A mechanism or tactic · 1981 · Travel
The distance programme
Reward miles accrue against travel with an airline, and status is conferred by volume.
Status tiers are the parasocial structure with the least romance in it and the most engineering. Tier is a relationship with a company, modelled on rank, and the language of elite is the same language as devotion.
Manipulation. One-sided attachment engineered for somebody else's benefit. Paid intimacy, parasocial persuasion, sasaeng, grief extraction, the streak. The lane that pays the bills and the lane that causes the most harm, frequently at the same time.
Where it sits
1950 1950-1999 · 1981 1999
Provenance · 2 source record(s)
- retrievableCorrects the entry's date. American launched AAdvantage on 1 May 1981, and it was the second such programme in the world, the first being at Texas International Airlines in 1979 - so the entry was two years late. Also the founding detail the entry was standing on top of without describing: membership began by invitation only, and 'membership was seeded by searching American's SABRE computer reservations system for recurring phone numbers', with the 130,000 most frequent flyers plus 60,000 Admirals Club members pre-enrolled and sent letters with their new account numbers, the reward being a first-class ticket to any destination American flew. United launched Mileage Plus within weeks, described as the first modern frequent flyer programme; AAdvantage was the first to partner with an international carrier, in 1982.AAdvantage. Wikipedia, citing 'A History of US Airline Deregulation Part 4: 1979-2010: The Effects of Deregulation - Lower Fares, More Travel, Frequent Flier Programs'. ↗
- retrievableThe competitive clock that made the tier system urgent: in May 1981, 'a week after rival American Airlines launched AAdvantage, the first modern frequent flyer program, United launched its Mileage Plus'. Two programmes within days of each other, after which the Wikipedia AAdvantage history notes competition on features began - rules liberalised, hotel and rental partnerships, triple miles from 1988 - which is how a loyalty scheme acquires the language of rank.History of United Airlines. Wikipedia (Mileage Plus, May 1981). ↗
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The athlete and the citycites · 1920 · A mechanism or tacticThe supermarket clubcites · 1982 · A mechanism or tactic
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