FlyerTalk is an
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
for discussion of
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
frequent-flyer program
A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...
s,
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
loyalty program
A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features and ...
s and other issues related to travel. The site was founded in 1998 by Randy Petersen and was acquired by
Internet Brands
MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands is an American new media company based in El Segundo, California, United States, that operates online media, community, and e-commerce sites in vertical markets. The company also develops and licenses internet ...
in 2007.
History
According to Petersen, as editor of ''
InsideFlyer
''InsideFlyer'' is a website specializing in frequent-flyer news.
InsideFlyer began as a monthly print publication founded in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1986 by Randy Petersen, which provided information on earning and redeeming frequent-fly ...
'', he saw FlyerTalk as a way to allow readers to combine their knowledge into a knowledge base. Since then, the site has grown to more than 200 forums, 750,000 members and over 30,000,000 posts. The site has approximately 20 million page views per month and 27,000 – 52,000 daily unique visitors.
On 16 November 2010, Petersen stated that he would leave FlyerTalk at the end of the year; then in March 2011, he launched MilePoint. MilePoint's brand was changed to
InsideFlyer
''InsideFlyer'' is a website specializing in frequent-flyer news.
InsideFlyer began as a monthly print publication founded in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1986 by Randy Petersen, which provided information on earning and redeeming frequent-fly ...
as Petersen started to build a global footprint with local languages in various countries around the world.
Industry Use
Some of the hotel and airline forum participants include official presences who use the site to learn about issues important to their customer base. One example of the site's influence was a wager between the
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
CEO
Larry Kellner
Lawrence W. "Larry" Kellner (born January 19, 1959) is the former CEO of Continental Airlines, having succeeded Gordon Bethune as CEO in December 2004. Prior to his arrival at Continental, he served as the chief financial officer of American Savin ...
and a site member as to whether 60 or more community members would voluntarily fly (using their own miles and incurring their own out-of-pocket expenses) to a feedback meeting in Houston for the airline; 274 did.
the forum has been cited as a powerful voice in shaping airlines' reward programs and as a source for novel ways to use frequent flier miles.
See also
*
List of Internet forums
An Internet forum, or ''message board'', is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.
Forums act as centralized locations for topical discussion. The Forum format is derived from BBS and Usene ...
References
External links
FlyerTalk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flyertalk
Aviation Internet forums
American travel websites
Internet properties established in 1998
2007 mergers and acquisitions