At the World Aviation Festival 2025, Oliver Ross (KM Malta Airlines, Loyalty & CRM) outlined how the boutique carrier is launching a real-time loyalty marketplace to drive engagement beyond flights. By integrating with payment systems, leveraging data insights, and adding gamification and community reviews, KM Malta aims to make loyalty part of customers’ everyday lives.
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GLOAt the World Aviation Festival 2025, Oliver Ross, Head of CRM & Loyalty at KM Malta Airlines, shared how a small boutique airline is rethinking loyalty to drive engagement and profitability beyond flights. Drawing on his experience at British Airways, Flybe, Hilton, and Visa, Ross outlined how KM Malta is building a next-generation loyalty marketplace that blends travel partnerships, payments integration, and gamification.
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Oliver Ross, KM Malta Airlines (Image: GLO)
Loyalty Beyond the Flight:
Ross emphasized that while KM Malta carries only 1.8 million passengers annually, loyalty remains central to its strategy. With fewer opportunities to engage through flying alone, non-air partnerships become essential to keeping members active. Co-branded cards still play a role, though margins are slimmer in Europe, as they strengthen everyday engagement and brand affinity.
Marketplace Model: Tech at the Core:
KM Malta is preparing to launch a retail and rewards marketplace built with a payment-focused tech startup. Unlike traditional coalitions, this model integrates directly with point-of-sale systems, enabling real-time earning and redemption. For example, a passenger could earn miles on a flight to Malta, then instantly redeem them for coffee on arrival or meals during their stay.
The marketplace is designed to be inclusive: while it promotes flying with KM Malta, it also creates value for locals and inbound tourists regardless of which airline they use. Early rollout will focus on restaurants and airport retailers, followed by broader sectors in later phases.
Data-Driven Personalisation
Because the system links directly to payment transactions, KM Malta will gain rich data insights on spending behavior across restaurants, retail, and attractions. This will allow the airline to make more targeted offers—such as recommending an excess baggage package to a traveler who has already gone on a shopping spree.
Phased Rollout:
The launch plan begins with technical trials at restaurants in Valletta, followed by internal testing with KM Malta staff and then a beta group of frequent flyers. Once stable, the marketplace will scale to a public launch with curated partners to ensure a seamless experience.
Gamification & Community Building:
Ross highlighted the growing role of gamification in loyalty, citing inspiration from Joe & The Juice’s milestone-based program and Miles & More’s virtual trading cards. While not in phase one, KM Malta intends to add gamified features and community-driven recommendations to its platform. Members will be able to review partners—similar to TripAdvisor—but with credibility rooted in frequent flyer peers. Vendors with higher ratings will gain greater visibility, further motivating quality experiences.
Key Takeaways:
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Oliver Ross / KM Malta Airlines Loyalty → Non-flying partnerships are critical for engagement in smaller markets.
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Marketplace Model → Real-time earning and redemption through POS integration creates immediate value.
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Data Insights → Transaction-linked data allows for smarter, personalized offers.
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Gamification → Encourages repeat engagement and exploration across vendors.
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Community Reviews → Builds trust and relevance through peer recommendations.
GLO Take:
KM Malta is proving that even boutique airlines can innovate boldly in loyalty. By merging travel, payments, and lifestyle partnerships into a seamless marketplace, the carrier aims to deliver daily relevance for members, capture valuable data, and create a loyalty program that extends far beyond the flight.
Source: GLO
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