You can earn and burn on Air India Maharaja Club for Air India Express flights.

One of the key asks of Air India and Air India Express passengers for a long time has been to include Air India Express in the programme, a move that has been in the works since early 2025. The request has been made because Air India has transitioned a large part of its domestic network to Air India Express. And it has now transitioned to reality.

Earn Maharaja Club points for flying Air India Express

Every eligible Air India Express passenger is now eligible to be accrued to the Maharaja Club programme. You can earn Maharaja Points on eligible base fares, excluding Fuel Surcharge (YQ) and other applicable charges. Eligible flights will also help you earn Tier Points towards your Maharaja Club tier progression. You also earn an additional 2 Maharaja Points for every INR 100 spent when you book directly through the official Air India/Air India Express website or app.

Eventually, Air India plans to extend benefits such as free seat selection across Air India Express flights in phases over the coming months. However, lounge access will remain available exclusively on Air India flights.

Here are the points and Tier points you can earn.

Here are some things to keep in mind when trying to earn points on Maharaja Club:

• Add your Maharaja Club ID while booking your Air India Express flight on the Air India or Air India Express website or app.
• You can also add your Maharaja Club ID later through the ‘Manage My Booking’ section or during web check-in before your flight.
• Maharaja Points will be credited only if your Maharaja Club ID is added at the time of booking or web check-in.
• You will not be able to claim missed Maharaja Points for Air India Express flights if they were not added to the booking prior to travel.
• Once added on the Air India Express website or app, your Maharaja Club ID cannot be changed.

Air India Express seats are now showing up on Air India Maharaja Club for redemption

Air India Express routes will now appear in Air India’s Maharaja Club for points redemption, effective May 21, 2026. For instance, when I looked for Delhi – Mumbai tickets for redemption, I was also shown a ticket between Delhi – Navi Mumbai Airport for redemption on Air India Express.

And on another date, even Delhi to Mumbai tickets showed up.

And this is not a fluke, because many routes on many dates are showing up, and even ticketing. Upto 4 tickets generally show up in the Economy cabin. And they follow the same redemption rules as Air India. For instance, for redemption cancellations, here is what the fare rules say:
– SILVER MEMBER – FREE CHANGE PER BOOKING UP TO 30 DAYS TO DEPARTURE.
– GOLD MEMBER – FREE CHANGE PER BOOKING UP TO 07 DAYS TO DEPARTURE.
– PLATINUM MEMBER – FREE CHANGES PER BOOKING UPTO 2 HRS TO DEPARTURE.

Also, when you book an Air India Express ticket on a codeshare with Air India, you get served a sandwich on board, as I recently discovered on an Air India Express flight booked as Air India. In particular, the Vegetarian Sandwich.

Also, tickets booked into the flex fare, so that gets you a 20-kilo baggage allowance as well.

Overall, an amazing redemption value and a force multiplier for Maharaja Club, as their coverage has just expanded from Metro-operated routes to routes across India, which are often served by Air India Express.

Bottomline

Air India Express just launched earn and burn on Air India Maharaja Club for redemptions, and there is a large number of seats showing up for redemptions across the country at the moment. This can be a soft launch or a full launch, but it works and will deliver on the promise Air India made a year and a half ago to integrate Air India Express into the Air India Maharaja Club.

What routes do you expect to redeem on Air India Express via Air India Maharaja Club? Also, do share your experience redeeming in the comments below. 

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