In SWISS News, the newsletter of Swiss Airlines, Mrs Sarah Built, General Manager Benelux mentions on 16 September 2002:
SWISS has decided to continue the Qualiflyer programme under a new name - the Swiss TravelClub - from January 1, 2003. Members who are particularly frequent SWISS flyers will continue to enjoy additional benefits within the programme, through their membership of Swiss TravelClub Silver (the equivalent of the present Travelclub) or even Swiss TravelClub Gold (the equivalent of today's Travelclub Gold). And the most frequent travellers of all will still be specially invited to join the Swiss Circle, which is exclusively reserved for the company's very best customers.
Collect and spend miles in the air and on the ground Members of the Swiss TravelClub will not only be able to collect and spend programme miles when they fly SWISS. They will also earn miles on partner carriers - including American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair - who are closely aligned to SWISS in alliance strategy terms. The new programme will also include a number of attractive partners on the ground that now include retailer Coop, whose Supercard points can be exchanged for miles.
Automatic transfer: Qualiflyer members will not need to take any action to have their membership and miles transferred. And current Travelclub members will enjoy corresponding status in the new Swiss TravelClub programme. All Qualiflyer mileage accounts will be automatically continued as Swiss TravelClub mileage accounts from January 1, 2003. Miles already earned will remain valid in accordance with the present General Terms and Conditions; and all awards already issued but not yet used (flight tickets, hotel stays etc.) will also remain valid. Even the membership number will stay the same: only the prefix will change, from
QG to LX. Members can also continue to use their current Qualiflyer Membership Card until they receive their new card, together with full programme details, in January 2003.
Further information is available at http://
www.swiss.com/travelclub
Note Mrs Built's observation on the SWISS partner carriers, she explicitly mentions American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair, closely aligned to SWISS in alliance strategy terms.
[This message has been edited by kurz (edited 09-17-2002).]