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28 March 2024

Emirates deal with India’s Kingfisher

Published
By Shweta Jain

(AFP)    

 
 

Emirates airline has entered into a tie-up with India’s Kingfisher Airlines to connect the frequent flyer programmes of the two airlines, according to the Dubai-based carrier.

 

The alliance, scheduled to come into effect from March 1, 2008, is aimed at enabling passengers of either carrier to earn points that could be redeemed on either network. The moves comes despite the fact Emirates is still working out the details of its frequent flyer programme, Skywards, with Srilankan Airlines – after calling off a management contract.

 

A Kingfisher-Emirates joint statement said: “Frequent flyers of both airlines can now earn and burn frequent flyer miles on each others’ programmes. Members of both programmes will be able to accrue points as per the actual miles flown and a 100 per cent bonus for business class flights of the other airline.

 

“Redemption will begin with 7,500 miles on economy class for one-way flights,” it added.

 

An Emirates spokesperson told Emirates Business this is the first time the airline has entered into this kind of alliance with another airline, effectively combining its Skywards programme with Kingfisher’s King Club air miles programme.

 

“The partnership with Emirates marks yet another step towards offering our discerning King Club members a series of compelling and unmatched benefits. They can now have an extended global footprint,” Kingfisher Airline’s Chief Executive, Vijay Mallya, said in the statement. Kingfisher Airlines is part of the UB Group, one of India’s leading conglomerates.

 

Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ vice-president for India and Nepal, said: “Our robust global network combined with Kingfisher’s strong connectivity within India will offer a fabulous opportunity to Emirates’ Skywards members to earn or burn the points. Emirates has been strengthening its operations across India and this association will only further enhance our growth.”

 

Besides offering reciprocal benefits to each others’ frequent fliers, the alliance also envisages that both partners will explore and embark on mutually beneficial marketing opportunities, according to the joint statement.

 

While Skywards currently offers three membership tiers – Blue, Silver and Gold, each Kingfisher guest who enrolls into the King Club programme starts as a base member, and according to the amount of flights taken within his/her membership, the member gets moved through Red, Silver and Gold membership levels.