Etihad’s own network of partners was formed about 2 years ago when Etihad got together their 7 airline partners where they own an equity into one place, and started to harmonize the look & feel, apart from the benefits offered by all the partner airlines. As a part of the process, in the first step, all the airlines introduced Fare Choices, which allows the airlines to offer benefits to their own passengers on the basis of the fare paid. Jet Airways was a part of this move.

Beyond that, I started receiving new cards from TopBonus, JetPrivilege and Etihad Guest, where the Etihad Airways Partner logo was stamped but I did not think much of that since it was perhaps just corporate branding. Now, the airlines have announced harmonized benefits across the globe whenever flying one of the partner airlines. The benefits were already being offered over a few months now, however, now there is a more formal alignment which Etihad has published.

Member Airlines

Here are all the airlines which are member of the airline alliance:

• Etihad Airways
• airberlin
• Alitalia
• Air Serbia
• Air Seychelles
• Etihad Regional
• Jet Airways
• NIKI

Seamless Travel Experience

Before we come to the alliance benefits, the airlines are now offering a similar experience across the board on their flights. Here are the benefits that have been harmonized:

• Flat bed Business Class on Long Haul flights along with Dine Anytime: All the airlines now have flatbed seats on their long-haul planes, and they offer meals anytime you want to eat them. On my recent Jet Airways flight between Mumbai to Amsterdam, I saw the change with the menu moved to a Dine Anytime menu instead of a midnight snack menu, and also with many more options.

• Shared Hollywood movie collection: I have to admit, this is unique. Etihad’s pitch is, since the Hollywood movie collection is going to be common, you can watch them across flights from different carriers, rather than not being able to finish the movie altogether.

Elite Members get Reciprocal benefits

Etihad Airways Partners’ elite members will also get similar benefits going forward on all the carriers. So if you are Silver, Gold or Platinum with one carrier’s frequent flyer program, you will be treated as such with all the member carriers. Here are all the benefits to be offered across the network.

Lounge Access

The following Lounges will be available for access when flying across the Etihad Airways Partner Network. Of course, individual lounge access applies basis your status and class of travel. Gold and Platinum Members get to bring a guest along to all lounges, except Jet Airways lounges, oneworld lounges & SkyTeam lounges. Additionally, Etihad Gold members only get access to the Al Reem Lounge in Abu Dhabi when travelling Economy. Here is the post I wrote specificly for JetPrivilege members across the Etihad network.

• Etihad Guest Silver Members/equivalent EAP partner members can avail airport lounge access at Al Reem lounge in Abu Dhabi, Belgrade Nikola Tesla International Airport at the Premium Lounge and Seychelles International Airport at the Salon Vallée De Mai Lounge. Etihad Guest Gold and Platinum members can access all Etihad Airways Partner’s 3rd Party Lounges (i.e. a lounge that is not owner/operated by the operating flight carrier) across the whole EAP network. (excluding Skyteam and Oneworld lounges).

Bottomline

The Etihad Airways Partner project has been cooking for about two years now, and finally we see a lot of integration around a whole bunch of carriers from a scratch. This would have been a difficult project for sure to start with, but now it is live as of today. I am a bit foxed for a long time about the exclusion of Virgin Australia from this program, and still wondering when will they join in, or if they will join in.

I’m hoping everyone can share their experiences about the interoperability of benefits going forward in the comments.

Are you excited about the emergence of the 4th airline alliance?

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