Monday, September 7th, 2026.
Welcome to Quests Daily | Your Compass for the Day in Travel.
The Lead Story: Air India and IHG Link Loyalty as Travel Brands Fight for More of the Journey
Air India and IHG Hotels & Resorts have announced a new loyalty partnership connecting Air India’s Maharaja Club with IHG One Rewards. Under the arrangement, Maharaja Club members can earn points during eligible stays at IHG hotels worldwide, while IHG One Rewards members can convert points into Maharaja Points. The partnership brings together Air India’s expanding global network with IHG’s portfolio of more than 7,100 hotels across over 100 countries, creating a broader earn-and-redeem ecosystem beyond flights alone.
The move comes as loyalty programmes increasingly compete on the ability to own more moments of the traveller journey, not just the transaction at the time of booking. Air India has been expanding Maharaja Club’s partner network as part of its wider transformation, while IHG continues to grow its global loyalty base and hotel presence. The partnership addresses a practical loyalty challenge: airline rewards are often strongest around flights, while hotel programmes capture the stay component separately. Connecting both creates more opportunities for repeat engagement and gives members more reasons to stay within a connected travel ecosystem. Air India members will earn up to 2 Maharaja Points per US dollar spent at participating IHG properties, while IHG points can be converted into Maharaja Points, adding more flexibility to reward usage.
The commercial role of the partnership is stronger customer retention through a wider rewards network, allowing both brands to capture more value across the complete travel journey rather than isolated bookings.
The Briefing:
SpiceJet Seeks Government Support as Operational Pressure Continues:
SpiceJet is seeking funds through the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme while the government is engaging with the airline over its operational and financial challenges. The focus remains on restoring capacity and improving operational stability as financial constraints affect network reliability.
Uzbekistan Removes Visa Barrier for Indian Travellers:
Uzbekistan has announced visa-free entry for Indian travellers, reducing friction for one of Central Asia’s emerging tourism markets. Lower entry barriers could improve destination competitiveness as travellers look beyond traditional international markets.
Malaysia Tightens Multiple-Entry Visa Access for Selected Nationalities:
Malaysia Airlines will resume direct Kuala Lumpur–Fukuoka services from September 2026 after nearly two decades, alongside broader East Asia network expansion. The route strengthens Kuala Lumpur’s role as a regional connecting hub while adding capacity into Japan.
Swiggy Brings AI Concierge Into Travel
What happened: Swiggy’s premium concierge platform Crew has entered the travel segment, offering AI-supported assistance for itinerary changes, reservations, transport, local recommendations and other travel needs. The service is currently available to paid members and invited travellers.
Why it matters: Travel assistance has traditionally been fragmented across booking platforms, agents and customer support channels. AI concierge products are targeting the gap between booking completion and the actual travel experience, where travellers often need help with changes, recommendations and problem solving. The opportunity is moving from selling a trip to supporting the full journey, with customer data becoming central to personalised travel services.
Visual- Stat of the Day:
Takeaway: The online travel market projection highlights continued investment in digital discovery, booking and transaction platforms. Growth in online travel is being driven by travellers increasingly using digital channels to compare, personalise and complete bookings. The opportunity is moving beyond simple inventory access toward better conversion, loyalty engagement and connected travel experiences.
Travel Brands Are Building Around Payments, Rewards and Experiences:
Case: The Axis Bank–Scapia travel credit card combines payments, rewards and travel services within a single customer journey. The product connects everyday spending with travel benefits, offering rewards linked to transactions along with features such as zero forex markup and airport benefits. The launch reflects a wider movement where financial products are becoming part of the travel discovery and booking ecosystem rather than remaining separate from the trip itself.
Where it helps: Travel brands are increasingly looking beyond the booking transaction to influence the decisions that happen before and after a trip. Payment-led travel products can create more frequent customer engagement by turning routine spending into future travel value. The model also creates additional touchpoints for personalisation, allowing brands to understand spending behaviour, travel preferences and reward patterns while keeping customers within a connected ecosystem. As competition increases across flights, hotels and experiences, ownership of the payment and loyalty layer can become an important route to improving retention and repeat travel behaviour.
Risk: These models depend on maintaining a clear connection between rewards and real customer value. If benefits become difficult to understand, redemption options become restrictive, or rewards lose relevance over time, engagement can decline quickly.
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