Jan 13, 2015, 2:43 pm
Last edit by: SingaporeDon
Booking Award Seats on EY / Etihad Airways Using AA / AAdvantage Miles
This thread is about "how to" book Etihad / EY award seats using AA AAdvantage miles. This wiki is new, so anyone with 90/90 who wishes to add helpful information is, of course, urged to do so.
- You cannot search or book awards for travel on EY (Etihad) on www.aa.com
- You can search award availability on EY's website. Look for seats on flights operated by Etihad Airways labeled as "GuestSeats".
- You have to call AA to book them. You may need to request the AA agent to look up the inventory one segment at a time in order to find the inventory in their system. OR:
- Your best bet is to call AA Australia (+61 2-9101-1948 ) - although the call center is actually in Suva, Fiji -as they can see the inventory reliably, and you can book (or put the EY segments on hold so you can flesh out the award afterward).
- A handy EY route map is at http://flights.etihad.com/routemap
- The applicable AAdvantage miles award chart is the oneworld and Other Airline Award Chart
- Award routing rules are in the wikipost of this thread
- It can be instructive to read about our members' successful award bookings on EY using AAdvantage miles in the Success stories of award booking on Etihad using AA miles (>= 2015) thread. [Note: posts prior to 2015 about this topic (with the exception of a few 2014 end of year posts brought forward for continuity) are archived at ARCHIVE: Success stories of award booking on Etihad using AA miles]
- If you find EY inventory from your continent but not your city of choice, as usual you can include any other AAdvantage award airlines in order to complete the itinerary. E.g. LHR-xAUH-DEL-xAUH-CDG on EY connecting to CDG-LHR on BA.
How to: Use AA Miles to Book Award on Etihad / EY (Archive - 2015 and earlier)
Jul 16, 2014, 6:14 am
#361
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But back to the Jet Airways flight the planes are obviously configured completely different and the hard product in F is old and tatty compared to EY (we flew out on a brand new 77W so coming back on a tatty old Jet plane was a big letdown). And the food selection was basically 99% Indian. Which is fine if that is what you are in the mood for, but we weren't and what does Indian food have to do with AUH/JFK routing?
Personally disappointed to see this model expanding to SFO and in looking at bookings now I go out of my way to avoid the Jet flights and stick with "real" EY particularly on the 77W
Jul 16, 2014, 6:26 am
#362
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This is definitely not true. We flew the "EY operated" Jet Airways flight from AUH-JFK earlier this year and it was definitely sub-par versus flying "real" EY. And to add to the debate on that, personally EY F is my absolute favorite having tried CX, SQ, various flavors of LH, EK (A380) etc. I think the focus on hard product and on board service is absolutely perfect and I would always choose EY if a choice was available.
But back to the Jet Airways flight...
But back to the Jet Airways flight...
Jul 16, 2014, 7:10 am
#363
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Join Date: Mar 1999
Posts: 12,097
OPERATED BY ETIHAD ON JET AIRWAYS CONFIGURED AIRCRAFT.
Last edited by hillrider; Jul 16, 2014 at 7:22 am Reason: Link to DOT rules added
Jul 16, 2014, 7:15 am
#364
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
The links in the post unthread address that, I was referring to the fact that the planes, crew, livery, etc will all be branded EY-- that no one should be confused by the "operated by Jet" designation in terms of redeeming/earning/award rules, etc, that's there's no distinction necessary from that point of view.
The links provided all focus on the J product though. We compared both (kids were in J while we were in F) and the J product is generally more competitive versus the EY equivalent. It is definitely worth noting the F experience on the Jet product is sub-par compared to regular Etihad experience
Jul 16, 2014, 7:19 am
#365
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Join Date: Mar 1999
Posts: 12,097
Will they fly TPAC or TATL? Same question. for when they add Dallas later in the year. To get to JNB, on Etihad from any of the gateways, which direction would one fly? I'm going to try for 2 J awards to South Africa for Nov. 2015 originating in Kansas City using AA miles.
The shortest circle path is here and passes 167 miles south of the Pole at 34° W, or North of Greenland; winds will dictate whether they pass on the "Atlantic" side of the pole or the "Pacific" side of it from an operational standpoint, and this could change on a daily basis.
Jul 16, 2014, 7:33 am
#366
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Got it, that makes sense
The links provided all focus on the J product though. We compared both (kids were in J while we were in F) and the J product is generally more competitive versus the EY equivalent. It is definitely worth noting the F experience on the Jet product is sub-par compared to regular Etihad experience
The links provided all focus on the J product though. We compared both (kids were in J while we were in F) and the J product is generally more competitive versus the EY equivalent. It is definitely worth noting the F experience on the Jet product is sub-par compared to regular Etihad experience
just the fact that EY is serving this route will open up options and, the difference in product, will be very secondary. Again, not for us!
