MasterCard International, a global payments leader, has joined forces with airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS to launch a new promotion which offers MasterCard cardholders added value for their travels. Following the success of the similar initiative in 2005, the promotion offers MasterCard cardholders up to 20% discount on airfares and a chance to win free tickets from participating banks.
The discount is valid when purchasing a full fare business or economy class ticket to any travel destination in Europe, and is open for ticket purchasing until 15 June 2006. In addition, using a MasterCard card from the participating bank, for any transaction, during this promotional period automatically enters the cardholder into a draw to win business class airline tickets from Lufthansa or SWISS.
Mr. Schaher Murad, Marketing Manager, UAE, Gulf and Pakistan, Lufthansa German Airlines said, “It is a pleasure for us to tie up with MasterCard International this season for the New Travel offer with Lufthansa and Swiss. With the Gulf region emerging as an important business and financial hub, we trust that the promotion will be a source of our appreciation and incentive towards our customers.”
“With the increase in electronic payments for airline tickets, we wanted to ensure that passengers get the best possible deal. Coupled with our online offering, passengers can get the best value fares, and receive a 20 percent discount on tickets for this summer period, when paying with MasterCard,” said Hazel Saldanha, Manager of Marketing, Communications and Customer Relations, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) for the UAE and Gulf Region.
Commenting on the promotion, Thomas Edelmann, Vice President, Strategic Alliances & Business Development, MasterCard International South Asia Middle East Africa (SAMEA) said, “Travel is a key focus area for MasterCard, so we are delighted to have an alliance with airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss. This promotion ensures that our cardholders’ ‘Priceless’ trip starts with a hefty discount of up to 20% when they pay for their flights with their MasterCard card. MasterCard cardholders can use their cards at more than 24 million acceptance locations around the world, which include more than 1 million cash machine locations worldwide. There is no better way to pay than with a MasterCard card when travelling.”
Winners of the promotion will be announced by participating banks from July 2006.
For further details about the promotion, refer to your local participating bank or visit www.mastercard.com/ae
About MasterCard International
MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in support of our global members’ credit, deposit access, electronic cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment card brands including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus® and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless® advertising campaign is now seen in 106 countries and in 50 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com.
About Lufthansa German Airlines
Lufthansa is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious airlines. Also, renowned as the World’s favorite International Airline, Lufthansa successfully owns a fleet of 390 aircrafts and is among the world’s top ten airlines. Lufthansa proudly is also a founding member of the Star Alliance which flies to over 750 destinations in 120 countries.
About Swiss International Air Lines
SWISS flies to 69 destinations in 41 countries under the current schedule. In the Middle East, SWISS operates a total of 25 weekly flights including daily non-stop flights from Dubai and Muscat, five weekly flights from Cairo, three times weekly from Jeddah and Riyadh.
