On November 16, the Latvian national airline airBaltic will introduce a fee of EUR 5 per passenger for check-in at the airport. Members of the BalticMiles loyalty programme will continue to be able to check in for free.
airBaltic President and CEO Bertolt Flick: “airBaltic wants to offer additional privileges to members of the BalticMiles loyalty programme. Free check-in at the airport is another way of encouraging people to sign up for the programme. We are confident that BalticMiles points will become a parallel currency in future, because increasing numbers of partners will be joining the programme and members will earn and spend points almost everywhere – when talking on the phone, filling up petrol in your car, buying milk and bread, or using dry-cleaning services, for instance.”
Passengers who do not yet have a BalticMiles card will be able to join the loyalty programme right at the check-in counter at the airport, in order to avoid the fee. The EUR 5 check-in fee will take effect on November 16. It will apply to passengers in economy class who have purchased their tickets after the announcement of the new rules on November 4.
The check-in fee will not be charged from passengers with reduced mobility, children up to the age of 12, and passengers who check in on the Internet. The fee will also be waived for passengers departing from airports at which Web check-in is not available.
The BalticMiles loyalty programme
The BalticMiles loyalty programme allows passengers to collect points each time that they use the goods or services of the programme’s partners – flights, financial services, telecommunications services, hotel accommodations, entertainment programmes or transport services. The accumulated points can be spent with any of the BalticMiles partners – a free flight, a hotel room, spa procedures, a rented car, etc. This means that BalticMiles is an alternative currency, which can be earned and spent at any of the partner companies of the loyalty programme.
The programme is based on close partnerships with other companies. There are nine BalticMiles partners at this time – Nordea, Latvijas Mobilais Telefons, Reval Hotels, ESPA Rīga, Islande Hotel, SAS, Sixt, Eurolines, and Forum Cinemas. The BalticMiles loyalty programme is open to an unlimited number of partners from various sectors such as banks, petrol stations, grocery stores or dry-cleaning establishments. Indeed, the programme is open to partners from any sector of business at all.
For the people of the Baltic States, the loyalty programme also offers the BalticMiles MasterCard credit card in partnership with the Nordea Bank. This is a “two-in-one” solution. The card can be used as a loyalty programme membership card in the Baltic region, as well as a credit card which can be used to make purchases at more than 29 million points of sale all around the world.
What can you do to become a member of the BalticMiles loyalty programme? Just fill out the application form that you will find in the Baltic Outlook magazine on board the aircraft. You can also receive the form from airBaltic ticketing offices, at the check-in counter at the airport, or in the airBaltic Business lounge at the Riga Airport. You can fill out the form online at www.balticmiles.com, or just contact the airBaltic call centre.