Virgin Atlantic, which launched Tel Aviv - London flights in September, is escalating competition with its two main rivals on the route - El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) and British Airways - by trying to poach their frequent flyers.
Members of El Al's Matmid Frequent Flyers Club with Platinum status, or more and members of British Airways and the Star Alliance (Lufthansa, United Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others) with Gold frequent flyer status can receive status match when joining Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club. One target is Facebook's Ben Gurion Flying Out Lounge group of 2,100 members, all in Israel's upper socioeconomic echelons.
Virgin Atlantic, which collaborates with Delta Airlines and others regarding air miles, offers Red, Silver and Gold status to its frequent flyers with a range of benefits and incentives. It also offers a special Mastercard credit card.
Competition on the London - Tel Aviv route is intense with low cost carriers easyJet and Wizz Air also major players, but Virgin Atlantic is competing against the higher priced legacy airlines and is also aiming at the connection market for Israelis flying to North American cities.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 11, 2019
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