ual902

Hi,

So I'm traveling on an AA Award JFK-AUH-COK on F using an AA Award, I would love to make an over night connection in AUH, but AA is telling me it is an extra 30K Miles, my question is if in AUH I complain at the service desk that Im not feeling well enough for the flight AUH - COK will they allow me to fly the next evening?.

Also how would you compare LH F or LX F with Etihad F product?.

Thinksamuel

If there are two flights a day from AUH, then take the later one. That way you will have a stopover of less then 24 hours and no problem. When I was travelling to Australia, I made sure I chose the long connection time. Between arriving rom BRU and flying out of AUH there were 15 hours, more than enough to do some sightseeing in Abu Dhabi

SighMN

American Airlines is just ripping you off! I don't think I've ever had any ticket from Etihad that didn't include stopovers in AUH. In fact, if there was a way to force people to make stopovers I'm sure they would. Etihad is owned by the Abu Dhabi emirate, and there is nothing they'd like more than turning Abu Dhabi into a tourist destination. I'm kind of surprised Etihad in their negotiations to have reciprocal redemption awards they didn't talk about stopovers. I guess the problem may be that Etihad won't get payment of your flight by American if they didn't follow the rules. I wouldn't go down the sick route. I don't know all of the laws in the UAE, but their laws are significantly different than other places so who knows what would happen if you said you were sick and they somehow made you get examined medically and they proved you were feigning sickness to fraudulently avoid a stopover charge. Either wait till another time to see the UAE (no offence to those that live in UAE or Abu Dhabi), but a lot of the interesting things to see are still in Dubai. Abu Dhabi is an up and coming city, but it isn't there yet. Apart from the annual F1 grand prix which is happening in less than a week, and their Ferrari World, there isn't much more to see other than shopping malls. I'd just wait another time to see Abu Dhabi when there are more things there or as the other poster said just see if you can work in a long connection.

As far as comparing the F class product to LX/LH, its a bit difficult as I've flown on LH F 8 years ago, and I've never experienced LX F. I have seen many trip reports on LH and LX's recent F class, and I have to say that if LX served Australia and had connections to the US and Europe I'd fly them over Etihad. Their product just seems just that much better. I still don't know why it isn't recognised in places like Skytraxx or other awards (some say that those awards are all about who has the most money and motivation to win).

Objectively Etihad's new first class suite is pretty industry leading. The seat itself is very comfortable and wide, and the bed has very little bumps. As with a lot of first class seats the join between the leg rest and seat usually has some kind of irregular bump, but there is nothing with Etihad. It is truly one of the most comfortable seats and beds I've experienced. LH and LX's new first seat looks comparable, but LH's new dedicated bed on their 747's probably beats EY. Who wins the seat battle is probably up to personal preference. There are a lot of people who prefer the more spacious layout of LX/LH's first class as opposed to the pretty closed in EY suite. I have to say that the doors are a good and bad thing: it affords huge amounts of privacy at the expense of feeling like you are in a roomy cabin. Not sure about inflight entertainment, but the last time I was on LH, its IFE was pathetic.

In terms of bathrooms, I don't know what LX's bathroom looks like, but LH's 380 bathroom beats Etihad's new bathroom. Etihad's new "changing/bathroom" is pretty nice for an air plane bathroom, but LH's looks like it could pass for one on the ground.

Etihad's food is pretty good, but it kind of lacks the more luxurious flare of LH/LX's catering. Etihad's philosophy is that it wants to create a restaurant in the sky hence the food and beverage manager and the new onboard chef for first class. LH's catering in F was really sublime and had a lot of luxurious foods that one just doesn't really get at restaurants or at home. (I must be going to the wrong places, but I never see caviar or balik salmon here in Sydney). LX's catering, based on trip reports, looks to be superior to both EY and LH. EY does have one advantage is that you can eat at any time during the trip. For instance you could have your dinner right before you arrive whereas the person next to you could have their dinner service right after departure. As I kind of like routine I kind of like a structured meal service. With Etihad if you don't have a breakfast service prior to arrival you may not get a second structured meal.

In terms of service Etihad's cabin crew is variable, but one constant is that they are slightly inexperienced. Some are extremely excellent and mind read what I want and get things prepared. Others seem disinterested and kind of disappear. The saving grace is the food and beverage manager which are usually great (as their job is very focused on customer service). I haven't tried any flight with the new on-board chef, but their function is similar to the food and beverage manager, but they only really stay in the first cabin. LH's cabin crew were great and on those few occasions they were all exceptional.

I'm sure you really enjoy your flights with EY in F. The only big criticism I have with Etihad is their phone customer service.

ual902

Thanks SighMN for your Insights I really appreciate it.

Well I have 200K with UA\StartAlliance and 500K with AA\ Oneworld, and my trip is in mid January 2012 so I have still some time to figure out how Ill do this, I may just do Eithad JFK-AUH-COK LH DEL-FRA-MIA A380 - LGA\EWR\JFK

Also there is only 1 flight a day AUH - COK it departs @ 9:50pm and the JFK Flight arrives 7:45pm so it is more then 24 hours for transfer and I know for fact AA allows within or up to 24 hours to transfer, on the other Hand with LH there are several flights to choose from and I could overnight in FRA to enjoy LH FCT properly plus being chaufferd with private car to the Aircraft and with Eithad I'm not even sure if I can enjoy the First Class lounge in AUH properly.

openflync

Seat (Suite) wise: EY is much better
Food/Drink wise: LH is a class ahead

ual902

Thanks for the insight, never flown on either in First Class nor in any class
I'm not really big into the food, what about IFE?.

openflync

EY has nice big new screens on their suits while the LH screens seem small and relatively old (only flown on their 744's a few times during 08-10).

But saying that, the EY IFE content never seems to keep me interested for too long.

ual902

Thanks again, EY sounds very exciting

tinkybelle

the OP is using AA pts for his award

AA dont allow stopovers on one way awards so NO he is not being ripped off!!!
they are then charging for 2 sectors its not a stopover charge its a 2 sector charge.
that is the policy for AA he chose to use AA pts so therefore no stopover.

it is not an EY ticket.

therefore EY t and cs dont apply.
AA T and Cs apply.