How many loyalty members does Delta have?

With over 100 million members expected in 2022, Delta Air Lines already boasts one of the largest loyalty programs. Among the biggest and most reputable airline reward programs, SkyMiles is signed up by very many individuals annually to be part of. Building on our last post on Delta's loyalty program, let's investigate the business more closely and ascertain the current enrollment count.

The Birth of SkyMiles

Originally, Delta started the frequent flyer programs in 1981, and the name Delta Frequent Flyer Program. This made it one of the earliest airline loyalty programs that were to be developed in the growing airline industry. It was initially called the Delta Air Lines frequent flyer program but in 1995, the company changed it to SkyMiles to fit its tagline of making flying easier.

In the subsequent years up to the next three decades, SkyMiles would have evolved greatly with Delta flying more routes and integrating with other international airlines. Such features as the capacity in which the members may be able to earn miles from spending through the co-brand credit cards also made enrollment extremely attractive. Today, this program is one of the best and most popular airline loyalty programs that is known as SkyMiles.

Current Membership Numbers

At the beginning of 2022, Delta revealed that there are over 100 million members in the SkyMiles program. This puts it as the second-largest airline loyalty program worldwide in terms of membership numbers. Since the establishment of the program, it has been growing in membership for the last eight years and admitted almost 20 million people into the program.

This is especially so because a significant chunk of this growth can be attributed to acquisitions that Delta Airlines made of other airlines and their loyalty programs. For instance, Delta acquired Northwest Airlines in the year 2008 which had WorldPerks with more than 8 million members at the time of the merger. For instance, when Virgin Atlantic joined a Joint Venture with Delta in the same year 2013, all members of Virgin’s Flying Club joined the conversation as well.

As for the Membership data, with over 170 million members, Delta Air’s SkyMiles is in second place after American Airline’s AAdvantage program. Other prominent airline loyalty programs such as United Airlines’ MileagePlus program and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan have 80 million and 60 million enrolled participants respectively.

Membership Breakdown

Delta has not disclosed much information on the identity of members, and the number of these members who are accumulating and redeeming miles. But Delta is one of the world’s largest airlines that operates hundreds of routes and carries millions of passengers worldwide. Probably, many users of credit cards and those who often travel by air are signed up with such programs.

Given that Delta Airlines company caters to over 200 million customers annually, the majority of these customers have opted to become members of the SkyMiles program as they keep flying with the company. Also, the airline gains new members by offering promotions that help them earn bonus miles, status, and more during sign-up. This is further helpful in ensuring that Delta can add new members each year to its portfolio.

Advantages of Getting to 100 Million Followers.

113 million is a very large number in the airline business and reaching that membership level is an accomplishment for Delta. Apart from the fact that the large membership figure may be used to boast, a large membership has many benefits.

When there are more members, it will necessarily mean that there is more engagement taking place with the airline in several aspects. A lot of information about its members helps to study facts and behavior patterns for the betterment of SkyMiles in Delta. Large memberships also appear very appealing to financial credit card partners like American Express, which offers co-branded rewards cards to Delta.

also, having an enormous number of members allows Delta to confidently position itself as a competitor since loyalty programs are one of the key factors in acquiring and maintaining customers in the airline industry. So being one of the largest programs worldwide, Delta can persistently grow SkyMiles to remain one of the leaders of the world’s air companies.

Future Outlook

However, such a program will continue to grow significantly in the following years; even though Delta has more than 100 million SkyMiles members officially. Delta has said it aims to acquire customer loyalty with traveling passengers both locally and globally in the existing markets.

Technology is also one of the strategic areas of investment for the airline, for instance applying AI on the SkyMiles for better customer experience. Implementing further improvement in co-brand partnerships with other travel-related brands also remains relevant and crucial to building up the value of SkyMiles.

Realizing that Delta has been expanding its international market reach as it is spoken of today, only about 30 percent of the total revenue is generated through international travel; loyalty membership still has plenty in store to offer as Delta spreads out worldwide. Delta’s mission statement is to be the ‘go to’ airline of choice for every traveler.

In conclusion, the Delta Air Lines SKYMILES program has one of the largest numbers of members, with over one hundred million travelers. This feat was attained after forty years, however, the next 100 million could very easily be gained before the end of the decade if only Delta will continue to strategically implement SkyMiles’ outreach as the airline seeks to soar above the rest.

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