El Al Wins Two ‘Freddies’ for Frequent Flyer Excellence

El Al is this year’s proud winner of two “Freddies” – the top award in the travel loyalty industry – for its Matmid club. Matmid received the award for Best Elite Program in the Middle East, and for having the best miles deals for frequent flyers in the region.

Named for the late “king of the skyways,” Freddie Laker – founder of Britain’s first all-jet air carrier, Laker Airways, which eventually became the largest individually and privately owned airline in the world – the Freddies are awarded annually in a gala ceremony in Las Vegas, based on the votes of nearly 3 million frequent fliers from around the world.

Matmid has 1.6 million members, considered a small number relative to other clubs and El Al was competing against many well-respected names in travel known for their frequent flyer clubs in the Middle East and Asia region, including Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and others. In 2014, the airline also introduced its loyalty program credit card, called Fly Card, which has over 150,000 users.

Lior Tanner, director of Matmid, said that El Al “thanks all the frequent flyers who chose us, and to the judges committee, which chose us overwhelmingly. This is the most respected forum in the world of airline loyalty programs, and the international recognition for the quality of what we offer is very important for us.”