Cathay Pacific Airways has announced that it will be making changes to its Marco Polo Club loyalty programme to reflect the evolving travel needs of its most loyal customers.

The airline aims to enhance the overall membership experience through more effective recognition of the contribution made by individual members.

Cathay Pacific has been growing its network in recent years, with the addition of many ultra-long and ultra-short-haul services, as well as making a significant investment in the differentiation of its cabin products.

The airline believes that the way members earn their status should move in line with changing customer travel patterns and the evolution of its products over time.

Cathay Pacific director of sales and marketing Dane Cheng said: “Customer loyalty is the backbone of our airline and we are grateful for the great support and contribution our Marco Polo Club members have been giving us.

“The travel industry is ever-evolving and we understand there have been significant changes to the way our members travel in recent years.

“We must adapt to these changes so that we can continue to help our passengers travel well and ensure they feel properly appreciated.”

As part of a comprehensive review of the loyalty programme which has taken valuable feedback from members into consideration, with effect from April 15th, 2016 the Marco Polo Club will change to a new points-based system, based on a combination of the cabin customers travel in, the fare class booked and the distance travelled.

This more balanced approach will see members who fly in premium classes earn tier status faster. It will allow members to earn club points from a wider range of fares, including discounted fare types that are currently not applicable to club status.

All popular member benefits, including unlimited lounge access for Silver members and above, as well as priority boarding and check-in, remain unchanged.

At the same time, Cathay Pacific will further improve the overall membership experience by introducing more flexible and family-friendly benefits, including:

• Extra Lounge Passes for members and their invited guests.
• Bookable Upgrades for Gold and Diamond members.
• Additional Gold companion card for Diamond members.
• “Membership Holidays” enabling members to retain their status for one year, in recognition of those who may need to temporarily reduce their travel activity.
• Lower qualifying age for young members, down from 18 to 12.

To support members’ transition to the points programme, the Marco Polo Club will convert each member’s mileage or sectors into club points, based on which is the most favourable for individual members.