It’s the latest initiative in the Gulf carrier’s plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and halve 2019 emissions by 2035.
Photo: Etihad Airways
Etihad Guest, the loyalty program of Etihad Airways, has just rolled out Conscious Choices — a series of sustainability-focused initiatives to reward members for reducing their own carbon footprint in the air and on the ground. Etihad Guest’s 8 million members now have the option to earn Tier Miles and additional benefits for carrying less baggage on board and offsetting their flights’ carbon emissions using Etihad Guest Miles.
Members can also earn Tier Miles by offsetting everyday emissions such as driving and cooling one’s home with options ranging from one month to a year’s worth of offsets. Other ways of reaping those benefits including donating miles to a green cause and buying sustainable products from the Etihad Guest Reward Shop.
Conscious Choices was created to support Etihad’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and halve 2019 emissions by 2035. The full program and benefits will go live in January 2022, but members’ behaviors are already being captured so they can be rewarded for more sustainable actions.
Tony Douglas, Group CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, said in a statement, “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 program for the last year, listening to member feedback and taking into account their priorities and expectations for travel. Through this we have refined a program 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.”
Over the last two years, Etihad has introduced a number of significant CO2 reduction initiatives under its Greenliner sustainability program. This includes adopting thousands of mangroves, using sustainable fuels, reducing contrails, flying optimized flight paths, and operating more electric vehicles. October saw Etihad operate its most sustainable flight to date, which reduced carbon emissions by 72 percent in absolute terms compared to the equivalent flight in 2019.
