Etihad

Tag Archives for Etihad.

Going RTW: Flight EY205 (BOM-AUH), Etihad, Pearl Business

by Ajay 6 Comments

an airplane on the runway at night

Introduction & Trip Index <Celebrations Lounge, Mumbai T2                     Etihad F Lounge, Abu Dhabi T3> Boarding was pretty disorganised, and I’d begin to think this was a Mumbai Airport feature but there are airlines such as Etihad, and back in the day, Kingfisher which would enforce boarding sequence pretty well. So, the incoming flight was delayed, however, instead of going back into the lounge, I just waited in the boarding area. This was my first time being at Gate 1B, so I wasn’t in the know of what I was getting into later. Boarding started about 20 minutes later, and business class was called first, being the highest cabin on this A320.…

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Going RTW: Celebrations Lounge, Mumbai Terminal 2

by Ajay 8 Comments

a sign on the wall of a building

Introduction & Trip Index < Introduction                               EY205, BOM-AUH, Etihad Business Class> The flight timings for Etihad to fly out of Mumbai are at a very odd hour at 4:50 AM in the morning. Odd for me I mean. I usually prefer day time flights, or even with a night flight, a departure closer to midnight so that I can get on the plane and go off to sleep at the earliest. Etihad offers a limousine pickup and drop service for customers flying with them in Business & First Class. Since I was flying Business Class between Mumbai to Abu Dhabi and First Class there on to…

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Going RTW: Introduction & Trip Index

by Ajay 6 Comments

Introduction Check-in: Celebrations Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai (BOM) Airborne: Flight EY205 (BOM-AUH), Etihad Airways, Pearl Business Class, Airbus A320-200 Check-in: Etihad First Class Lounge, Terminal 3, Abu Dhabi (AUH) Airborne: Flight EY101 (AUH-JFK), Etihad Airways, Diamond First Class, Airbus A340-600 Hotel Holiday Inn LaGuardia Airport, New York Check-in: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Central Terminal, LaGuardia (LGA) Airborne: Flight UA343 (LGA-DEN), United Airlines, First, Boeing 757-200 Check-in: United Club West, Concourse B, Denver (DEN) Airborne: Flight UA4918 (DEN-COS), United Express, Economy, Dash 8-400 Cheyenne Resort, Colorado Springs Airborne: Flight AA1320 (DEN-DFW), American Airlines, First, Boeing MD-80 Airborne: Flight AA2493 (DFW-LAX), American Airlines, Coach, Boeing 757-200 Check-in: American Airlines/Qantas Flagship Lounge, Los Angeles (LAX) Airborne: Flight AA30 (LAX-JFK), American Airlines, Business,…

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Etihad offering a status match to Gold till June 18

by Ajay 5 Comments

Etihad had introduced an opportunity to status match to their Gold tier last year, which I availed of. And they return this year with another opportunity to Status Match Gold tier for Gold tier this year, valid for applications received till June 18, 2013. Existing members of other airlines’ loyalty programmes at a Gold level or higher are invited to join the Etihad Guest programme and have their status matched. The national carrier of the UAE, which is working on getting Jet Airways in its fold, is offering another incentive to successful status matches. For all flights flown in Diamond First Class, you get triple Etihad Guest Miles while it will be double Miles on flights in Pearl Business Class…

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Jet Airways to move hub from Brussels to Amsterdam?

by Ajay 4 Comments

While I am not totally accepting this news as fait accompli just yet, however, James Hogan, the CEO of Etihad Airways has made an announcement at Amsterdam, at the press conference to launch the airline’s Abu Dhabi – Amsterdam route, that Jet Airways will be moving its scissor hub from Brussels to Amsterdam. Jet Airways, at present has two flights, which operate from Delhi and Mumbai, go into Brussels, and one goes forward to Toronto and the other to Newark. The scissor hub allows passengers to switch in Brussels, and has been in existence since 2007. In this statement made to Dutch website LuchtvaartNieuws.nl,  further picked up by the Business Traveller, Hogan said that Schipol would take over the routes…

