Hello,



I am writing my Dissertation about the FFPs of Brussels Airlines, CSA and Malév and I have some general questions about FFPs, I hope you might help me.



1. What is the difference between a point- and a mile-based programme? What I found in wikipedia that’s not correct (they refer to different calculation methods when miles / points are accumulated).

2. May you know if there is a new version of IATA’s Corporate Air Travel Survey available? I only found a short subtract from 1999 here: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...riorities.html

3. What do you forsee for the (European) “FFP-market” for the future? What about the trends, some news, innovations?

4. What is a mile worth for an airine? I found different numbers: “a mile is worth about 1.7 cents in revenue” on insideflyer but on wikipedia “The airlines themselves value miles in their financial statements at less than one thousandth of a cent a mile”. I suppose the first (1,7 cents) in closer to the truth – or??

5. What about the general redemption value of a mile?

6. Do you know any articles about FFP + communication? I found only these: http://www.airlineinformation.org/ff.../3Oct_ed7.html

and http://www.airlineinformation.org/co...eVolker-LH.pdf

7. How do airline measure customer satisfaction? Do they often ask for feedback about their services?

8. It is also the airline’s interest that the miles / points would be redeemed, instead of accumulating them forever that also worsen their financial results. Do you see that the airlines would motivate their members to burn (and not only to earn) their miles / points?



I would be really-really grateful if you could answer these questions above. Thank you very much for your help in advance,



Gyöngyvér

A point is just a label for a different currency used by some FFPs. Just as money sometimes can be measured in dollars, pounds, euros, etc; so can FFPs use different currencies for their own programs. It doesn't have to mean anything in particular. Each FFP is free to define points/miles in their own fashion.

This is a broad question. Do you have aspects of FFPs in mind?

The answer very much depends on context. An airline may charge an amount for partners to buy miles (could be 1.7 cents per mile for some), charge a different (higher) amount for FFP members to buy miles, hold a different value again in their accounts as a liability (actual amount will depend on accounting rules and policies as well as each FFP's judgement based on experience), and have a different value again for their internal analysis.

That depends on the program terms and any promotions made, as well as decisions by the individual. Some people get great financial value redemptions and others not so good (or nil if miles expire).

That question is best asked to the airlines directly.

Not necessarily. Some FFPs have expiry policies. If an airline is in financial difficulties it may prefer few redemptions and more cash tickets. Etc.

Please say that you are using other sources besides Wikipedia for your dissertation.

I have the same question for OP as well. It seems most of the cited sources in post #1 are not "scholarly" enough for any dissertation in a reputable university.

I bet if OP had used scholar.google.com, you would at least come up with more references in regards to the topics you are conducting your research. For instance, OP's question #3 (What do you forsee for the (European) �FFP-market� for the future? What about the trends, some news, innovations?), shouldn't it be the part to use your analytic ability to figure that out?

Nevertheless, MileBuzz! is not the forum for collecting data for dissertation, IMHO.

Edited to add (after realizing OP's work is not a dissertation by U.S. standard):

Judging from your other post, you are an undergraduate student in Budapest. I am not familiar with the education systems in Europe. Here in the U.S., "dissertation" is the degree requirement for Ph.D., while "thesis" for master's degree. There's no standardized writing requirement for undergraduate degrees. Your use of "dissertation" in your post certainly raise questions and confusion to the American audience. My advice, use a better term that suit your writing requirement.

BTW, if your deadline to complete the work is mid May, 2008, well, you've already missed it.