Kenichi Kiriyama, United Airlines’ Regional Managing Director of Sales for Asia and Micronesia, described All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) planned changes to its Super Flyers Card (SFC) program as having “aspects that are close to a deterioration” at the “Media Showcase 2026” event for journalists held at Tokyo Haneda Airport on October 15. However, he said the airline currently has no plans to launch a campaign aimed at attracting members to its own mileage program in response to the changes.
ANA announced changes to the SFC program in April. Members whose annual spending on ANA Cards and ANA Pay is at least 3 million yen will be categorized as “SFC PLUS,” while those spending less than 3 million yen will be categorized as “SFC LITE.” The Star Alliance status of SFC LITE members will be reduced from Gold to Silver, and airport services such as lounge access and priority check-in will generally no longer be available. ANA announced revisions on September 29, allowing SFC LITE members to use domestic ANA Lounges except during busy periods, as well as ANA-operated lounges on international routes. However, their status will still be reduced to Silver.
During the question-and-answer session, a reporter noted that the treatment of Star Alliance Gold status has become a topic of discussion among frequent flyers in Japan, and asked whether this could represent a business opportunity for United Airlines and whether it was considering a campaign to acquire members in Japan.
Kiriyama replied that United, an ANA partner, was “carefully reviewing the details, including through the release.” He also acknowledged, “From the customer’s perspective, as you say, there are probably various opportunities available, not only with our company.” On a personal note, he revealed that his son had asked him, “Dad, what are you going to do about this?” He said, “This may sound a little blunt, but there are aspects that are close to a deterioration, and it will be quite difficult for members to maintain their status.”
However, because United and ANA are partners, he said, “At this point, we have no plans to leverage that to do anything,” ruling out measures intended to capitalize on the program changes.
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