Lufthansa Group, Europe’s second largest airline fleet, has just announced its NFT-infused loyalty program. It allows passengers to scan their boarding pass into the Uptrip mobile app and exchange it for NFT trading cards to unlock airline miles, corporate vouchers and other travel rewards.
Powered by Polygon’s proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain protocol, the new program is the brainchild of Lufthansa’s digital innovation unit, Lufthansa Innovation Hub, and its frequent flyer program, Miles & More.
Since its soft launch in Spring 2023, Uptrip has experienced over 20,000 registered users with over 200,000 NFT trading cards issued.
According to the August 31 announcement, Uptrip is now preparing for its second phase: the launch of a marketplace, which is expected to be released later this year. The app is currently available for download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Is this a sustainable mechanism?
Kristian Weymar, Head of New Business at Lufthansa Innovation Hub, believes Uptrip “hits a nerve” when it comes to these new Web3 technologies.
“[Its] at an early stage of development,” he said, noting that while “curiosity is high,” the European aviation giant is also facing questions and hesitations about the technology.
“We enable people to access this new technology,” he added.
Christopher Siegloch, head of program development at Miles & More, said Uptrip’s gamification elements introduce passengers to these technologies – specifically NFTs – in a “fun way”. He teased that they are currently testing a new feature in the Miles & More ecosystem.
But is this mechanism actually viable in the long term?
The biggest challenge we continue to see with these “new and innovative” applications of NFT technologies is understanding the “why” behind these integrations. With the main goal of engaging as many consumers as possible in this next wave of interactive online experiences, many leading brands have missed the mark in improving an already established ecosystem by asking consumers/users to ‘do something new’ that requires extra work and understanding. required. what these technologies are.
In short, consumers don’t need to worry about the underlying technology powering their experiences right now; all they care about is familiarity and whether or not the product or service does what they are supposed to do. In most cases, they don’t care how it works.
This year proved to be a difficult year for the main European airlines. However, the German-based airline group is second only to Ryanair, which carried the most travelers in Europe in 2021 with 72.4 million, compared to Lufthansa with 46.9 million.
Etihad Airways and “Horizon Club”
Earlier this month, Etihad Airways, the leading airline of the United Arab Emirates, also announced the expansion of its loyalty and rewards programs by teasing another 300 edition expansion of its Polygon-based EY-ZERO1 NFT collection. This allows travelers to ‘stake’ or lock their digital assets in exchange for airline miles.
The new loyalty program, dubbed ‘Horizon Club’, debuts in September and introduces the ‘staking-for-miles’ feature that allows travelers to ‘lock’ their NFTs and earn Etihad Guest Miles in return, which can then be redeemed for flights , seat upgrades and other exclusive benefits.
NFL rivals
Another great example we’ve seen so far was this month’s release of “NFL Rivals,” the first-ever licensed game from the NFL, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and Mythical Games. While the game features Web3 technology, it is not noticeable to players and does not burden them with understanding or dealing with the complexities of blockchain technology.
Editor’s Note: This article was written by a staff member of nft now in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4.