. Because that was a demographic worth catering to.
2) Elal's Elite benefits are quite competitive. They are one of the most generous airlines for upgrades on the NYC-TLV route. Their award availability on that route is hands down the best of the 3 carriers that fly it. Awards are costly, and that is what keeps them open. In fact, their frequent fliers find that to be a major advantage of Elal, they are able to exercise their awards, as opposed to UA/DL which pre-Covid you could count the award space to TLV on a single hand.
The one tweak I can see beneficial to Elal here is to give elites greater award availability. It would obviously have to be restricted so that people couldn't just take advantage of that availability and use an elite account to do whatever they wanted to do.
And yes as @El Capitan rightfully flags, taxes and fees on award tickets are outrageous
$125 per way is far from outrageous. I will submit it is more than UA/DL, but outrageous?
This again comes down to for it to be a loyalty program, Elal has to keep availability open to their loyalists. If they're just gonna give seats away for pennies, it does them a disservice. YQ aside from giving Elal additional revenue that frequent fliers are willing to pay, it is also a barrier to the freeloaders
Also in the case we're already talking about fixing the program... Partnering with a US bank (Chase or Amex or Citi etc) wouldn't be a bad idea either
Yes! Figure out a way to print miles to generate revenue. This is an idea that is a win-win
I just realized while everyone is getting worked up about the matmid side OP @Dan asked about el al as well... While I risk stating the obvious my suggestions are as follows. Don't strand people in Athens for shabbos. Treat your customers as customers not as prisoners (yes even in Y ) and market aggressively
Also operationally from a standpoint of delays etc...
I think this sums it up...
I would start with them allowing you to publicly post the previous meeting you had with them
Operations/management. Yes, a lot of help is needed in that department
MIKVAH IN FIRST. is a must to compete with ARAB CLASS F SHOWERS
Emirates has a 1 person at a time rule
Nicer FA s.
Better food ( might as well make all the food mehadrin)
Cooler air on planes
the attitude
While there’s a ton of room for improvement, they were starting to make some serious headway. Even before Covid they had some serious regression here, but the new management seems to understand that this must be a focus.
I noticed part of the question is "while trying to survive". Meaning all suggestions are nice, but they may cost to implement.
A general good idea would probably to look at southwest, they have a pretty economic yet decent experience, although obviously there are lackings and they aren't exactly the best comparison.
Someone gets it
On a serious note my suggestions would be:
1. Align currency with other airlines.
2. Add airline redemption partners.
3. Simplify awards and expand them to reflect #2.
4. Provide a way (or ways) to avoid mileage expiration.
1. See above
2. YES!
3. Not sure how much simpler they can be (see above)
4. While I have mentioned expiration above, the idea of giving a customer an opportunity to ‘earn’ a longer expiration is something that does make sense.
The concept of complimentary upgrade doesn't exist.
They will only upgrade if they have overbooked, and even in these cases they try to squeeze a few points for the upgrade.
They can also introduce upgrade certificates for elites, which could be used across most fares and award tickets.
At the moment TP receive upgrade vouchers which are basically worthless since they can only be used in Y and M fares.
No airline complimentary upgrades their elites on TLV routes
Join 1 of the 3 Major Airline Alliances
They would love to. *A/*S are direct competitors. *O not that interested as they have partners in the region. Up until now Elal hasn’t had much to offer route wise, but possibly that will change with the new agreements.