TBM Staff - Mumbai As part of its Flying Returns loyalty programme, Air India has partnered with The Bicester Collection, a designer outlet shopping center on the outskirts of Bicester in England, to offer customers reward points on shopping and dining experiences at the latter’s nine open-air luxury shopping Villages in Western Europe, Air India said.
Flying Returns members can now collect 5 points for every GBP 4 or EUR 4 spent at any of The Bicester Collection’s villages in Europe, conveniently located an hour or less from major cities such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Munich, Brussels, Dublin, Madrid, and Barcelona. To earn reward points, members simply need 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, said, “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 rapidly growing network of ‘earn’ partners, we’re offering our loyal guests even more opportunities to accumulate points for the experiences they value.”
“The demand for luxury shopping among Indians continues to boom at a record pace, with Indians now being counted amongst the highest spenders during their travels across the world. We’re also equally excited to offer the benefits of this collaboration to our growing base of loyal guests across Europe, to whom we now offer many new ways of collecting Flying Returns points beyond just taking flights to and within India,” Suresh added.
Laurent Vinay, Chief Brand and Communication Officer at The Bicester Collection, said, “Air India aims to provide unparalleled Indian hospitality and customized service and so shares The Bicester Collection’s values of providing its clientele with an elevated experience: this partnership is based on a shared brand ethos. Air India is by far the most well-connected carrier in India, with flights to every European country where The Bicester Collection has a Village. And so together, we can create wonderful experiences for our customers, making lasting and meaningful memories for all our guests.”
This announcement marks the latest step in Air India’s ongoing effort to transform its Flying Returns program, coinciding with a new phase in the airline’s five-year transformation journey.
In April, Air India revamped Flying Returns, introducing a simplified structure, more customer-friendly features, renamed tiers, and an updated identity for the program. The updated Flying Returns has shifted from a miles-based points collection model to a more equitable spend-based approach, offering members instant global status and privileges worldwide.
Over the past 18 months, Air India has added over 50 partners to Flying Returns, enhancing ease, rewards, and recognition for its members.
Air India serves Europe with 94 weekly non-stop flights to India from 10 locations: Amsterdam Schiphol, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Milan Malpensa, Paris CDG, Vienna, and Zurich. As it continues to expand its global presence, Air India has been increasing its European operations, having recently inaugurated flights to Zurich and planning additional flights to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Milan this month, it added in the release.
