South African Airways (SAA) has celebrated 30 Years of the existence of its Frequent Flyer Programme known as Voyager with an exclusive dinner for a select few high profile and distinguished guests at the Movenpick Hotel, Ikoyi. The colourful event tagged “Voyager Elite Night” was to recognize and celebrate its frequent flyer and loyal customers for their unflinching support over the years and to mark thirty (30) years of success of the airline’s Loyalty Programme, the first of its kind in Africa.
Sharing her excitement with guests, SAA’s Country Manager, Mrs. Kemi Leke-Bamtefa said, “We are honoured to have you all here. Tonight is about Voyager members and when we say Elite, we mean the 1% of the 1% of Voyager members. Voyager is a frequent flyer programme to reward our loyal customers comprising of Elite Voyager Lifetime Platinum, Platinum, Gold and Silver members.
Speaking further, she said, “The 90 years of SAA is important, but tonight is about the 30 years of an existing loyalty programme that has survived more than many airlines that we know of. We are one of the very few loyalty programmes that allow you to earn miles as you spend. Before it used to be based on the distance travelled. However, we changed the system such that the more you spend, the more miles you earn. So now the value is based on how much you spend on your ticket so you get more value for your money.”
Mrs. Leke-Bamtefa went on to cap her remarks by disclosing that, “Later this year we are going to be adding two (2) more flights increasing our frequency to five (5) to make your journey seamless with improved connectivity and better schedule which are very important elements in travel and we understand how this has impacted our customers.She also mentioned that the flights to SAO PAULO have great connection out of Lagos, and Perth will commence shortly in April.
The Airline’s Regional Manager – Africa, Middle East and Indian Ocean, Mr. Ohis Ehimiaghe thanked guests for coming and appreciated them for their businesses that have helped the airline survive over the years. In his words: “This is a night we are celebrating 30 years of Voyager Frequent Flyer Programme and celebrating those that have made the programme a success. SAA had the first Loyalty Programme in Africa as well as the first loyalty programme that migrated from ordinary miles to revenue based.”
Mr. Ehimiaghe also took time to touch on the Airline’s 90 years anniversary saying: “Coincidentally, Voyager is 30 years in the same year that SAA is celebrating 90 years of its existence. We have come a very long way but we also went through some very difficult times such as the Business Rescue process and the COVID 19 pandemic which saw the airline grounded for about 18 months. SAA was able to overcome these challenges and has started operations to some Regional cities, South America and some Domestic routes. It has also announced flight resumption to Perth by April 2024.”
Prizes of free miles were presented to guests as a way of showing the airline’s appreciation and rewarding guests for their patronage and loyalty. Two (2) gifts of 20,000 free voyager miles each were presented to Mr. Steven Trytsman and Mr. Johan Roux for being the first two guests to arrive at the event.
There was also a raffle draw and two (2) winners equally emerged namely Ms. Monica Moetloo who won another 20,000 free voyager miles, and Mr. Akinola Olamilekan who won the jackpot of 30,000 free voyager miles. Mr. Chris Obasi, a Lifetime Voyager Elite member, also went home with a large SAA Aircraft model.
Mrs. Kemi Leke-Bamtefa informed the winners that the free miles could be used to upgrade economy class tickets to Business Class which requires a total of 16,000 Voyager miles to be eligible for the upgrade.
