topbonus appoints Anton Lill as new Managing Director to oversee program expansion

topbonus, the loyalty program of airberlin, has appointed Anton Lill as its new Managing Director from the 1st of July 2014. In this position, he will oversee the future development of the program. Members and partners of topbonus will benefit from an even higher value and choice in the future.

Mr Lill previously held the role of Vice President and General Manager Germany at American Express Global Business Travel. Amongst other senior positions in the Service retail arena, he was with Lufthansa for 13 years and his last role was Managing Director of the subsidiary AirPlus.

Mr Lill said: “I am looking forward to working with the new management team to expand the partner network significantly. We have the data and technology to create a program that forms a part of people’s everyday lives. It is a very exciting venture.”

“We’re very pleased to have Anton onboard to lead the charge for us in Germany,” said Darren Peisley, Managing Director of Etihad Global Loyalty. “His industry experience will be crucial as we look to develop and grow topbonus beyond a traditional frequent flyer program into an engaging lifestyle program that benefits members, as well as partners. We want it to be a program that everyone wants to be a part of, delivering tangible value with an outstanding user-experience and unique rewards.”

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, Chief Executive Officer airberlin said: “By appointing Anton Lill we have gained an experienced manager for our customer loyalty program topbonus. It is our goal to make topbonus grow further and even more attractive for guests of airberlin. Anton Lill will support us in reaching this goal with his entire expertise.”

topbonus, which is celebrating its ten year anniversary this year, is one of three programs recently added to Etihad Airways’ Global Loyalty portfolio. The national airline of the United Arab Emirates’ strategy of building partnerships in airlines and loyalty programs has resulted in a 70 per cent stake in topbonus, alongside its 29 per cent stake in airberlin.

topbonus is Germany’s second largest frequent flyer program and has received multiple awards as one of the leading customer loyalty programs with more than 3.5 million members. With over 120 renowned partner companies worldwide, members collect topbonus miles that can be redeemed for award flights and further exclusive benefits. Thanks to the partnership with Etihad Airways and oneworld® membership, holders of a topbonus status card have worldwide access to the airport lounges of Etihad and oneworld. Together, airberlin and Etihad Airways offer their guests 228 destinations in 84 countries. Approximately 1000 destinations are available across the oneworld network. As the operator of airberlin’s frequent flyer program, topbonus Ltd. has a close association with the airline. www.airberlin.com/topbonus