OK, so it's my fault for not checking with EY or NZ first, but LHR-AUH is a NZ-EY codeshare and a family member recently got full priority check in and lounge access on a deep discount Y ticket on that route with his NZ *G card thanks to the codeshare opened in 2011. I thought I'd get the same treatment going MAN-AUH, but no. Was told I have zero access to the lounge on that route with my Gold card. B*ggeration! I only booked Etihad because I thought I'd get lounge access! I was even looking forward to it because the EY lounge in MAN looks soooooo much nicer than any of the others in T1.

Ended up having a slap up breakfast in Giraffe though - definitely better than the rubbish they usually have in the other lounges that *A usually get in T1.

As an aside, having the MAN-AUH-XXX route would provide an excellent way to get out to the world and I can't work out why the NZ codeshare wasn't added with the LHR route.