Qantas program may be worth $1.9 billion

Bloomberg News reports that JPMorgan Chase estimates Qantas Airways Ltd.’s frequent-flyer program may be worth A$2 billion ($1.9 billion USD):

With an affluent customer base and rising earnings, the loyalty program might attract a price of more than 12 times estimated earnings rather than the 6.4 times Qantas currently trades at. . . .

If Qantas decides to spin off the loyalty program, it wouldn’t be the first airline to do so.

ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., the parent of Air Canada, created Aeroplan Income Fund in 2005 to own and manage its frequent-flyer program.

Today, Aeroplan is worth C$3.4 billion ($3.4 billion), almost three times ACE’s C$1.2 billion value.