Free hotels, discount flights: Airlines offering deals to woo stopover passengers
Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi. Etihad offers discounted stays at luxury hotels in Abu Dhabi. As Qantas moves forward with its plans to eliminate stopovers on long-haul flights, other airlines are offering passengers heavy discounts to get them to stop their journey. Among these offers are free luxury hotel stays, free domestic flights and exclusive fares on city tours and activities. United Arab Emirates airline Etihad Airways is the latest to relaunch its stopover program in time for the northern hemisphere’s busy summer period. Among the offers available to Australian travelers are a 40 per cent discount on hotels in Abu Dhabi, including five-star properties, and free stays around three- and four-star hotels. The airline also offers a “Transit Connect” stopover option which allows guests with a transit time of between 10 and 24 hours to book a free hotel near an international airport. UAE airline partner Emirates launched its stopover programme, Dubai Experience, in A