ETIHAD Aviation Group - Innovation in Consumer Products & Services
Company: ETIHAD Aviation Group
Company Description: Etihad Aviation Group, a diversified global aviation and travel company, is considered to be one of the world’s most acclaimed aviation brands. Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE and a division of the group, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world’s leading airlines. In recent years, the organisation has received numerous awards for its superior service and p
Nomination Category: New Product Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Award for Innovation in Consumer Products & Services
Nomination Title: Etihad Holidays
Provide an essay of up to 625 words describing the nominated innovation's concept, value, delivery, and impact since July 1 2018:
Etihad Holidays offers a variety of stopover products and other services to enhance tourism and product experience for guests travelling to or within Abu Dhabi.
We recognized that when pushing stopover we had to start our engagement with those guests who do not intend to stop in Abu Dhabi as they are travelling to a different global destination via Abu Dhabi. Stopover targets guests that are connecting through Abu Dhabi and encourages them to make Abu Dhabi part of their travel plans. To ensure we capture a wide audience & make Abu Dhabi resonate with their travel plans, we segmented our product options & advertising to business travelers, couples, families and premium leisure.
Stopover Products
Free Stopover (From April 2019): Unique product offer of 2 free hotel nights in Abu Dhabi (paid by Etihad) offered to guests who would like to stopover in Abu Dhabi.
Stay 2 pay 1: An Abu Dhabi stopover paid by guest which offers a discounted hotel stay (50% off or stay 2 nights for the price of 1). Guests can book their stay in a wide selection of Abu Dhabi hotels and upsell by adding on discounted tours and excursions
Premium Stopover: Business & First Class Guests (1 or 2 free night in a 5 Star Abu Dhabi Hotel)
The proposition itself is innovative, as we offer free hotel stay for the greater good of Abu Dhabi, in order to encourage guests to ‘taste’ Abu Dhabi as a destination, especially since this was not part of their travel plans originally. The ultimate goal is that the stopover will result in a return point to point visit by this passenger in the future and positive word of mouth about their experience with their friends and family.
The stopover customer booking journey is not only easy and straight forward, in 2019 it has been digitalized to ensure customers have full control and visibility to directly view, book and immediate confirm the Free or Paid product of their choice in just three easy steps. In 2020 we have also evolved this journey further with the introduction of upselling attractions and tours within the same flow - One of the only customer automated stopover customer journeys in the region.
To enhance the stopover offer, Etihad worked with the Department of Transport to ensure a positive stopover experience for guests by providing free transportation from the airport to major tourism attractions as well as offering free 48 hours Abu Dhabi Bus service.
Supporting the stopover offer, the Abu Dhabi Extraordinary Pass has also been promoted to all guest travelling with Etihad. The Abu Dhabi Pass offers discounts to a number of Abu Dhabi attractions, shopping, spas, Food & Beverage and more.
To continue and support the ongoing development of our stopover program and to ensure that guest feedback is reviewed and acted upon, we conduct a survey quarterly to gather information on the guest experience (eg. awareness of the offer, customer experience, destination & experience awareness etc.). One change made as a direct result of guest feedback was to simplify our booking process resulting in 82% of survey respondents describing the process as very easy to book.