More growth coming to Aeroplan, says Air Canada’s Scott O'Leary at “Insider” event

The team at Air Canada held a live “Aeroplan Insider Guide” event on Wednesday (Nov. 1) in downtown Toronto to celebrate how far the loyalty program has come, and highlight the many ways travellers can benefit from its ever-growing menu.

Aeroplan, which launched in 1984 as a frequent flyer program, underwent a major transformation in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, unveiling a reimagined platform with new and improved features.

Since the revamp, Aeroplan has gained a lot of momentum, said Andy Shibata, vice president of brand at Air Canada.

“Just this past month, we surpassed eight million active members,” Shibata said, addressing journalists and airline partners in the “Sky Suite” on the 43th floor of the Bisha Hotel. “A few years ago, we were sitting at just below five million. [Now], we have three million more active members, which is amazing.”

Aeroplan is also riding high on recent wins and accolades.

Last week, Rewards Canada honoured the program in several categories, naming it the “Top Airline Loyalty Program” in the country once again.

Similarly, last May at the Freddie Awards – the Academy Awards of the loyalty world, you could say – Aeroplan made a clean sweep, winning in multiple categories, including Airline Program of the Year and Best Promotion and Best Redemption Ability.

The trophies are “a big testament” to the hard work that’s gone into elevating Aeroplan into what it is today, Shibata said.

Travel & everyday life

Since relaunching in 2020, Aeroplan has been focused on securing partnerships that extend beyond the realms of air travel and into everyday life.

On top of its 46 airline partners for flight rewards, the program has expanded to retail partners like Starbucks and Ontario's LCBO, and other travel partners, like Uber.

It also recently launched HotelSavers, through which Aeroplan makes available over 7,000 points hotels around the world to choose from, giving members more ways than ever to redeem their points.

READ MORE: Aeroplan earns top honours at Canada's Choice Awards

The Aeroplan team is also constantly looking at ways to improve the program, it seems.

Just recently, Aeroplan President Mark Nasr emailed Aeroplan’s Elite members to outline recent changes that have been made to improve the user experience.

Some of the latest tweaks include doubling eUpgrade Companion Benefits, making Status Passes more flexible, and introducing online flight reward changes.

“This is just the beginning”

Speaking to PAX at Wednesday’s event, Scott O'Leary, vice-president, loyalty and product at Air Canada, said Aeroplan is still in the early innings of its growth.

“This is just the beginning,” O'Leary said.

Aeroplan promotes itself once people realize the potential of the program as they earn points on “things they already do every day,” O'Leary explained, such as buying a coffee at Starbucks or riding with Uber.

“That's where we're seeing the momentum,” he said. “The word is getting around. Not because we’re advertising, but because members are selling this program to others, extolling the virtues.”

Investing in customers

Building the “new” Aeroplan has been part of a greater strategy at Air Canada to invest in customers.  

“We want to make sure we're striking the right balance between making sure [customers] can earn points when they travel, and have access to points, but also making sure that we show up when it comes time to deliver a product experience,” O'Leary said.

READ MORE: Nasr outlines Aeroplan improvements for Elite members

That also fits into delivering a premium experience, such as top-tier seats and access to Maple Leaf Lounges.

“When it comes to the premium cabin, where the competition is quite heated, we want to make sure that we're not just competitive, but we want to make sure we're the best,” said O'Leary, echoing comments he made in June at the opening of a new Aspire | Air Canada Café at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ)

Life made easy

O'Leary joined a panel at Wednesday’s event where others shared their Aeroplan experience.

The panel’s guests included Chef, restauranteur and TV personality Chuck Hughes, content creator and co-founder of Kylo & Co. Filipa Jackson, and moderator, personal finance and travel expert Barry Choi.

Hughes joined Aeroplan in 2007, and “immediately saw the rewards and how much it made my travelling so much better and so much easier.”

One thing Montreal-based Hughes loves about the program, beyond the meals and added comfort found in Maple Leaf Lounges, is being able to share points with friends and family, and get upgrades faster “with one click of a button.”

“My travelling life has been so much better because of it,” Hughes told the audience.

Halifax-based Jackson shared how she used Aeroplan points to help fly her family to Europe this past summer.

Jackson has a three-year-old and a one-year-old, and they “are part of the Aeroplan family,” she said.

‘When they were born we got their birth certificate…and their Aeroplan,” she said, later sharing tips on ways to earn points more quickly, such as during eStore promotions.

NDC & Aeroplan

The travel trade’s ability to interact with Aeroplan has historically been foggy.

Things have changed, however, with the recent launch of Air Canada’s New Distribution Capabilities (NDC) program, which opens more inventory, fares and products.

The switch-over transitions Air Canada from EDIFACT – technology first introduced in the 1970s that let airlines communicate with GDS systems – to an NDC connection, which allows for product differentiation, dynamic pricing, personalization and richer content, including opportunities for travel agencies to engage with Aeroplan.

“That’s not accidental,” O'Leary told PAX. “That is intentional by design.”

“The travel agency community are our strongest partners, and we want to make sure that as we're selling Air Canada, that Aeroplan is part of that value proposition. Because otherwise, it’s an analog proposition.”

“We want to make sure that our travel agency community has the full set of tools at their disposal.”

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.