Etihad customers can now pay via credit card installment plans

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways will now offer automated credit card installment payment plans to customers who book directly via its website.

Consumers can pay using installment plans that range from three to 60 months, a statement said.

The airline has teamed up with online payment service provider PayFort to offer the service, with 17 regional regional banks taking part in the programme.

The move comes as part of Etihad’s digital transformation plan, it said.

Etihad Airways vice president Digital Strategy and Innovation Justin Warby aaid the initiative was aimed as assisting low-to-medium income travellers and families by allowing them to book tickets without having to pay for them upfront.

The airline established its in-house specialised digital team earlier this year.

The changes come even as the wider Etihad Aviation Group undergoes major structural and management changes.

Its long-serving CEO James Hogan, who spearheaded the airline’s strategy to buy minority stakes in other airlines across the world, left the company on July 1.

Executive Ray Gammell was appointed as interim Group CEO in May, with the main position yet to be filled.

Also read: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad delays appointment of new CEO

Last month, Etihad also announced a net loss of $1.9bn for 2016, its first loss since the carrier started making money in 2011.

Etihad booked one-off impairments of $1.9bn that included $1.06bn on aircraft and $808m on “certain assets and financial exposures to equity partners, mainly related to Alitalia and Air Berlin,” it said.

Read more: Etihad Airways posts $1.87bn loss in 2016 amid turbulent year