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THE backlash British Airways recently faced for instituting changes to its frequent flier programme has forced the airline to revoke some of the adjustments to appease irate customers.

Their anger stemmed from the fact that they had to fork out more money every year to maintain their membership, since the change bases their status on amount spent rather than miles flown with the carrier.

As a result, British Airways changed just its Gold rank requirement to be spending-based, and kept the two lower tiers as distance-based.

Neither the airline nor the customers’ reaction is isolated. Singapore Airlines (SIA), too, changes the criteria for its KrisFlyer programme every now and then – at times incurring so much wrath from its patrons that it nearly became the subject of a class action lawsuit in 2007.

While some customers check into airline loyalty programmes every year, there are also disillusioned travellers leaving them – after realising this marketing tactic is not for everyone.