Sir Keith Mills

'We already have more than a million members in the UAE and Qatar and will be launching our operations in Lebanon and Bahrain by the end of the year,' he said on a visit to mark the fifth anniversary of the company in the Middle East.

'The flourishing retail sector is the prime attraction for us, and it makes sound business sense for Air Miles to expand in this region. With a predicted 250% rise in the gross leaseable retail floor space by 2010, Air Miles can help members make the most of their daily spend.'

Sir Keith recalls how he came up with the original idea for Air Miles while on a train journey from Liverpool to London on a Friday afternoon in 1987. He patented the concept and trademark and took the idea to British Airways who liked it and the rest is history.

What made Air Miles different from the frequent flyer programs of US airlines was the ability to collect points from a variety of participants which could then be redeemed for flights and other rewards.

'The power of this coalition allows members to reach their special treat quicker,' he notes. 'The loyalty program is unique in that it not only incorporates a wide range of brands but focuses on getting the best names for the consumer such as HSBC which was a founder partner in the Middle East.

'For the future we are looking at using Air Miles to promote special offers. Then cardholders will score three times if they pay with an HSBC card: once for the store, once for the offer and again for paying with a card.

'We are also constantly adding to the number of participants in the program, giving our members even more choice of ways to obtain points.'

Sir Keith would also dearly like to make Air Miles programs inter-operable, so that a Middle East cardholder could use points in the UK, for example. This is not presently possible but it might be if Sir Keith's Loyalty Management Group is successful in its rumored acquisition bid for Air Miles in the UK which British Airways has put up for sale.

'This would be complementary to our Nectar loyalty program in the UK but I am not in a position to comment further,' he told AME Info.

Meanwhile, the technology and data acquisition side of Air Miles has developed into an advanced tool for customer relationship management, and Sir Keith is keen to stress the advantages to participant merchants in the process.

Air Miles has become a big business and the Sunday Times Rich List estimates Sir Keith's personal fortune as $385 million. He also led the recent successful bid by London to host the 2012 Olympic Games and now has the important job of overseeing a multi-billion dollar investment project for the games.