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Wendover Productions has a video on how airlines are banks now. Their Loyalty Programs are worth several times more than the Airlines and flying is basically a

Wendover Productions has a video on how airlines are banks now. Their Loyalty Programs are worth several times more than the Airlines and flying is basically a secondary business for them. How Airlines Quietly Became Banks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggUduBmvQ_4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggUduBmvQ_4

nexuist 5y ago
Airlines have historically been cash poor. It's extremely difficult to make an airline profitable, and demand fluctuates wildly due to weather, oil prices, world conflicts, etc. "If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline." - Richard Branson
rplnt 5y ago
edit at the bottom, my question has a simple answer: no That seems like an interesting topic. Wasn't Wendower Productions just reading Wikipedia articles over stock footage and blueprint graphs? Or am I mistaking that with some other channel(s)? edit: Well that was easy to search for, it was Real Engineering channel.
- gabagool 5y ago
  Clearly my Google Fu isn't as strong as yours. Could you share a link about Real Engineering?
- kataklasm 5y ago
  Seems like you have an axe to grind here, care to elaborate a bit?
brk 5y ago
This is particularly obvious on American Airlines. EVERY flight I took last year had the FA's telling how this one special flight qualified for a very rare offer... to open a credit card and get some base miles for free. I feel bad for them having to hawk this stupid credit card constantly, though I bet they get some kind of extra bonus for suckering people into signing up.
- bombcar 5y ago
  The credit card bonus to the customer can be upwards of $400 or more - so it’s clearly worth it to the credit card company and they make it worth the airline’s while also.
- imroot 5y ago
  The FA’s do get around $100 as a bonus when they sign up on a flight.
selimthegrim 5y ago
How soon until this happens with Starbucks and gift cards?
- PascLeRasc 5y ago
  Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr039xnco-8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr039xnco-8

nexuist 5y ago

Airlines have historically been cash poor. It's extremely difficult to make an airline profitable, and demand fluctuates wildly due to weather, oil prices, world conflicts, etc. "If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline." - Richard Branson

rplnt 5y ago

edit at the bottom, my question has a simple answer: no That seems like an interesting topic. Wasn't Wendower Productions just reading Wikipedia articles over stock footage and blueprint graphs? Or am I mistaking that with some other channel(s)? edit: Well that was easy to search for, it was Real Engineering channel.

gabagool 5y ago
Clearly my Google Fu isn't as strong as yours. Could you share a link about Real Engineering?
kataklasm 5y ago
Seems like you have an axe to grind here, care to elaborate a bit?

brk 5y ago

This is particularly obvious on American Airlines. EVERY flight I took last year had the FA's telling how this one special flight qualified for a very rare offer... to open a credit card and get some base miles for free. I feel bad for them having to hawk this stupid credit card constantly, though I bet they get some kind of extra bonus for suckering people into signing up.

bombcar 5y ago
The credit card bonus to the customer can be upwards of $400 or more - so it’s clearly worth it to the credit card company and they make it worth the airline’s while also.
imroot 5y ago
The FA’s do get around $100 as a bonus when they sign up on a flight.

selimthegrim 5y ago

How soon until this happens with Starbucks and gift cards?

PascLeRasc 5y ago
Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr039xnco-8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr039xnco-8