Etihad Airways Etihad Guest - AUH airport changes - Lounge and Terminal upgrades

Firstly congrats to all Etihad fans on getting the forum up and running. As a Virgin Australia Plat FF who uses Etihad regularly i will be keeping an eye on this forum quite a bit. But here's a question as a starter ...

Does anyone know if Etihad are actively building new lounge space at AUH? When the changed the rules so that Gold flyers and people like myself had to use the Al Reem lounge instead of the Etihad J lounge they implied that it was temporary until work could be done to expland the lounge capacity. Does anyone know if such work is underway or even planned?

Secondly, does anyone have any clues as to what the new lounge arrangement will be when the new AUH terminal opens. When is that currently scheduled for?

I thought some of you might have some insights into this.

I got the following message on Oct. 28 in my EY Guest e-statement:

"Despite our very best efforts over the summer, we are still unable to secure the extra lounge space we require at Abu Dhabi International Airport. This is solely due to the current airport building capacity constraints. Given this and our continued growth, we regret that our Etihad Guest Gold and Etihad Guest Silver members travelling in Coral Economy class from Abu Dhabi will be asked to continue to use the Al Reem lounge in Terminal 1.

We are aware this is not an ideal situation for some Guests and apologize for the inconvenience. The dedicated Guest Silver and Etihad Guest Gold Check-in in Terminal 1 is conveniently situated for the Al Reem lounge and our other lounges worldwide remain available to all eligible members during their travel. "

SO unfortunately things aren't looking good for us.

The All Reem lounge is not bad at all, even less crowded than T3 Pearl lounge :D

The All Reem lounge is not bad at all, even less crowded than T3 Pearl lounge :D

Agree that it is OK, but it's not practical when most of Etihad flights are from T3...

Agree that it is OK, but it's not practical when most of Etihad flights are from T3...

So what?

Landed AUH last week, were bused, had a 5 min walk to T3.
Landing and gating at T3 can be long walk to T3 transit area also.
Was in T3 Pearl lounge from 6.15 to 8.30am and lounge was not crowded.