American Airlines and its budget airline partner Jetsmart provides details to bring Aadvantage Miles redemption to South American airlines.
Airlines face “several challenges.” Jetsmart’s loyalty programJetsmart chief commercial officer Victor Mezia said at the Route Americas America conference in Nassau, Bahamas on Tuesday.
American and Jetsmart first announced plans for the latter to adopt Aadvantage as its own loyalty program in July 2021. Part of the investment By the former. A key aspect of the agreement was realized in September 2024. Aadvantage members were able to earn miles The loyalty of Jetsmart flights across South America. Mileage redemption was expected by the end of the year, but it has not yet begun.
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Aadvantage Redemptions is coming “quickly” to Jetsmart flights, Mejia said when asked about the delay. He didn’t specify a date, but he said it was this year.
“Latin America has an important customer base, and perhaps there aren’t enough aadvantage miles for tickets to the US, but not enough miles for an hourly flight to the US,” he said.
Its customer base is important for both Americans and Jetsmart.
Americans are Latin America’s largest US airline and have a considerable number of AADVantage members, executives said. According to an investor presentation in 2021, the program is one of the world’s largest airline loyalty programs, with over 115 million members worldwide.
The US carrier has adopted two approaches to serving these AADVantage members in Latin America. That’s there Equity Partnership with GOL Airlines In the Brazilian market, Jetsmart covers many of the other South America. The Americans adopted the strategy after longtime partner Latam Loyalty has been transferred to Delta Air Lines 2019.
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Jetsmart has local businesses in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and plans to develop major growth plans over the next few years. Chilean airlines aim to more than double their fleet by the end of the decade, from today’s 44 Airbus A320 family planes to more than 100 aircraft.
Value added: You can now earn miles in the end.
Indigo Partners, the private equity company behind Budget Career Frontier Airlines and With Air, owns about 35% stake in the majority of Jetsmart and American.
“Investment from our side will lead to domestic expansion [at JetSmart]In an interview in 2023, Anmol Bhargava, vice president of America’s Global Alliance and Partnerships, said:
Jetsmart has extensive plans for a new aircraft upon arrival, Mejia said. This includes making up for domestic and South American networks, particularly in Argentina and Colombia, as well as expanding north from Colombia to US, Caribbean and Mexico destinations.
In the meantime, Jetsmart has already benefited from the adoption of Aadvantage last year. Almost 10% of travelers include ADVantage numbers in their bookings today, Mejia said. And once miles redemptions come online, that percentage is expected to grow.
The airline is also in the process of expanding its codeshare partnership with the US to include Colombia, he added. Jetsmart expects to have the approval and PACT implemented by the end of the year.
Currently, the US and Jet Smart are on codeshares in Chile and Peru, and on flights in some Argentina.
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