"[Working with SimpliFlying] has expanded our minds, opened our eyes and showed us what to do in concrete, practical, and tangible terms. We see the benefits not only to ourselves but to our members as well." - 
"SimpliFlying has a great balance - providing strategic insights and directions while maintaining a down-to-earth attitude in guiding LAN in strategy implementation. Justifying our investment to senior management was not difficult." - 
"The SimpliFlying MasterClass was a combination of trends and insights from the industry, as well as tailor-made topics designed to help Lufthansa progress to the next level of customer engagement. By having every management level participate, Lufthansa achieved great results in regards to 'social status' and loyalty, which was one of the key topics." - 
"At Estonian Air, we always look for partners who can bring innovation and good ideas, with the ability to execute. With Simpliflying, we get exactly that." - 
For airlines, the future of frequent flyer programs programs is now a pressing question, given the growth of social technologies. As such, many airlines are now rushing to find ways of driving social loyalty. Some of these have been covered in our slide-deck on the Top 10 Social Loyalty Initiatives by Airlines.
To dig deeper, we partnered with Cranfield University in the UK to conduct a study on how frequent travelers (who travel at least five times a year) use social media. And here are some highlights of what we found:
- There are more airlines on Twitter than there are airlines with frequent flyer programs (191 vs 179)
- Almost 90% of frequent flyers use Facebook regularly, and over 65% “Like” at least one airline on Facebook
- To frequent fliers cheapest fare is the least significant loyalty factor among customer service, earning loyalty points and onboard experience
- 72% of frequent fliers would join a social loyalty program
- Over 65% of frequent fliers would like to earn social loyalty points via check-ins or by contributing ideas to an airline’s Facebook page.
- Over 80% of frequent fliers would like to earn social loyalty points by recommending the airline to a friend or providing positive feedback.
In the infographic below, we have summarized the findings of the study, and will soon release a detailed presentation of these findings too. Special thanks to Gavin Tan and Prof. Keith Mason from Cranfield University for their tremendous help with this study.
UPDATE: You can find a detailed presentation with some more exclusive insights gleaned from the survey here.
(Click here for a high-resolution image for printing and pinning on your desk)
Do let us know what you thought of this infographic. Does it resonate with you? Is it contrary to expectations? Would you like some other stats covered? If so, which ones? Would you like to suggest ideas for future infographics?
Do speak up 
We’re listening! Leave a comment below or tweet us @simpliflying.
Shashank Nigam
Latest posts by Shashank Nigam (see all)
- [Presentation] How the connected traveller will help airlines drive ancillary revenues and real-time customer service #ATIS2013 - June 19, 2013
- [Presentation] How travel marketing is changing in Asia with the rise of social and mobile #tdsasia - May 28, 2013
- Want your new route to make headlines? Bring Richard Branson on-board, like AirAsia X did in Perth! - May 14, 2013
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