Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of UAE’s national carrier Etihad Airways, is entering its next phase of growth and has become a separate legal entity, Etihad Guest LLC.

The evolution of Etihad Guest into a separate legal entity is designed to support its growth as a leading customer loyalty and marketing services organisation. This change brings increased focus and investment into developing specialty services and capabilities designed to improve member engagement and returns for the programme partners.

Launched in August 2006, Etihad Guest quickly established itself as one of the airline industry’s fastest-growing and most innovative loyalty programmes that today boasts more than 2.3 million members globally.

The success of the programme is in the ease with which members are able to accumulate and spend Etihad Guest Miles. Opportunities to earn Etihad Guest Miles exist for members on more than 3,000 flights on Etihad Airways and its many global airline partners, and also with more than 150 non-airline global partners.

Etihad Guest members have a wide variety of options to choose from when it comes to redeeming their Etihad Guest Miles, with flights on more than 3,000 routes, and more than 6,000 non-flight rewards from over 250 partners on the Etihad Guest online Reward Shop.

Uniquely, Etihad Guest Miles can also be converted to a credit facility to spend at more than 30 million retail outlets worldwide with PointsPay – a truly innovative and unmatched loyalty proposition that effectively enables members to spend anywhere, and at any time.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, said: “This exciting development is testament to how far the Etihad Guest program has come since welcoming its first members back in 2006, and a sign of its commitment to meeting the needs of the increasing number of travellers looking to gain more value from their travel experience.”

Barry Green, previously vice president Customer Relationship Management & Loyalty at Etihad Airways has taken up the position of managing director for the new company.

Green was one of the original team working on the Etihad Guest programme throughout its design in 2005 and subsequent launch in August 2006, and has managed the programme since that time. – TradeArabia News Service