Jul 16, 2014, 6:04 pm
#367
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This is definitely not true. We flew the "EY operated" Jet Airways flight from AUH-JFK earlier this year and it was definitely sub-par versus flying "real" EY. And to add to the debate on that, personally EY F is my absolute favorite having tried CX, SQ, various flavors of LH, EK (A380) etc. I think the focus on hard product and on board service is absolutely perfect and I would always choose EY if a choice was available.
But back to the Jet Airways flight the planes are obviously configured completely different and the hard product in F is old and tatty compared to EY (we flew out on a brand new 77W so coming back on a tatty old Jet plane was a big letdown). And the food selection was basically 99% Indian. Which is fine if that is what you are in the mood for, but we weren't and what does Indian food have to do with AUH/JFK routing?
Personally disappointed to see this model expanding to SFO and in looking at bookings now I go out of my way to avoid the Jet flights and stick with "real" EY particularly on the 77W
But back to the Jet Airways flight the planes are obviously configured completely different and the hard product in F is old and tatty compared to EY (we flew out on a brand new 77W so coming back on a tatty old Jet plane was a big letdown). And the food selection was basically 99% Indian. Which is fine if that is what you are in the mood for, but we weren't and what does Indian food have to do with AUH/JFK routing?
Personally disappointed to see this model expanding to SFO and in looking at bookings now I go out of my way to avoid the Jet flights and stick with "real" EY particularly on the 77W
Got it, that makes sense
The links provided all focus on the J product though. We compared both (kids were in J while we were in F) and the J product is generally more competitive versus the EY equivalent. It is definitely worth noting the F experience on the Jet product is sub-par compared to regular Etihad experience
The links provided all focus on the J product though. We compared both (kids were in J while we were in F) and the J product is generally more competitive versus the EY equivalent. It is definitely worth noting the F experience on the Jet product is sub-par compared to regular Etihad experience
I'm tough on others when they post inaccurately (good examples in this very thread
) and should live by that same standard. Thanks for the correction!
Jul 17, 2014, 7:06 pm
#368
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
Ya'know, I went back and re-read my post and definitely agree that it missed the mark and was somewhat misleading/ambiguous/incorrect (in the exact fashion you suggested) and just wanted to acknowledge that even further.
I'm tough on others when they post inaccurately (good examples in this very thread) and should live by that same standard. Thanks for the correction!
I'm tough on others when they post inaccurately (good examples in this very thread
) and should live by that same standard. Thanks for the correction!And I do agree having an SFO is better than having no SFO option... but would love to see more "real" EY routes. EY F is definitely my favorite airline product
Jul 28, 2014, 8:55 pm
#369
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Miami
Programs: AA EXP (OW EME), Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 441
How far does out does forst award availability open up?
Looking to redeem AA miles for EY First Jaipur-Abu Dhabi-(ORD/JFK)-MIA around 2/21/15 but using KVS availability can' seem to find much availability around this time. Also searched just Abu Dhabi-(ORD/JFK) sector and again not much luck.
Anyone know if there's a pattern how far our from departure EY opens up first availability?
Anyone know if there's a pattern how far our from departure EY opens up first availability?
Aug 1, 2014, 3:39 pm
#370
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: AA EXP, AA LT Gold, SPG Plat 75
Posts: 890
Looking to redeem AA miles for EY First Jaipur-Abu Dhabi-(ORD/JFK)-MIA around 2/21/15 but using KVS availability can' seem to find much availability around this time. Also searched just Abu Dhabi-(ORD/JFK) sector and again not much luck.
Anyone know if there's a pattern how far our from departure EY opens up first availability?
Anyone know if there's a pattern how far our from departure EY opens up first availability?
Availability is there for next July. About ~330 days or so.
That being said, is anyone else having issues getting fights that are showing available under "Guest". I have had several flights showing wide open on Etihad's site under "guest business" (6+ seats) yet multiple AA reps are claiming that there no 0 availability in I on those flights.
Aug 1, 2014, 3:43 pm
#371
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Aug 1, 2014, 3:53 pm
#373
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Aug 1, 2014, 5:43 pm
#375
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[KVS Availability Tool 7.4.1/Diamond - Awards/EY]
Code:
AUH Abu Dhabi Intl AE [OMAA]
BEY Beirut Rafic Hariri Intl LB [OLBA]
WED 20 Aug 2014
Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability
--------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- -------------
EY 533 AUH 00:40 BEY 03:50 320 0 FS0 CS7 YS9
EY 535 AUH 08:00 BEY 11:10 320 0 FS0 CS3 YS9
EY 537 AUH 11:25 BEY 14:35 320 0 FS0 CS1 YS9