Air India Maharaja Club members can now earn and redeem Maharaja Points on Air India Express flights | News
Air India today announced a significant expansion of its Maharaja Club loyalty program, allowing members to earn and redeem Maharaja Points on flights operated by Air India Express to more than 55 destinations across South, Southeast and West Asia, in addition to Air India services.
This long-awaited enhancement reflects Air India Group’s continued focus on making Maharaja Points more relevant for frequent flyers, allowing members to unlock more value on their travel across the extensive network of both Air India and Air India Express.
Maharaja Club members can immediately start earning Maharaja Points and Tier Points on Air India Express-operated flights when they book through multiple channels, including Air India and Air India Express websites and mobile apps and through major travel agents.
Maharaja Club members will also have their Air India Express flights contribute towards their tier progression, with eligible flights counting towards both minimum flight requirements and tier point accumulation, helping members reach higher tiers of the program faster.
Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer of Air India and Chairman of Air India Express, said: “Our focus is on continually expanding Maharaja Club in a way that ensures that our loyal customers’ travel experiences across destinations contribute meaningfully to their relationship with the Air India group. The growing scale of the Air India Express network makes the introduction of accrued and redeemed amounts on these flights both timely and important, meeting the long-standing expectations of our frequent flyers. It also reflects our goal to convert Maharaja Points into a valuable currency over time.”
Earn Maharaja Points on Air India Express flights
Maharaja Club members can collect Maharaja Points on all Air India Express flights by entering their Maharaja Club ID while booking. Maharaja points for Air India Express flights cannot be claimed retrospectively at the current stage of the rollout.
Members can add their Maharaja Club ID while booking on Air India and Air India Express platforms, as well as select online travel partners. Adding or changing Maharaja Club membership ID is not available at airport counters or contact centers at the current stage.
The Maharaja Points accumulation framework applies to a wide range of bookings, including special rates for seniors, students and armed forces personnel. Reward points are calculated based on the base fare and fuel surcharge, with accrual rates aligned to Air India as follows, to ensure a consistent and easy-to-understand revenue structure.
Redeem Maharaja Points for Air India Express Award Flights
Redemption of Maharaja Points for award flights on Air India Express is currently available to members who book codeshare flights with Air India’s ‘AI’ designator code, but operated by Air India Express, via the Air India website and mobile app.
For example, a Maharaja Club member wants to fly from Delhi to Guwahati and searches for flight options on the Air India website or mobile app. On the flight selection page, they would find multiple flight options on the sector with ‘AI’ flight numbers, but a few of them can be operated by Air India Express under the codeshare agreement between two airlines. The member can simply redeem his Maharaja points on those flights, in addition to the other flights operated by Air India.
Redemptions for Air India Express Award flights start from 1,500 Maharaja Points as illustrated in the following sample redemption prize table (partial list of sectors only):