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I must be worth $250 as a JetPrivilege member

by Ajay 4 Comments

Like I wrote yesterday, Jet Airways finally dried the ink on their partnership with Etihad Airways. One fourth of the value of the whole transaction is being generated by the frequent flyer program of Jet Airways, which was spun off into a separate company in December 2012. Etihad is going to pay $150 million for a majority stake in the loyalty program, which I assumed was going to be about 60% at least. I tried valuing the different membership tiers to arrive at a value of each membership tiers, and this is pure speculation, but do tell me if you think this is in line with valuations you would expect to be a JetPrivilege member. Related Posts: Jet Privilege to…

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Jet Airways to sell 24% stake to Etihad Airways as well as JetPrivilege

by Ajay 2 Comments

This afternoon in India, Jet Airways’ Board of Directors put their agreement to receive a fresh induction of $380 million by Etihad Airways, who in turn will get 24% of the expanded equity capital of Jet Airways, thus making Jet Airways a part of the Equity alliance of Etihad Airways, where Etihad is sewing up partnerships with various airlines by picking up equity stakes in them. I first wrote about this possibility back in September and while the deal was close to being struck then, it took quite some back and forth in the few months ahead to come to a consensus. Etihad confirmed later in the day that they were taking the 24% stake for $379 million dollars, and…

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Abu Dhabi to get US Customs pre-clearance

by Ajay 5 Comments

The Wall Street Journal reported a few days ago, that the White House has agreed to open a Customs & Border Protection outpost in Abu Dhabi, which will help passengers flying out from the AUH airport to pre-clear American Customs & Immigration formalities before getting on that plane. The CBP has been offering this facility to some countries, such as Canada, Ireland and its Caribbean counterparts, but this is for the first time it is going almost half way across the world to the Middle-East to offer such a service. Who benefits? Etihad Airways, but naturally, since they are the only ones who currently fly non-stops between the USA and UAE from that airport. Interestingly, this news is coming out…

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Etihad offering double miles on economy travel [targeted]

by Ajay Leave A Comment

Etihad is sending out targeted mailers to members of its Etihad Guest program, which offers double miles for those flying on Etihad flights before 30th May 2013 in their Coral Economy Class. This promotion, for those who receive it, is valid for tickets booked online, via the call center or via a travel agent as well. The promotion terms & conditions do mention that: This offer is exclusive to a select segment of Etihad Guests, and is available by invitation only. Bonus Miles Promotion is valid for bookings made between 21 April and 26 May 2013 for travel between 22 April and 30 May 2013. Promotion is valid only for travel in Coral Economy Class. The bonus miles earned will…

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Etihad upgrades its loyalty program with enhancements for top-tier

by Ajay 1 Comment

While my experience with Etihad Guest (Etihad’s loyalty program) has not been the best till date, Etihad may be a serious contender for loyalty games in India given that sooner than later they will have a equity tie-up with Jet Airways. Etihad introduced a Gold Elite tier in 2011, and offered status matches to their Gold tier in 2012, which was a botched up exercise at best. Just today, Etihad has enhanced, and by that I really mean enhanced, their benefits on the Etihad Guest Gold Elite tier, some of which are good additions. The new program enhancements include the following: Increase in tier bonus miles from 50% to 75% complimentary nomination to Etihad Guest Gold tier to a member…

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Jet-Etihad come closer, EY buys 9W’s LHR slots

by Ajay 2 Comments

Jet and Etihad have been known to be trying to make a deal since September 2012. Speculation about this deal came out about that time period, since when the deal moved towards closure. At this moment, we heard there is a little stall, with Etihad being worried about the Indian Government’s policies on aviation. The backroom also said there was difference of opinion on how the management of the airline and its board was supposed to be organised. This led to 9W’s faresale last week to generate cash as a precautionary measure. However, looks like things are falling in place now. To tide over the current difficulties, Jet Airways has concluded a deal yesterday, to sell its 3 airport slots…

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