A team of ‘wellness ambassadors’ will be deployed on Etihad Airways’ flights once travel restrictions to and from the UAE are lifted.
They will complement the roles performed by other cabin crew to focus on health and wellness in flight as the airline resumes an expanded network of international services.
The initiative is part of ‘Etihad Wellness’ – expanded health and hygiene guidelines and a customer guide – building on measures already introduced to deal with Covid-19.
The specially trained ambassadors will provide essential travel health information and care.
Wellness initiatives will be communicated through an online guide highlighting cleanliness, health and hygiene standards being applied in the air and on the ground.
This includes culinary hygiene at the airline’s catering facilities and food testing laboratory, aircraft cabin deep-cleaning, check-in, health screening, boarding, inflight experience and product, crew interaction, arrival, and ground transportation.
A dedicated multi-lingual team will offer reassurance to customers by sharing advice on travel wellbeing and details of the health and sanitisation measures via email.
Etihad will expand the service to include a web-chat option.
Group chief executive Tony Douglas said: “Providing for our guests, and their wellbeing, is one of Etihad’s core values, and we have a responsibility to protect them, to keep them fully informed, and to provide even greater levels of genuine warmth and personal care.
“We must guarantee they can travel assured in the knowledge that we have every aspect of their journey with us covered, while still providing a top-quality travel experience.
“The Wellness Ambassadors will play an important role in delivering this. For us it is not simply about dealing with a new normal – this level of genuine and innovative customer care has always been part of Etihad’s DNA since our inception.”
He added: “The wide-ranging measures we are taking are a strong reflection of those already in place across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
“When restrictions are fully lifted and travellers can once again enjoy the best our wonderful home has to offer, they can rest assured their trip will be to one of the cleanest and most well-maintained destinations in the world.
“This will of course also apply to those transiting onwards through the capital.”