Is JETihad confusing me too much?
About two weeks back, Jet Privilege sent me an email. That left me clutching at straws, trying to understand what exactly they were trying to tell me.
Maybe it was this - Etihad today announced more news that may help both Etihad Guest and JetPrivilege members. Though I haven't heard any of this from Jet, yet.
Readers may recall the 24% stake that Etihad acquired in Jet in April 2013, for $379 million, which has had its own share of problems (read, regulatory approvals).
Clearly, one of the main operational intents of this acquisition was to enable Etihad to get more traffic ex-India to destinations worldwide, that otherwise would be taken up by Emirates. Towards this end, an initial set of codeshare routes were announced. This has now been extended, which will further increase ex-India capacity and traffic to Abu Dhabi and onwards. The shared network now represents 132 destinations globally. The new codeshares include:
But the most interesting (and confusing) part is what's called reciprocal benefits, which are as follows (emphasis mine):
Maybe it was this - Etihad today announced more news that may help both Etihad Guest and JetPrivilege members. Though I haven't heard any of this from Jet, yet.
Readers may recall the 24% stake that Etihad acquired in Jet in April 2013, for $379 million, which has had its own share of problems (read, regulatory approvals).
Clearly, one of the main operational intents of this acquisition was to enable Etihad to get more traffic ex-India to destinations worldwide, that otherwise would be taken up by Emirates. Towards this end, an initial set of codeshare routes were announced. This has now been extended, which will further increase ex-India capacity and traffic to Abu Dhabi and onwards. The shared network now represents 132 destinations globally. The new codeshares include:
But the most interesting (and confusing) part is what's called reciprocal benefits, which are as follows (emphasis mine):
- The flexibility of earning and redeeming frequent flyer miles with either Etihad Guest or JetPrivilege
- Earning tier miles across both programmes
- Priority check-in based on tier status
- Lounge access based on tier status
- Excess baggage allowance
- Tier bonus miles as relevant
The earning of miles is clear - you can earn it on only one program, irrespective of which airline you're flying. Redemption too appears easy to understand - you can use JP miles to redeem on Etihad and vice versa. However, as tier miles go, I find this a bit confusing - does this mean that tier miles will be earned on both programs? I'm not entirely sure, because both Etihad and Jet websites clearly state that Jet Airways flights don't earn Etihad tier miles and vice versa. To quote Harry Belafonte, some of this is "clear as mud, but covers the ground".
Another thing that bothers me, is how the tier status equivalence will be determined or achieved. This is important since priority check in and lounge access is based on tier status. Etihad Guest has 3 levels - basic, silver and gold, while JP has 5 - blue, blue plus, silver, gold and platinum. I'm guessing either this is going to be a nightmare for both airlines, or the customer will be heavily short-changed. And I don't think the former is a likely outcome.
I hope it is a case of my not having understood the new terms properly. That is quite likely, since I've not focussed my attention on the Etihad Guest program. In any case, I have some upcoming trips with Jet, and I just might experiment a bit with the Etihad Guest program. And rather than give incorrect views on this, I'll wait for AJ (Live from a Lounge) to weigh in on this one.
I recently travelled Etihad and wanted to convert the miles into JP Miles...but I am told my one side travel was in a category which is not transferable..so only could transfer some 4k miles...is there a way to know which category I am booking the ticket?
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