Best of the Back Catalogue: The British Airways Club (#760)

April 7, 2026·38 min·3 clips

Paula Thomas, a former BA employee, interviews Niall Rooney, the manager responsible for British Airways' Executive Club loyalty program.

Paula Thomas introduces the episode as a special focus on airline loyalty, reflecting on her five-year experience with British Airways in the Middle East. She welcomes Niall Rooney, the loyalty manager responsible for the Executive Club, noting his 12-year airline industry background including roles at Ryanair, Jet2, and BMI before joining BA. Rooney explains he started the loyalty role in March, moving from commercial positions in sales, marketing, ancillaries, and revenue management to the customer directorate. He describes the mindset shift from generating revenue to investing in customer experience, emphasizing the need to demonstrate return on loyalty benefits. Rooney discusses trends in loyalty, citing work with innovation agency Happn to look beyond airlines, highlighting simplicity from brands like Boots and Sephora, and lifestyle integration through credit cards and e-stores earning Avios. He shares a key statistic: British Airways increased reward seat availability by 17.9 points to 80% in an IdeaWorksCompany report, showing progress in letting members spend Avios. Rooney details ways to use Avios, including Reward Flight Saver options and paying for ancillaries like seating and baggage. He explains Avios as the currency across International Airlines Group, usable on multiple airlines and partners. Rooney outlines current Executive Club developments, such as technology changes with a new loyalty platform, lounge openings in Geneva and Johannesburg, and benefits like priority boarding and dedicated check-in for gold card holders. He addresses the emotional side of loyalty, noting members' pride in status and the program's 24-year history impacting families, including children as silver card holders. Rooney concludes by sharing how he stays updated through team expertise, forums, podcasts, and external insights, emphasizing British Airways' commitment to loyalty innovation.

As heard by us

A practical review of how Avios links airline earning, status, partner rewards, and everyday travel extras.

British Airways' Executive Club gives this single-episode review a clear business case: a loyalty program built around Avios, with the currency stretching beyond flight bookings into reward flights, short-haul buy-on-board products, seating, baggage, and partner airlines.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

See how British Airways turns Avios into a loyalty currency you can earn on flights, BA purchases, credit card spend, and the e-store, then spend on reward flights, seating, baggage, and buy-on-board.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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