Etihad heralds a new era for its loyalty programme

ABU DHABI, UAE – Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is relaunching its award-winning Etihad Guest loyalty programme in June 2024, to make life even better for its members.

The enriched programme couples rewards for members even more closely to their journeys, reflecting the airline’s desire to thank customers who choose Etihad.

It also gives members even greater control over their experiences, enabling them to select different benefits to suit their travelling preferences, and sees the introduction of a new elite Diamond tier to reward the airline’s top flyers.

More rewarding

“We are excited to announce a new era for the Etihad Guest programme with the experience of being a valued member about to reach new heights,” said Mark Potter, Managing Director of Etihad Guest. “The enhancements renew our partnership with our Etihad Guest members around the globe, meaning the more time they invest with us through flying and through our lifestyle partners, the more rewarding and personalised their experiences become, so Guests can journey on their terms, not ours.   

“Today, we have revised the pricing for our GuestSeats and reduced the miles required for some of our most popular destinations in both Economy and Business classes to provide our members with more rewarding opportunities when booking flights.  

“Examples of GuestSeat price reductions include: Abu Dhabi to London in Economy Class down to 30,000 EYG Miles and taxes; Milan to Abu Dhabi in Economy Class down to 25,000 miles and taxes; Jeddah to Abu Dhabi in Business Class down to 20,000 miles and taxes; and Abu Dhabi to Istanbul in Economy Class down to 15,000 miles and taxes.

“Members will earn the same amount of Tier Miles and Etihad Guest Miles on bookings made from June. Therefore, the higher fare brand they book, the more Tier Miles and Etihad Guest Miles they will earn. So, treating yourself to a little luxury will help you reach higher tiers and unlock exciting extra benefits in no time.   

“We are also further rewarding our Platinum Tier members, who will now enjoy 100 per cent Bonus Etihad Guest Miles when flying with us or any of our eligible airline partners, to bring their next rewards closer. 

“And we will be enabling Etihad Guest members to upgrade to The Residence, our luxury three-room suite in the sky, using their miles.”  

Personalised privileges

Alongside their Core Benefits, tiered members will be able to select from a range of extra privileges to suit their lifestyle, making Etihad the first airline in the region to offer this flexibility. As they progress up the tiers, so does the range of benefits and options.

In addition to their Core Benefits, Guests will be able to select from a range of fantastic Custom Benefits to be unveiled closer to the June launch date. Silver members will get a choice of two Custom benefits, Gold will get four and Platinum five.

“And Etihad Guest is delighted to introduce a new elite tier, Diamond, recognising the airline’s top flyers with experiences that truly go beyond,” said Mark Potter. “Diamond and Platinum members will be able to choose their own, personalised membership numbers.”  

“We are also introducing Beyond Benefits for our Gold and Platinum members as they progress through their tiers. These benefits can be gifted to friends or family, and include rewards such as Silver or Gold tier status or lounge passes for them to relax in style before their flight, as well as Etihad Guest Bonus Miles.”   

Making it easier

“To move to a higher tier and unlock more benefits, Etihad Guest members will still need to earn a set number of Tier Miles, some of which must now be earned from flying,” explains Mark.  “We’ve simplified the way members reach their new tiers by removing Tier Segments, creating a simpler way for Guests to track their progress to the next level.”   

All Etihad Guest members will be able to earn and spend their miles on flights with the airline and more than 20 airline partners, which would extend the validity of their Etihad Guest Miles by 18 months.

They will continue to collect miles when they fly and also with 150+ partners including restaurants, hotels, car hire and retailers.    Etihad Guest Miles can continue to be redeemed for a wide range of rewards whether that be a free flight, a cabin upgrade, a special experience or one of 3,500 products in the Reward Shop.

Three new 787-9 Dreamliners join the Etihad Airways fleet as it flies towards ambitious growth

Also, Etihad Airways is celebrating the arrival of three new Boeing 787-9 aircraft this weekend. The national airline of the UAE welcomed the latest additions to its expanding fleet at Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport. The new aircraft will begin operations this month, helping Etihad to expand in line with its ambitious roadmap which will see it fly to 125 destinations with more than 160 aircraft by 2030.

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said: “We are thrilled to welcome these brand-new, state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Abu Dhabi. Their arrival is key to our network expansion strategy and comes at the perfect time as we continue to add multiple new destinations and expand frequencies into key markets.

“These new aircraft support our commitment to Abu Dhabi, allowing us to bring more guests to experience the incredible capital of the UAE, either as their end destination or on a stopover when connecting across our expanding network.”

The 787-9s will further bolster Etihad’s fleet as it launches additional destinations over the coming months. Etihad will begin flying to Boston, its fourth US gateway, on 31 March, and will add Nairobi and Bali to the network as well as summer routes to Nice, Malaga, Mykonos and Santorini.

The arrival of the three new Dreamliners follows the new Boeing 787-10 received in October 2023, which added further capacity to support Etihad’s network expansion. The airline added new routes to Osaka, Copenhagen and Dusseldorf in quarter four of 2023, as well as Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram in the Kerala region of India on New Year’s Day.

Etihad has also expanded across multiple markets with additional flight frequencies and improved connectivity across the network.

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners are up to 25% more fuel efficient than many comparable aircraft of their size. In total, Etihad now operates 43 Dreamliners and a total fleet of 88 aircraft including the Airbus A380, A350, A320 family, and Boeing 777.

A remarkable flying experience

Etihad’s new 787 Dreamliner cabin interior offers a comfortable and spacious cabin environment in Etihad’s award-winning signature style. The two-class aircraft features a brand-new cabin interior with 32 Business Suites and 271 seats in Economy.

The Business cabin features a unique and customised version of the Elements seat manufactured by Collins and Etihad is the first airline in the world to introduce this seat on the Boeing 787.

The Business Suites provide guests with generous levels of space, comfort and privacy. Each seat has direct aisle access and reclines to a fully lie-flat-bed 78” in length boasting a 17.3” 4K TV screen, Bluetooth headphone pairing, wireless charging, and multiple charging ports, as well as plenty of storage.

In Economy, the newest 787 offers lighter, and therefore more fuel-efficient, seats than the current fleet, with 217 standard seats and 54 Extra Legroom seats with four inches of additional legroom. As well as providing guests with exceptional comfort, the slimmer profile seats provide an increased feeling of space for every guest.

The new 787 Dreamliner offers the latest in-flight entertainment technology from Safran with Rave Ultra 13.3” 4K touch-screen monitors and the option to pair personal phones and tablets to the screen to use as a remote.

The aircraft is fitted with a new connectivity solution from Viasat using Ka-band technology which offers high-speed Wi-Fi with streaming capabilities on board as well as Live TV, including news and sport channels.

Through Etihad’s Wi-Fly, all Etihad Guest members can enjoy complimentary chat packages, while all guests can choose to purchase a full Surf package with unlimited data for the duration of the flight.

The article Etihad heralds a new era for its loyalty programme first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.