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Starting today, Air Canada launched partnerships with Oman Air and Air Mauritius. This allows for increased mileage earning and redemption opportunities for loyalty members of all three airlines. Given that none of the airlines fly to the home country of the others, this partnership can offer easier connections to more points on the globe.
With these additions, Aeroplan has now added 10 new airline partners since relaunching the Aeroplan program in June 2020. Here's what we know so far about these new partnerships.
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About the Three Airlines
Air Canada is a member of Star Alliance. At present, you can book over 40 different airlines with your Aeroplan points — the loyalty program of Air Canada. While you can get to Oman with your Aeroplan points by booking on one of several partners, there are no Air Canada flights to Oman. However, Air Canada does have partnerships with Etihad and Gulf Air, which are both headquartered in the Middle East.
Oman Air is based in Muscat, the capital of Oman. At present, it has no flights to North America — but it does fly to Europe, a few major cities in Africa, and lots of airports in Asia. It has numerous partners for codeshare and interline flights, which you can find here. It is not a member of any alliance.
Air Mauritius is the flag carrier of Mauritius, the island nation off the coast of Madagascar. It flies to several points around southern Africa, the Indian Ocean, and has long-haul flights to Mumbai (BOM), Paris (CDG), and London (LHR). Air Mauritius also is not a member of any alliance.
Air Canada and Oman Air Partnership
Presently, Star Alliance lacks partners in the Middle East. Aeroplan has gotten around this by partnering with Etihad and Gulf Air so far. Now, this new partnership with Oman Air provides increased access for flyers looking to make award redemptions. It also provides mileage earning opportunities for those buying cash tickets.
Also, this gives Oman Air a partner in Canada. Oman Air already has interline agreements with American Airlines and Delta, but it now has easier access to Canada for its own flyers in its Sindbad loyalty program.
No reciprocal elite benefits have been shared. So, you can't count on getting free checked bags, priority check in, or other perks if you have elite status with one airline or the other.
Aeroplan's announcement states that you will not earn elite-qualifying miles or credits from Oman Air flights. Instead, you'll accrue redeemable Aeroplan points from Oman Air flights. Earning is according to the following fare classes.
| Class of service | Booking classes (fare codes) | Aeroplan points (% of miles flown) |
|---|---|---|
| First class | P, F | 150% |
| Business class | J, C, D, R | 125% |
| Economy class | Y, H, M, B | 100% |
| Economy class | K, I, Q, T | 50% |
| Economy class | N, L, U, O, G | 25% |
Sample Aeroplan Redemptions for Oman Air Flights
We have a guide to the Aeroplan program that you can read here. Aeroplan uses a zone-meets-distance award chart. Oman is in the Atlantic zone for Aeroplan. Oman Air offers economy, business, and first class options on its flights. First class is available on flights operated using Boeing 787-9 and some Airbus 330-300 aircraft.
Here are some sample flights for Aeroplan redemptions on Oman Air:
- Europe to Muscat
- 25,000 points in economy
- 45,000 points in business
- 65,000 points in first class
- Southeast Asia to Muscat
- 40,000 points in economy
- 60,000 points in business
- 80,000 points in first class
Air Canada and Air Mauritius Partnership
Star Alliance (of which Air Canada is a member) already has a member in southern Africa. South African Airways is a full member of the alliance and even flies to Mauritius. However, South African Airways has drastically scaled back its route due to economic issues. Even if South African Airways operates on your route, you'd need to connect via Johannesburg (JNB) to get to Mauritius.
That makes adding Air Mauritius a beneficial move for flyers. Passengers will now be able to use Aeroplan points to get between North America and Mauritius in just one stop, transiting through Europe.
At present, Air Canada hasn't released mileage earning rates for cash tickets on Mauritius Air. However, that's supposed to be added in 2022 — hopefully along with some sort of elite perk crossover. Ideally, Aeroplan elites would be able to get free checked bags, priority check in, and other benefits.
Sample Aeroplan Redemptions for Air Mauritius Flights
Using the Aeroplan chart here, we see that Mauritius is in the Atlantic zone. Air Mauritius offers economy and business class options on its flights.
Here are some sample flights for Aeroplan redemptions on Air Mauritius:
- India to Mauritius
- 25,000 points in economy
- 45,000 points in business
- Paris to Mauritius
- 35,500 points in economy
- 65,000 points in business
Aeroplan Transfer Partners
At present, Oman Air Sindbad and Air Mauritius Kestrelflyer aren't transfer partners of any major U.S. transferable point programs. However, you can transfer points to Air Canada Aeroplan from the following programs:
- American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 transfer)
- Bilt Rewards (1:1 transfer)
- Capital One Venture Miles (1:1 transfer)
- Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1 transfer)
- Marriott Bonvoy points (3:1 transfer, plus a 5,000-point bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer)
Bottom Line
More options for flying with points and miles is a good thing. Aeroplan members will be able to redeem points to fly on yet two more airlines, thanks to the new partnership involving Air Canada, Oman Air, and Air Mauritius. And since Air Canada's Aeroplan program has multiple credit cards and multiple points transfer options, it's now much easier to redeem for Oman Air and Air Mauritius flights.
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I think the more partners the better – redeeming Aeroplan points on Air Canada seems to be the worst value, but sometimes necessary. The taxes and fees really add up! I like to use them on partner airlines instead – whenever possible.
It is always welcome when new alliances are created to provide greater benefits to users. In times of COVID, in which alliances are ending due to the drop in sales, this is great news.
I would love to go to Mauritius someday. This might make it a lot easier, especially now that Aeroplan is a Chase transfer partner.
Air Mauritius is a partner of both SA and ST members. It probably needs EK more than EK needs it.
The wider the network the better!
Speaking of Canadian programs, The Air Miles program had a devaluation in the last month or two and switched to dynamic pricing for awards, eliminating sweet spots such as flights to the Arctic. Naturally, they are calling it an “enchancement” since now you can book flights that don’t originate in Canada, which wasn’t possible before, but without fixed zones, no sweet spots are left.
Beneficial for the few people flying to Mauritius or Oman but not a game-changer
Great deal, I love Mauritius
Eclectic partnerships but it’s good to see airlines adding partners and expanding their networks again!
Glad to see Air Canada expanding transfer partners. I believe it will continue growing its partner list and making it easier for Aeroplan members to get around in parts of the world.