Ravn Alaska is offering a points program that customers can use to redeem for the value towards the cost of airline tickets, snacks or baggage fees.
Ravn CEO Rob McKinney said the program is a way to appreciate the flying public.
"I would like to just re-express my gratitude to everyone that has given us their faith and trust and come back — and as good loyal customers," McKinney said. "We're really, really grateful and thankful for everyone that flies [with] us every single day."
Recent passengers of the regional airline may have received an email touting "$20 of free 'FlyCoin.'" These are $0.02 credits that customers earn for every mile flown with the company. Depending on where passengers are flying, the amount earned per mile changes.
All passengers will get at least $10 worth of credits for every flight they take, no matter the distance. Those can be redeemed for food on flights or put toward fees or even future travel.
Ravn Alaska deposited more than 300 million FlyCoin credits into the accounts of current and past customers — the equivalent of about $6 million worth of credits.
Ravn Alaska and Alaska Airlines have yet to settle on a codeshare agreement. Until they do, Ravn Alaska tickets can't be booked through the Alaska Airlines website or shared mileage points. McKinney said his company is in conversation with Alaska Airlines about eventually making that happen.
Passengers who've flown with Ravn earlier this year have already been accruing FlyCoin. Customers can check their balances through the airline's website.
Ravn Alaska began offering regularly scheduled flights to Unalaskans in late November, after a lengthy pause in service when the original company, RavnAir Group, went bankrupt in early 2020. The newly branded airline with a similar name offers two flights a day out of Unalaska and serves over 10 other communities in the state.
