[nerdponx]

The ability to accrue miles/points/whatever for yourself is considered one of the offsetting perks of having to travel a lot of work. So strong reward programs for frequent business travelers is indirectly a product or service being offered by the airlines to companies that employ business travelers, which employers implicitly pass along to travelers as a form of soft compensation.

[BoiledCabbage]

You have it backwards. Airlines aren't paying customers and companies are paying the payment forward to their employees. Employers are paying their employees and funneling it through airlines.

At a deeper level airlines and business travelers have no real business relationship. Employers are buying a service, airlines are selling a service. Business travelers are the "cargo" that airlines are shipping. Businesses pay airlines to ship this cargo. Airlines have no relation to the cargo.

Employers also pay the cargo (their employee) a wage. But they funnel part of that payment wage through airlines via miles. It's not much different than company sponsored health care, but it's company sponsored vacation/personal travel. It's an employer benefit, but not treated as one.

[nerdponx]

I think we're saying the same thing. What I was trying (poorly) to say is that the airlines offering the employers the ability to compensate their employees is indirectly a service that airlines offer to employers.