"Frequent flyer" programs started as an under-the-table way to bribe corporate flyers to take one airline over another: that is, you tell your employer you want to fly Delta, your employer books you on Delta, you get a kickback.
If some people who pay for their own flights feel some loyalty that's one thing, but the programs have mutated into financial skullduggery, some version of "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul"
You can have a big valuation without profits
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/palantir-headed-for-22-bil...
"Frequent flyer" programs started as an under-the-table way to bribe corporate flyers to take one airline over another: that is, you tell your employer you want to fly Delta, your employer books you on Delta, you get a kickback.
If some people who pay for their own flights feel some loyalty that's one thing, but the programs have mutated into financial skullduggery, some version of "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/advisor/2020/07/15/how-airlines...