Why Delta and United’s Loyalty Programs Could Be Worth $30 Billion

Air Canada sold the 25% Aeroplan program stake to Blackstone and some leading Canadian institutional investors, valuing the program at more than $7 billion U.S. dollars ($10 billion Canadian dollars), according to a news release Tuesday. Based on the valuation of the Aeroplan stake, the Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus loyalty programs could each be worth $30 billion or more, which would be a significant chunk of each airline’s market values, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu wrote after the sale.