Etihad Guest to become multi-airline program

Etihad Guest, Etihad Airways’ loyalty program, will expand to become a multi-airline program in June. The new development will see Seychelles Plus, the Air Seychelles frequent flyer program, becoming fully integrated into Etihad Guest’s loyalty platform. The change will be effective from June 16 and all Seychelles Plus members will automatically receive a new co-branded membership based on Etihad’s loyalty program. Features available to airlines supported by the Etihad Guest program include: Immediate rewards – with the 1MileRedemption feature, fly once and enjoy instant rewards; No blackout periods – GuestSeats are available on all flights. If a seat is available, guests can book it; Anytime availability – all seats on a flight, including the very last seat, are available at any time. OpenSeats can be redeemed at a mileage cost equivalent to the commercial price of the seat; The widest choice – redeem for flights, products or services using the exclusive Etihad Guest Reward Shop that features over 3,000 miles redemption opportunities; The widest choice – using the Miles+Cash feature, redeem flights using a mix of miles and cash and even earn miles on the actual cash spent on redemption flights; Expanded partner network – earn and redeem miles on over 3,000 routes worldwide with Etihad Airways, Air Seychelles, and a total of 15 partner airlines, including airberlin, Virgin Australia and American Airlines. In January, Etihad Airways acquired a 40 per cent stake in Air Seychelles and the two airlines now operate eight return services a week between Abu Dhabi and the Indian Ocean archipelago – four by Air Seychelles and four by Etihad Airways. (http://www.etihadairways.com)