Etihad Airways is on quite the expansion spree at the moment, as the airline is commencing all kinds of new routes. Over the summer, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier launched a very cool promotion, giving travelers an incentive to fly as many new routes as possible. The winners have now been crowned, and they sure put in some effort!
In this post:
Etihad Guest awards nine million miles to three members
Earlier this year, Etihad launched the “Extraordinary Challenge” promotion. The idea was that Etihad was launching 15 new routes, and the first three people to fly the new routes the fastest would get huge prizes — we’re talking five million miles for the winner, three million miles for the runner up, and one million miles for the third person to complete the task.
There are a bunch of other prizes as well, but those were the biggest ones. While the competition technically runs well into 2026, the three winners were crowned over the weekend, at the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The first, second, and third place winners were all mighty committed to this promotion, as they chased inaugural flight after inaugural flight. Etihad shares that 50,000 Etihad Guest members signed up to compete, with 20% being new members to the program. Furthermore, 75% of members are based outside the UAE, and five of the 10 finalists were also based outside the UAE.
Here’s how Mark Potter, Managing Director of Etihad Guest, describes this:
“The Extraordinary Challenge has truly lived up to its name and the spirit of adventure each of our participating members has shown around the world is a testament to the passionate community we’ve created globally. Each of our winners has demonstrated what it means to give flight to ambition, and we’re thrilled to celebrate and reward their achievements.”
“The challenge is far from over with nearly 50K members still in play to achieve The Extraordinary Milestones and the competition still open to new sign-ups for the chance to earn up to 125K miles. There are still miles to be earned and milestones to be reached for anyone ready to embark on their own extraordinary journey. The challenge continues to unite a global community of travellers through Abu Dhabi.”
The interesting twist with the 15-route challenge
One interesting detail with this competition is that no one actually flew all 15 of Etihad’s announced new routes (despite the winners standing in front of a banner that specifically mentions 15 destinations).
That’s not due to lack of effort, though. Instead, Etihad postponed its Algiers (ALG) launch just hours before the service was due to commence, with the claim being that it was for reasons beyond the carrier’s control. It’s very strange to see a route postponed on such short notice, and no official reasons were given, beyond the above generic explanation.
I’ve heard rumors that this might involve political tensions over Morocco, but even that doesn’t necessarily make sense to me. I’m not sure to what extent this is related, but what’s interesting is that in November 2024, after Etihad announced plans to fly to Algiers, the Algiers Airport management company denied this service was happening, writing the following:
The company managing the interests and facilities of Algiers Airport denies what was reported about the addition of a new route linking Algiers Airport to Abu Dhabi Airport, which is operated by Etihad Airways.
We would love to welcome you.
So I don’t know what exactly is going on here, but it’s all very strange, especially since the route was postponed just hours before the inaugural was due to depart.
Bottom line
Several months back, Etihad launched a unique competition, offering nine million bonus miles to the first three people to fly to the carrier’s 15 newest destinations. That was an engaging and (potentially) lucrative promotion, and it caused quite a few people to chase all of the carrier’s inaugurals.
The winners have now been announced, and they all showed an incredible commitment to taking these flights. The funny twist is that despite the marketing saying otherwise, these travelers only flew to 14 destinations, since Algiers flights were postponed at the last minute.
What do you make of Etihad’s Extraordinary Challenge?
It'd be interesting to hear more about the winners, how they did their routes, etc.
Their rule change after the challenge had already began made this a shadier competition than Turkish's (setting a booking deadline only hours away)
Wasn't a bad idea but it was destroyed by the Turkish 6 continents campaign.
Did I miss it, or did they not mention the winner's names, their home country, or how many miles they won, etc.? The PR was all about Etihad.
Is that Lays Layara on the right
Had to Google her, but I think you're right.
Yes. It is.
Should we be expecting Benjamin to write an article on the up-and-coming Air Transit strike in Canada? This will have global ramifications on the aerospace industry!
Abu Abu claims to have the greatest airline in the world , per the paid advertisement by Abu Abu.
It's "Abu Dhabi", not "Abu Abu", dummy.
Hey, other '1990,' if you're gonna impersonate me, know that I don't call anyone silly names like 'dumb' or 'stupid' or 'idiot' or 'moron'... however, I do enjoy being called names. It's a little odd, but those are my idiosyncrasies. (Hope that helps. @Penile, that's you, right?)
Thanks 1990, this is understood! Thank you for your patience while we work to improve our services!
So what happens if someone actually flies to Algiers when the route opens and fulfills the requirement for 15 destinations while the "winners" only have 14?
Hmm...
Surprised they didn't also create 'peace' participation-trophy prize for you-know-who.
Yes, corruption is a scourge everywhere.
A HUGE scourge!
Hi, 'other' 1990... it's a mastodonic scourge.
Quite correct! You might even say it's an immeasurable scourge!