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…
Etihad
Tag Archives for Etihad.
Abu Dhabi to get US Customs pre-clearance
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…
Etihad offering double miles on economy travel [targeted]
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…
Etihad upgrades its loyalty program with enhancements for top-tier
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…
Jet-Etihad come closer, EY buys 9W’s LHR slots
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…
Jet Airways deal with Etihad Airways
News of a strategic partnership between the airlines has been discussed since September 2012, and of late the news is hitting the peak, also helping the stock price of the listed entity Jet Airways in the meanwhile. While there was a lot of discussion earlier in the past week that grounded carrier Kingfisher was taking away the funding cake from Etihad, with the lollipop of handing out operational control to Etihad (along with a 46-49% equity stake), Kingfisher categorically denied the news. However, the board of Kingfisher airlines met last week as well, to limit investments by institutional investors to create space for an airline to take stake in it. Remember, time is running out for KFA who may have…
Jet Airways on verge of strategic partnership with Etihad
In September, I had written about the possibility of Etihad investing in Jet Airways. Turns out I was not the only one who was thinking like that, even Jet & Etihad seem to be thinking on the same lines. As per Reuters, they have news from an insider Indian ministry of Civil Aviation that deal between Jet Airways and Etihad is almost a done deal, and will be at a substantial premium to the market price. Extracts from the news report filed: “The talks are on. This is more or less final. It may take around a month and half,” the government source told reporters, referring to the Jet-Etihad negotiations. “This deal is not just about investment but also technology…
Just exactly how efficient is Etihad Guest as a loyalty program?
I have to say all the money to run two massive airlines in a small country has not brought the best of systems and processes to the airline which wants to be the next Emirates. My first brush with the Etihad Guest loyalty program was when they announced a status match, and I applied for it. It took Etihad 2 months or more to process my Status Match request, and they only informed me in June 2012 that my request was confirmed. Now, hypothetically, Etihad is putting you in an elite tier (Gold), and wants to be a classy airline. Which should mean you should get your membership kits in time, no? Guess what, after many emails, I received my…
8 days for Amex transfer bonuses to British Airways Avios / Etihad Guest miles
Beginning of the month I had alerted all of you regular readers about the promotions going on with American Express, where there is an offer to transfer Membership Rewards (their reward currency) for cards issued in India. There are two promotions: Transfer your Amex Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios, and you could earn a 30% bonus on these transfers. Amex MR transfer to Avios at the rate of 1.6 MR = 1 Avios, which translates, with this bonus, to 1.23 MR = 1 Avios. While British Airways is one of the more expensive airlines due to their fuel surcharges to use Avios on, you could use them with so many of the oneworld airlines. Transfer your Amex MR to…
Citibank PremierMiles offers 30% transfer bonus on British Airways Avios & 20% on Etihad Guest miles
I don’t know if Citi is playing catch up with the American Express offer for 30% bonus miles on Avios transfers / Etihad Guest Miles or it is their own initiative, but they just got some new brownie points in my book. I’d been secretly wondering if there were ever going to be bonus offers on mileage transfers via Citi PM, but looks like Christmas did come early. For those of who look to redeem your miles for international travel, I find British Airways Avios to be an acceptable program over some other partners Citibank has for their card. Delta – bad availability, Singapore Airlines – expensive (as compared to others), Etihad – very expensive redemptions. With BA’s distance based…
Amex offering 20% bonus on MR conversion to Etihad Guest Miles
A short while back I wrote about the excellent 30% bonus that American Express was offering for conversions from India-based cards’ Membership Rewards to Avios, which can be used on British Airways and Iberia. I also spotted today on the American Express Membership Rewards portal, that there is a promotion on for Etihad Guest Miles conversion as well. Etihad Guest Miles transfer at 1.6 MR = 1 Etihad Guest Mile. While I have not figured a good hidden gem in the Etihad Guest Miles program yet (they charge about 42K miles for a one-way ticket to London in Economy), if you need some more EY miles to top-up your existing balances, this is a good time to take benefit of…
