Aviation

JetBlue & Etihad Airways Join Forces for Loyalty Partnership under Codeshare Agreement

Etihad Airways Launches 8 New Destinations this month

A long-standing codeshare collaboration between JetBlue New York’s Hometown Airline® and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has expanded to include loyalty benefits beginning on May 8, 2024.

Celebrated today at Dubai’s Arabian Travel Market was the agreement between the two airlines. As a result of the partnership, passengers travelling across the networks of both airlines will now be able to accrue and redeem points in their preferred programme while they are part of JetBlue’s TrueBlue and Etihad Airways’ Etihad Guest.

With Etihad Guest miles redeemable against a variety of experiences, including travel and lodging across the globe as well as the ability to convert miles into reward cards for retail purchases, this alliance enhances the redemption choices offered by the individual programmes.

In addition, JetBlue introduced its new TrueBlue loyalty programme last year, giving members more value than ever before with expanded Mosaic levels for the airline’s most devoted customers, Perks You Pick®, tiles to track status, and more opportunities than ever before to earn perks and status.

TrueBlue recognises that every traveller is unique, thus it allows users to select the benefits that are most important to them and accrue points for every flight, purchase, drive, or shop.

The customer reward programmes expand on the nearly ten-year cooperation between the two airlines, which provides connectivity between New York and Boston to over 70 locations worldwide on Etihad and over 40 destinations in the Americas on JetBlue.

Aviation

DOT Penalizes Lufthansa $4 Million for Stopping Jewish Passengers From Boarding

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has imposed a $4 million penalty on Lufthansa for discriminating against Jewish passengers traveling from New York City to Budapest via Frankfurt in May 2022. The incident marked the largest civil rights fine ever levied by the DOT against an airline.

The case stems from an incident where Lufthansa denied 128 Jewish passengers — most of whom were wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish attire — from boarding their connecting flight in Germany.

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The airline’s actions were based on the alleged misconduct of a few individuals during the first leg of the journey from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA). However, many of those passengers did not know each other or travel as a group. DOT investigators found that Lufthansa treated them as a single entity, barring them from their connecting flight to Budapest (BUD) for the actions of a few.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized the department’s commitment to protecting passengers’ rights. “No one should face discrimination when they travel, and today’s action sends a clear message to the airline industry that we are prepared to investigate and take action whenever passengers’ civil rights are violated,” he said. Buttigieg added that DOT’s increased enforcement efforts aim to ensure airlines treat all passengers with fairness and dignity.

This aircraft won’t need a runway

The investigation began after DOT received over 40 complaints from Jewish passengers affected by the incident. Despite some passengers failing to follow crew instructions on the first flight, lufthansa business lounge newark did not specifically identify any noncompliant individuals.

Instead, the airline placed a blanket hold on the tickets of over 100 passengers, preventing them from continuing their journey. lufthansa airways acknowledged that this approach could lead to excluding compliant passengers but deemed it impractical to address each case individually.