Etihad Airways has extended BusinessConnect, its loyalty program for businesses, to 11 new markets including Bahrain, Belarus, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar and Thailand. The mileage earning program is targeted at the Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) sector, offering opportunities and benefits for companies who fly with Etihad Airways.

 

As part of the guest loyalty program, registered BusinessConnect customers are able to earn Etihad Guest Miles every time one of their employees takes a flight. Etihad Guest Miles can be earned on all Etihad Airways tickets booked on etihad.com, through Etihad Contact Centres, or by appointed travel agents. There are also no blackout periods when redeeming miles against upgrades, free flights, or the thousands of products from the Etihad Guest Reward Shop.  The points can even be converted to cash via PointsPay to spend at thirty million outlets worldwide.

 

Also, Etihad Cargo, part of Etihad Airways, has posted record monthly uplift figures for July of 45,000 tonnes, a 37 per cent increase on the same month in 2012.“Over the past 12 months we’ve strengthened our global cargo business, expanded operations across new and existing trade lanes and seen demand continue to grow,” said Etihad Airways’ Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Kevin Knight. The figures for July were driven largely by increases in key export markets such as India, Hong Kong and China and demand into the Middle East for foodstuffs ahead of the Holy Month of Ramadan, predominately from The Netherlands, says a press statement from the airways.