Etihad and Air France-KLM Enter a Frequent Flyer Programme Partnership

Etihad in its 20 years of existence has changed direction many times in its intentions and growth plan. However, this time around the path traced is a more sustainable one. To ensure future growth and attract feeding passengers from the strategic and key European market, the airline has signed a frequent flyer programme partnership. Specifically, Etihad will team up with Air France-KLM. Here are the details and what will change for passengers on the three airlines.

What is the Air France-KLM Etihad Frequent Flyer Agreement all About?

In essence travellers on Etihad and Air France-KLM will be able to earn miles for each other’s airline’s frequent flyer programme. Therefore, Flying Blue members will be able to earn miles on Etihad flights just as they would on the French and Dutch carrier. On the other hand, Etihad Guest members will be able to earn miles on Air France-KLM operated services.

The agreement is also valid for redeeming reward flights. Flying Blue and Etihad Guest members will be able to redeem award flights on any of the three airlines.

Also, the airlines announced just a couple of months ago a wider partnership that included the possibility to connect on each other’s flights. Therefore, with a single ticket and reservation it is possibile to travel on a mixed itinerary operated by both EY and AF-KLM.

What’s in It For Air France-KLM Frequent Flyers?

The deal is particularly interesting for European Air France-KLM passengers looking to travel to Australia. Although EY doesn’t currently have the most extensive route network down under, it serves the two largest cities: Sydney and Melbourne. Without this partnership there aren’t many great options for Air France-KLM frequent flyers to get there quickly and conveniently while earning miles all the way. Also, there is the possibility that Etihad might once again expand its destination network in Australia somewhere down the road.

So I see it as a fantastic opportunity for more convenient travel for AF and KLM frequent flyers.

What’s in It Etihad?

I think it has become quite apparent to Etihad that it is going to be near impossibile taking on Emirates by just going head-to-head. The brand of the other major UAE airline is just much stronger, and the rise of Qatar Airways has made it even harder to gain market share on many routes.

So rather than going head to head with these 2 much larger airlines and groups, EY got smart and looked for other ways to try and gain market share.

That’s where the Air France-KLM agreement comes into play. The Abu Dhabi based airline can now access feeding traffic from the European airline group to increase its load factors on profitable Australian and Asian routes. Also, the agreement will increase brand recognition with more passengers ending up on EY flights. So, overall, a particularly good deal for Etihad too.