How is the system for earning Avios changing?
The main advantage is that it will be a much simpler model, since customers will now earn Avios based on the amount they spend. A multiplication factor that changes according to the Iberia Plus tier will be applied to that amount. For example, if you’re Iberia Plus Plata, the Avios are multiplied by six; if the price (excluding taxes, fees and charges) of your last flight from Madrid to Paris was €324, you’ll earn 324 x 6; i.e. 1,944 Avios for that last flight to Paris. With the old model, you’d have earned 978 Avios on this same flight. 

Why the change?
Essentially, because it’s an industry trend. Many airlines have already updated their earning models; consequently, many of our customers were asking for it. With this change, we are strengthening our commitment to our most loyal customers, as we will invest 22 per cent more in Avios. We believe this measure will significantly boost satisfaction with the programme.

 

Will the multiplier that each customer has (depending on their tier) be the same on all routes?
No, there’ll be routes with a higher multiplier. For instance, if you fly on the Air Shuttle, your multiplier will be plus one. That is, continuing with the previous example, if you’re Iberia Plus Plata and you buy a ticket for the Air Shuttle, your multiplier will be x7 and not x6, which is what you would have based on your tier. For the Latin American routes, the multiplier will be plus two. So, using the previous example of an Iberia Plus Plata customer, their ticket price will be multiplied by eight to calculate the Avios earned. Both the Air Shuttle and the routes to Latin America have a high component of frequent travellers, and our intention is to reward them more for what they use most.

 

What other advantages will this new way of accumulating Avios offer?
One that we consider important and that we’ve wanted to implement for a long time is that, from now on, Iberia Plus customers will also earn Avios when they book a paid seat or buy an extra piece of luggage for their trip. Our Iberia Plus customers are increasingly requesting these services and we want to reward them for this, too.

What will this change mean for Iberia?
We hope that it will lead to a higher level of satisfaction among our Iberia Plus customers. We’re very enthusiastic about making this change: we’re improving the way we reward our customers and we’re making quite a lot of effort to improve the programme conditions. Iberia Plus is already one of Spain’s best-valued loyalty programmes, and we work every day to maintain that level, constantly thinking about real benefits for customers. That’s why, for example, we introduced the on-board Wi-Fi service for instant messaging in our planes in the summer, and we made it free for our Iberia Plus partners from the very beginning. We also maintained all our members’ tiers during the two years of the pandemic as we were aware that many had been unable to fly to keep their tier. Once again, the company committed itself to investing in our most loyal customers because they’re our number-one asset.

 

Speaking of the progression in the programme, will this new system change with regard to earning Élite Points, which are the points that count for going up a tier?
No, Élite Points will be counted as they have been so far. The change improves the way of earning the Avios with each ticket and the services bought for each flight.

 

How do you see Iberia Plus in future? How do you think the loyalty programme will evolve further?
Iberia Plus must remain one of the main reasons for our customers to choose to fly with Iberia, and be increasingly competitive, not only in Spain, but also attaining a greater presence and preference in the Americas. How are we going to achieve that? We’ll continue to work while focusing on two main goals: one, to improve the experience related to the flight, creating new advantages and improving the existing ones; and two, to be increasingly close to our customers, to expand the ways of earning Avios in their day-to-day lives and not just when they fly with us.