Technology

Posted on May 11, 2018 by staff

Former BA and Virgin bosses create blockchain loyalty scheme

Technology

An all-you-can-fly membership travel company has established a new rewards platform which will sit on blockchain technology.

Surf Air, which was launched in 2013, describes itself as a private air travel club offering unlimited monthly flights. The business model is geared toward frequent regional business and leisure travellers.

The former head of British Airways for the Americas, Simon Talling-Smith, is leading the group with prolific American tech entrepreneur Richard Jordan.

Fred Reid, the former CEO of Virgin America and president of Delta and Lufthansa airlines, and Gerald Lawless, the former CEO of the Jumeirah Group, will act as travel advisors.

“Rewards programs are a perfect use case for the blockchain,” said Sudhin Shahani, CEO of Surf Air and VOY.

“A rewards program essentially is a combination of a currency and a simple set of business rules that can be coded into a smart contract and we are building VOY to disrupt the global travel rewards program market with an initial focus on complementary premium brands to ours, many of whom we already work with.

“Our VOY token coupled with our VOY rewards application layer as the loyalty program builder will make it easy for brands to set up their own programs.”

The company recently announced that it is undergoing a significant global expansion with the creation of a national and global subscription platform partnering with select premium operators.