Etihad’s award-winning loyalty program Etihad Guest launched the world’s first green loyalty program, focusing on sustainable efforts and initiatives. Conscious Choices by Etihad Guest will award members who make green choices and offer ideas on how to reduce carbon footprints.

“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,” said Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer, Etihad Aviation Group. “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.”

The latest initiative in Etihad’s mission to become more sustainable and reach net zero emissions by 2050, Conscious Choices allows travelers wanting to fly and spend more sustainably to earn Tier Miles and other rewards for making greener choices. There are a number of ways guests can make sustainable choices on Etihad and earn Tier Miles. Carrying less baggage on board and offsetting flights’ carbon emissions using Etihad Guest Miles are two of the main ways guests can achieve this.

Etihad encourages guests to practice more sustainable choices in their everyday lives as well, such as driving, donating miles to a green cause, purchasing sustainable products from Etihad Guest Reward Shop in partnership with Collinson and CarbonClick, and choosing a digital membership card instead of a physical one.

The new program isn’t the only recent initiative Etihad has taken to become a more sustainable and environmentally friendly airline. From using sustainable fuels, reducing contrails, flying optimized flight paths and operating more electric vehicles, each aspect works toward a greener future. Etihad also adopted thousands of mangroves and continues to work with partners who share a similar vision for a cleaner future.

Douglas noted, “Etihad’s commitment to sustainability sits at the core of our business, and we’re pleased to welcome our 8 million members to jump on board this journey to sustainability. Empowering our members to offset their personal travel or shopping in a sustainable way, and be rewarded for it, gives the Etihad sustainability program even more weight.”

The full program and benefits of Conscious Choices go live in January 2022. Etihad plans to halve its 2019 emissions by 2035 and will continue to implement more plans to aid in reaching this goal. 

Will you be more inclined to fly on airlines with sustainable rewards initiatives like this one? Do you think these efforts by airlines are enough to help the environment and offset carbon emissions? Tell us your thoughts. Email us at letters@globaltravelerusa.com. Please include your full name and location.