Cathay Pacific loyalty program turns 25: Are its recent member deals making an impact?

Cathay Pacific is celebrating 25 years of its frequent flyer program with a new campaign film showcasing its Asia Miles loyalty rewards – as well as limited-time offers for members to redeem miles for flights between Hong Kong and four other Asian cities.

But to what extent have consumers in the targeted markets noticed recent marketing efforts by the flag carrier or spoken with friends and family about the airline?

Latest data from YouGov BrandIndex shows how awareness of Cathay Pacific’s ads and chatter towards the brand have changed in recent weeks – in four markets where flights to / from may be redeemed under this anniversary campaign for loyalty members – among consumers who have travelled with the airline before.

Ad Awareness of Cathay Pacific saw a significant uptick in Thailand among consumers who have travelled with the airline before, rising from 17.6% on July 1 to a high of 87.3% by July 4 – one day before the start of the flight redemption offer period – before settling at 44.6% by July 11.

In the flag carrier’s home market of Hong Kong, awareness of its ads also grew – albeit to a lesser extent – from 45.5% on July 1 to 50.7% by July 11.

Meanwhile, Cathay’s ad awareness in Singapore and Taiwan roughly held steady at close to a quarter to a third of consumers who have travelled with the airline before.

WOM Exposure scores for Cathay Pacific – which measures the percentage of consumers who have talked about the brand in the past two weeks – also spiked in Thailand over the same period. It surged from 17.6% on July 1 to 67.9% on July 4 just before the start of the redemptions – before settling at 40.3% by July 11.

Noticeable uplifts in Cathay’s brand chatter were also registered in Hong Kong – from 45.9% on July 1 to 58.1% by July 7 – and Singapore from 12.4% on July 1 to 18.8% by July 11.

Meanwhile, among consumers in Taiwan who have travelled with Cathay Pacific, about two in five had talked about the brand with family and friends through this period.

Data from YouGov BrandIndex also shows the top 15 most airlines that consumers are most likely to consider flying with for their next trip.

Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific enjoys the highest consideration among residents of its home market, ahead of local rival Hong Kong Airlines, and Cathay’s low-cost subsidiary HK Express. Among foreign carriers, Singapore Airlines is most considered, followed by UAE’s Emirates.

Taiwan

Local carriers EVA Air and China Airlines (and its low-cost subsidiary Tigerair Taiwan) lead in consideration. Cathay Pacific is the second most-considered overseas carrier, after Japan Airlines and ahead of other Japanese carriers ANA and Peach Aviation.

Singapore 

Flag carrier Singapore Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot enjoy the highest consideration. Among foreign carriers UAE’s Emirates is the most considered full-service airline, followed by Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific, while AirAsia and JetStar are the most considered overseas budget carriers.

Thailand

Malaysia-headquartered AirAsia is the most considered airline, ahead of national carrier Thai Airways as well as local carriers Nok Air and Bangkok Airways. Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air rounds out the top five, while Cathay Pacific ranks within the top 15.

Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Ad Awareness scores measure whether consumers have seen at an advertisement for a brand in the past two weeks. WOM Exposure scores measure whether consumers have talked about a brand to friends and family in the past two weeks. Consideration scores measure whether consumers would consider purchasing from a brand the next time they are in the market for a particular product or service. Figures are based on a 1-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.

_{Cover Photo from Cathay Pacific}