Hello,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Etihad tier benefits with partner airlines. Specifically, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi (51% owned by Etihad), with a ticket issued in the US with all flights being marketed by Etihad and the first flight from the US being on Etihad (i.e. Etihad being the First Marketing Carrier, which is relevant for US DOT guidelines, as well as Etihad being the Most Significant Carrier). US DOT guidelines state that we are entitled to the baggage allowance of the first marketing carrier and it applies to the entire ticket including the return leg from a foreign country. In this case, a silver member was denied a complimentary third bag when flying the return portion of a round trip US-India trip (i.e. the issue occured in India on the return portion when attempting to check in to Air Arabia on an EY code share flight). They were required to pay 60 AED per kilo for the extra bag and weight of 21 kg, for a total of just under $400 USD, and were told they were only allowed a maximum of two bags with a total weight of 40 kg. Flights to/from the US on Etihad get 2x23 kg standard (as is noted on the ticket for all sectors), and silver members are entitled to another complementary 23 kg piece in economy.

I spoke to Air Arabia customer service, who told me that whatever Etihad has as their baggage allowance should apply throughout the ticket. I was/am still unsure about the tier benefits as Etihad says check the partner airline page to see if that partner airline honors tier benefits, but that listing of partner airlines does not mention Air Arabia Abu Dhabi directly, having it only under the codeshare partners page, while others like Air Serbia specifically are listed and have the extra baggage for silver members clearly marked out as being a benefit. I am also unsure if the US DOT law requires the honoring of tier benefits in cases like these. It is important to note that the first flight of the ticket was flown with Etihad from the US to Abu Dhabi and the tier benefit was used without issue, even though the second flight from Abu Dhabi to India was on Air Arabia--it was transferred without issue or extra cost.

Tier Benefits, note 26 is relevant
https://www.etihadguest.com/en/our-p...ery_tier_level

Baggage Calculator which shows 3x 23 kg bags from India to the US as a silver member in Economy
https://www.etihad.com/en-ae/fly-etihad/baggage

Etihad partners list
https://www.etihad.com/en-ae/fly-etihad/our-partners

Etihad Guest earn miles with out partners page (no mention of Air Arabia Abu Dhabi)
https://www.etihadguest.com/en/earn-...ng/flying.html

Etihad Hub page mentioning Silver tier members get an extra box on piece concept routes
https://www.etihadhub.com/en-ae/prod...des-and-extras

Any help or experience in this matter would be appreciated. Thanks!