First with global customer loyalty programme (17/10/2007)

British Airways World Cargo has announced the launch of its new customer loyalty programme, LIFT. The first global programme of its kind, LIFT will recognise and reward a significant proportion of the carrier's valued customers.

The scheme allows members to earn points with every consignment booked, which can be redeemed for British Airways passenger flights to anywhere on the airline's extensive global network, and also Marriott Hotel vouchers.

Simon Brewster, business improvement manager, said: "As a global first for the air cargo industry, LIFT will help us to build and maintain successful long term partnerships with these customers.

"We have recognised our larger multinational customers for some time now, through our highly successful one+one partner programme. LIFT has been developed to recognise and reward the loyalty of customers that sit outside one+one. In the process of developing the programme, we have been in contact with a number of our customers, and have spent the last year working closely with them to design LIFT with their specific needs in mind."

LIFT members can check their points score and claim rewards at a specially designed online portal (baworldcargo.com/lift). Forwarders are free to use the rewards or transfer them to their own customers.

With 450 BA World Cargo customers already signed up, the LIFT programme has already received much praise from forwarders.

Steve Caffrey from Allport, who acted as a trial customer during the development stage of the programme, said: "No other carrier offers a comparable reward scheme that recognises the value of the small/medium sized forwarder. When BA World Cargo approached us we were keen to get involved. We especially like the fact that we can transfer the rewards to our own customers and we anticipate getting increasingly involved in the programme over the coming months."

BA World Cargo is also currently working to refresh its one+one partner programme.