(Bloomberg) -- The frequent-flyer clubs of marquee Asian airlines including Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Singapore Airlines Ltd. fell further behind those of US rivals during the pandemic, highlighting the region-wide damage from prolonged travel restrictions.
Led by Delta Air Lines Inc., loyalty divisions at the four major US airlines cemented their positions in early 2023 as the world's most valuable points programs, consultancy firm On Point Loyalty said in a Feb. 3 report. Apart from Southwest Airlines Co.'s offering, the loyalty programs are worth more than the stock-market valuations of each of the US carriers, according to the estimated values in the report.
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Loyalty divisions stood almost alone as revenue generating centers for airlines after the pandemic grounded fleets worldwide in early 2020. The value of the units emerged as stressed carriers including Delta and United Airlines Holdings Inc. laid down their points programs as security against billions of dollars of loans and bonds to get through the Covid crisis.
Airlines traditionally disclose few financial details of their loyalty programs — including their primary source of revenue, which is selling miles to banks that then use them to reward customer credit card use.
The only European entries large enough to rank in the top 10 were groups spanning several airlines in different countries, such as British Airways parent IAG SA.
Asian airlines broadly fared worse in the report versus those elsewhere. China, which before the pandemic was the world's largest outbound travel market, reopened its international border only last month after a years-long closure that decimated regional flying.
(Updates to add details on European carriers.)
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