Aeroplan graduates from promising to Program of the Year

Program of the Year — Airlines, Americas · Air Canada Aeroplan

Well, that didn’t take long.

In 2022, Aeroplan won Best Redemption Ability and earned considerable attention as one of the programs to watch.

One year later, watching is no longer necessary.

Air Canada Aeroplan is the 2023 Freddie Awards Airline Program of the Year in the Americas.

And it didn’t come alone.

Aeroplan also won Best Redemption Ability and Best Promotion for its Status Extension Promotion, giving Air Canada’s rebuilt loyalty program three Freddies in one evening—the best showing in Aeroplan history.

Aeroplan itself isn’t new. Air Canada introduced the program in 1984. What makes this chapter interesting is everything that happened in between: Aeroplan became a separate company, Air Canada eventually bought it back, and in 2020 an almost entirely rebuilt program emerged.

Frequent flyers can be a skeptical bunch. Change the coffee and somebody will write 14 pages about it on FlyerTalk.

Change the entire loyalty program?

Good luck.

Yet members appear to have decided that the new Aeroplan works.

The redemption award is particularly telling. A loyalty currency isn’t terribly useful if the only thing you can do with it is admire the balance.

Aeroplan members apparently enjoy spending theirs.

TRIVIA: Aeroplan’s three awards in 2023 represented the strongest Freddie performance in the program’s history.

From rebuilt to best in three years.

Not bad.

Congratulations, Aeroplan.