Twelve days after Qantas Frequent Flyer announced it would launch a new Green tier to reward members for making sustainable choices, Etihad Airways announced that it is launching the “world’s first green loyalty programme”.
While good news for the environment and Etihad Guest members alike, the “world first” claim is a little bizarre when neither Qantas’ nor Etihad’s programs have actually gone live yet. So far, the only reference to the new “Conscious Choices by Etihad Guest” program is a press release. More than a week after this press release was issued, there is still no mention of the program anywhere on the Etihad or Etihad Guest websites.
The press release from Etihad on 8 December 2021 says:
Etihad is the first airline in the world to reward frequent flyers for being more sustainable in the air and on the ground. Members’ sustainable behaviours are already being captured so they can be rewarded for offsetting their flights with Miles and purchasing sustainable products in the Reward Shop, while the full programme and benefits will go live in January 2022.
The Etihad announcement doesn’t mention Qantas at all. But twelve days earlier on 26 November, Qantas made the following announcement:
Qantas will be the first airline in the world to reward frequent flyers for being more sustainable in the air and on the ground.
About the Etihad Guest Conscious Choices program
With Conscious Choices, Etihad Guest members will soon be able to earn tier miles and unspecified “other rewards” for making sustainable choices in the air and on the ground. For example, Etihad Guest members will have the opportunity to earn tier miles, which count towards Etihad Guest status, by:
- Carrying less baggage on board
- Offsetting their flights’ carbon emissions using Etihad Guest miles
- Offsetting everyday emissions, e.g. from driving a car
- Donating miles to a green cause
- Purchasing sustainable products from the Etihad Guest Reward Shop
“Empowering our Members to offset their personal travel or shopping in a sustainable way, and be rewarded for it, gives the Etihad sustainability programme even more weight,” Etihad Aviation Group CEO Tony Douglas said.
“While Etihad has focused on developing technology and innovative solutions for operational efficiency that will actively reduce the CO2 emissions of flying, we have placed an equal focus on the guest. To that end we have been developing our sustainable loyalty programme for the last year, listening to member feedback and taking into account their priorities and expectations for travel. Through this we have refined a programme that will provide members with the ability and incentive to travel more sustainably, while further reinforcing our position as a planet-conscious travel and lifestyle brand,” Douglas added.
Etihad’s program is not live yet
It is already possible to redeem Etihad Guest miles for “green rewards” like carbon offsets on the Etihad Guest Reward Shop. The press release from Etihad says that the airline has already started keeping track of these purchases so that members’ sustainable behaviours can be rewarded in the future. But there is no mention anywhere on the Etihad Guest Reward Shop of earning tier miles and there is currently no information anywhere about exactly how many tier miles members will earn.
Meanwhile, there is currently no option to purchase a carbon offset when booking a fight on the Etihad Airways website – let alone to earn tier miles for it. There’s also no mention yet on Etihad’s website of earning tier miles for choosing a hand luggage-only fare when booking a flight.
Etihad launched its carbon offset program a year ago, becoming the first of the major Middle Eastern carriers to do so. (Never mind that Etihad’s CEO last month described offsetting carbon emissions as “cheating”.)
Etihad says that its frequent flyers can also “choose to ‘go green’, by opting for a digital membership card instead of physical”. But I could not find anywhere on the Etihad Guest website to opt into receiving a digital membership card.
Qantas has not yet launched its Green tier either, although it does at least now have a website for it. That’s more than Etihad can say at this point.
About the Qantas Green status tier
At this stage, we already know that Qantas Frequent Flyer members will be able to earn Green tier status by completing actions in five of the following six categories annually:
- Flying
- Travel
- Lifestyle
- Sustainable purchases
- Reducing impact
- Giving back
Upon earning Green status each year, Qantas Frequent Flyer members will be able to choose from one of the following rewards:
- Bonus Qantas status credits,
- Bonus Qantas points, or
- Qantas will purchase carbon offsets or sustainable aviation fuel on your behalf.
It doesn’t matter which airline is first – the real winner is the environment
Etihad may well end up being the first airline to launch a sustainability program for its frequent flyers. But its recent claim is rather bold when it doesn’t even have a website yet for its Conscious Choices by Etihad Guest program and we know very little about how exactly it will work. At this stage, Etihad says the full program will go live in January 2022 while Qantas has so far just given a vague “early 2022” timeline. We’ll see!
Either way, it’s great that multiple airlines want to promote sustainability and are coming up with innovative ways to reward their frequent flyers for making green choices. If this trend catches on, it can only be a good thing for the environment.
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