The effects of frequent flyer programs in the competition with high speed rail: A case study of air passenger preference in Japan

ABSTRACT

This study tried to evaluate the effects of Frequent Flyer Programs (FFPs) in competition with High Speed Rail (HSR) by conducting conjoint analysis, using data from our questionnaire surveys at Komatsu airport in Japan. The effects of FFPs, which were evaluated as passengers’ Marginal Willingness to Pay (MWTP) for flight mileage points, were compared with passengers that flew on the competing route with HSR, and those that flew on the non-competing route with HSR. We found that FFPs seem to be more effective at attracting not only FFP members on business, but also FFP members not on business, on the competitive route with HSR. However, the power of FFPs to increase customer loyalty would become weaker after the COVID-19 pandemic if we consider the negative impacts of COVID-19 on business travel demand. On the other hand, when we focus on the non-business passenger, after the pandemic, FFPs would still be effective at cultivating customer loyalty on the competitive route with HSR.