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Etihad Guest soars to
100,000 membership mark CANADA - Etihad Guest, the frequent
flyer program for Etihad Airways, has attracted 100,000
members in just six months. Launched in August 2006,
members from 145 countries have already enrolled and many
have flown sufficient miles to attain silver or gold status
in the reward program. Within Canada, membership has
exceeded 2,824. Peter Baumgartner,
Etihad Airways' executive vice president, marketing and
product, said: "It is a major achievement to have broken the
six-figure mark so early in the program's launch and it is
indicative of the innovative services we are providing to
our members. We are confident of attracting thousands of
additional members as Etihad's global network
expands." At last month's Frequent
Flyer Program 2007 Conference held in Vancouver, BC, the
Etihad Guest program impressed members of the hospitality
industry with its innovative approach to loyalty
marketing. Three innovations that industry experts
identified as leading the way forward have already been
incorporated into Etihad Airways' loyalty
program: 1) Opening up all seats
in one's inventory for Redemption 2) Offering Miles plus
Cash flexibility 3) Operating with no
travel 'black-out' periods Etihad recognises that
flexibility is the ultimate mark of respect to its loyal
guests. As such, it is one of the few to offer all its
members the possibility of using a combination of miles and
cash when redeeming rewards with its Miles+Cash
feature. Using the online slider tool, Guests enter a
combination of miles and cash values into the relevant
MyMiles or MyCash fields. By moving the innovative
slider bar they are then able to calculate which proportion
of the two will work best for them at the time of
redemption. Peter Baumgartner added,
"Delivering true value, immediate rewards and personalized
service is what we set out to offer with Etihad Guest;
providing our loyal passengers with the recognition they
deserve along the entire travel chain. It is this attention
to detail in understanding how our members want to spend
their miles that sets Etihad Guest apart from other frequent
flyer programs." A 'Reward of the Day'
feature on the airline's website is available for Etihad
Guest members. Recent offers included a $1,000 Etihad
Holidays voucher for members who have collected over 93,500
miles. Etihad Guest partners
include airlines, hotels, tour operators, car rental,
healthcare and financial services. Members start with the
Etihad Guest card and move to silver tier membership at
25,000 miles and gold membership after 50,000 miles
flown. Silver and gold members also
receive a range of additional benefits, including airport
lounge access, priority booking, excess baggage allowance
and secure online account access. Members can also redeem
their miles for half-price tickets on selected destinations
before May 31st. About Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is the
national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in the
UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi. Currently Etihad offers
flights to 38 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North
America, Africa and Asia. For further details: Etihad
Airways Corporate Communications: Tel: + 971 (0) 2505 8006 /
8336 / 8055 or visit www.etihadairways.com In
Canada: Rohini Mukherji 416.645.3664 Rohini.mukherji@fleishman.ca
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