Air India Partners with The Bicester Collection for Expanded Reward Program

Air India collaborates with The Bicester Collection to offer Flying Returns members reward points for shopping and dining at nine luxury villages across Europe. Members earn 5 points for every GBP 4 or EUR 4 spent by presenting their digital membership card. The partnership aims to enhance customer loyalty and experience.

Air India has forged a partnership with The Bicester Collection, a premier designer outlet center, to enrich its Flying Returns loyalty program. This alliance allows members to earn reward points on shopping and dining at The Bicester Collection's nine luxury villages spread across Western Europe, according to a press release by Air India.

Flying Returns members can now gain 5 points for each GBP 4 or EUR 4 spent at any of these villages, conveniently located within an hour from major cities such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, and others. Customers are required to present their Air India Flying Returns digital membership card along with their receipts at Concierge Services in the villages.

Sunil Suresh, Head of Marketing, Loyalty, and E-commerce at Air India, expressed, "This partnership aligns perfectly with our ongoing efforts to make the 'reimagined' Flying Returns a more robust and faster rewarding program. Adding The Bicester Collection to our growing network of 'earn' partners, we're providing our loyal guests more opportunities to accumulate points for the experiences they value."

He added that the inclination towards luxury shopping among Indians is increasing rapidly, making them significant spenders during their travels. The collaboration also benefits the expanding loyal guest base in Europe, offering more ways to collect Flying Returns points beyond just flights.

Laurent Vinay, Chief Brand and Communication Officer at The Bicester Collection, said the partnership blends Air India's unparalleled Indian hospitality with The Bicester Collection's value of providing enhanced client experiences. With Air India's extensive connectivity to European countries, where the villages are located, the partnership aims to create memorable experiences for all guests.

This move symbolizes Air India's ongoing effort to transform its Flying Returns program, coinciding with the airline's five-year transformation scheme. In April, Air India revamped Flying Returns for easier user experience and a more equitable spend-based rewards system. Over the past 18 months, the airline added over 50 partners to the program to enhance member benefits.

Air India operates 94 weekly non-stop flights to India from 10 European locations, including Amsterdam, London, Milan, and Paris. The airline continues to broaden its European presence, recently launching flights to Zurich and planning additional flights to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Milan this month, as stated in the release.

(With inputs from agencies.)