Etihad Airways Etihad Guest - Falcons on Board

Don't know how many of you knew about this - remember coming across it on the EY site a few years ago, but they did take it down in the interim. Still there on seatGuru though, and the Terms of Carriage on etihad.com still do allow falcons (but not so explicitly), so I think the policy still applies.

Falcons
The carriage of animals in the cabin is restricted to falcons only and is permitted on all types of aircraft subject to the following conditions:
Diamond First Class
Up to 2 falcons per guest (per seat) are permitted. Charge for each falcon (which is considered 3 kg) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
Up to 2 additional falcons can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcons will apply.
Pearl Business Class
Up to 2 falcons per guest (per seat) are permitted. Charge for each falcon (which is considered 3 kg) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
Up to 2 additional falcons can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcons will apply.
Coral Economy Class
1 falcon per guest (per seat) is permitted. Charge for one falcon (which is considered 3 kg) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
1 additional falcon can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcon will apply.
Note: The charge for each additional seat purchased will be the fare applicable for an adult guest occupying the seat. This applies to all travel classes and charges will depend on the number of seats, the travel class and sector of travel. Guests are not entitled to any additional free baggage allowance for the additional seat(s) purchased for falcons. Per UAE Civil Aviation norms, no piece of baggage may exceed 32 kg in weight or 80 inches in dimension.


First class, ok - but all the way down to one falcon per guest in economy??? HAHAHA!

C'mon EY frequent flyers, let's get a group trip together and all rent a falcon for the day!

I had heard of this before but had also forgotten it. Think EK allow the same. Would be hilarious if a bunch of us actually tried to board with our falcons. Somehow I expect a GCC passport is an unwritten pre-requisite to exercising this right.

If only Samual L Jackson had been flying EY. He could have sorted all those pesky snakes out with a couple of falcons. *


*Subject to him having a valid J/F ticket and paying the appropriate excess baggage charges, naturally.

I think it applies to all Middle Eastern Gulf carriers as I was on a QR flight in F travelling between DOH and DXB, and there was a falcon sitting opposite me ! Or rather, it was perched opposite where I was with a hood over its head and it was rather well behaved throughout the flight though.

wow, so we have a verified sighting!

i was wondering yesterday what they think of the change in air pressure to cabin altitude. I mean, they are fairly well equipped flying machines, do they wonder why the pressure altitude is at a few thousand feet while they are sitting still with a hood over their heads?

I must ask an Ornithologist I guess.

Flying KHI-DXB on EK once I saw a group of gentlemen wearing the traditional Arab dress (they call it Kantoora or something similar I guess) carrying 4 falcons in J. They were all a shade of white. A treat to watch. All falcons had this hood on them and they hardly moved, very well behaved!

Flying KHI-DXB on EK once I saw a group of gentlemen wearing the traditional Arab dress (they call it Kantoora or something similar I guess) carrying 4 falcons in J. They were all a shade of white. A treat to watch. All falcons had this hood on them and they hardly moved, very well behaved!


The white falcons ( assume you refer to them and not the kandoora 's!) are Siberian falcons. Raised from chicks in the Gulf, can go for up to us50,000 each. So pretty valuable cargo!

The white falcons ( assume you refer to them and not the kandoora 's!) are Siberian falcons. Raised from chicks in the Gulf, can go for up to us50,000 each. So pretty valuable cargo!

Yes the falcons were white ! I actually thought they had been caught somewhere in Pakistan and were taken away to put them in the royal collection since Arab royal families are known to be active in hunting in some parts in Pakistan.

On my JFK -> AUH -> MUM flight, I have a 3 hours lay over in AUH. Does AUH lounge has any facility for my falcon to exercise? I also need to feed the falcon a live rabbit. Can the lounge arrange a live rabbit or hare? If not, can I bring one with me on the plane? Does Etihad charge for the rabbits in the same manner as the falcons?

One last question, if I manager to secure a rabbit, can I set it free in the lounge and let the falcon attack it or I need to hold the rabbit while my bird violently break it into pieces?

One last question, if I manager to secure a rabbit, can I set it free in the lounge and let the falcon attack it or I need to hold the rabbit while my bird violently break it into pieces?

EY should be able to sort a rabbit for you. Whilst you won't be able to exercise it in the lounge, for fear of causing any discomfort to fellow J/F pax, in the terminal building should be fine. EY will find a non-status Y pax for you and they will be made to run across the terminal with a rabbit on a string, in order for your falcon to hunt.

what about inflight meal service?

on my many flights on EY and EK I have never seen a falcon:p
though I would love to!!!:cool:

Don't know how many of you knew about this - remember coming across it on the EY site a few years ago, but they did take it down in the interim. Still there on seatGuru though, and the Terms of Carriage on etihad.com still do allow falcons (but not so explicitly), so I think the policy still applies.



First class, ok - but all the way down to one falcon per guest in economy??? HAHAHA!

C'mon EY frequent flyers, let's get a group trip together and all rent a falcon for the day!

That number of falcons could be used in emergency as a backup engine of a sort ;).