Bonus miles on all bookings made in March
London, 2 March 2009 - The Finnish carrier Blue1 will join the Star Alliance Company Plus (SACP) programme in the UK and Ireland as of today. To mark the expansion of the programme, triple points are being offered to customers, by all participating member airlines for all tickets booked on direct routes from the UK in Business Class during the month of March. Double points will be offered for all other bookings.
Blue1, part of the SAS Group, has been a Regional Star Alliance Member since 2004 and becomes the 10th airline to join SACP.
Blue1, Finland's second largest airline, has been a Finnish SAS Group airline company since 1998. Its fleet of 13 jets comprises seven Avro RJs and five Boeing MD-90s. In the UK, Blue1 operates daily flights from London Heathrow to Helsinki with excellent onward domestic connections within Finland and Scandinavia. On the Heathrow Helsinki route, Blue1 offers a choice of two classes, Economy Extra, a premium Economy service for the business traveller and Economy for leisure travellers. Since February 1 the airline has enjoyed a codeshare with bmi on flights to Helsinki from Aberdeen, Dublin, Glasgow, London - Heathrow and Manchester.
"Blue1 aims to be the best regional airline for Northern European business and leisure travellers. With this in mind, innovative products and service are of the utmost importance in our customer-focused perspective. Our emphasis is on extensive, flexible, and dynamic operations and Star Alliance Company Plus membership gives us an extra dimension," said Tom Christides, Vice President Communications at Blue1.
Blue1 passengers will continue enjoying all the associated benefits of Star Alliance, including the redemption of points for 18 other Star Alliance airlines' frequent flyer programmes.
Star Alliance Company Plus rewards First Class travel
Chair of Star Alliance Company Plus in the U.K & Ireland, Jo Ashman, also confirmed that with immediate effect, First Class travel on participating SACP member airlines will now be eligible for permanent double PlusPoints. "Dividing the incentive for First and Business travel into two separate categories reflects the investments carriers such as ANA, Lufthansa, SWISS and United. have made to their First Class products," he said. The number of PlusPoints for those travelling in Business Class will remain at the same level.
About Star Alliance Company Plus
SACP the first and only alliance programme of its kind in the UK & Ireland and has been designed primarily for SMEs. It is an easy to use system, requiring no minimum travel spend to join and there is no cost to join. It is an online self-managed programme, accessible 24 hours a day. It can also be managed by travel agents, who are also welcome to join SACP, on behalf of clients.
SACP is available to small and medium enterprises throughout the UK and Ireland. Points can be accumulated when flying with Air Canada, ANA, Austrian, Blue1, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, SWISS, TAP Portugal and United.