This is bad news, we (both Platinum) will start considering other carriers again because of this.

My biggest concern is that with the "Breaking Deals" fares no longer eligible for upgrade, the price differential between EY and other carriers will no longer be worth it. We used to be happy to pay €100-200 more on a fare with EY instead of, say, EK, but if that fare is not eligible for upgrade, the benefit of flying with EY evaporates. On the other hand, it will be very hard to justify paying a higher fare to have something eligible for upgrade - because upgrades are of course not guaranteed.

@etihadhelp - seat availability for Guest & Open seats is irrelevant for our usage. We never redeem full flights - our company pays for Economy tickets and we use miles to upgrade. Company buys EY at a slight premium because it knows this is possible. If this is no longer possible, we'll start shopping around again, i.e. EK, QR (always much cheaper) and GF.

Just our 2 cents.