Jan 14, 2016, 5:43 am
Last edit by: medellinfein
Booking Award Seats on EY / Etihad Airways Using AA / AAdvantage Miles
Also see: Earning AA Miles EQM / EQD / EQS on EY / Etihad (master thread)
This thread is about how to book Etihad / EY award seats using AA AAdvantage miles, and sharing success stories. This wiki is new, so anyone with 90/90 who wishes to add helpful information is, of course, urged to do so.
NOTE:AA has removed most EY and QR award access from aa.com due to a glitch booking these:
Please see the archived threads for previous experiences:
Also see: Earning AA Miles EQM / EQD / EQS on EY / Etihad (master thread)
This thread is about how to book Etihad / EY award seats using AA AAdvantage miles, and sharing success stories. This wiki is new, so anyone with 90/90 who wishes to add helpful information is, of course, urged to do so.
NOTE:AA has removed most EY and QR award access from aa.com due to a glitch booking these:
From One Mile at a Time (link)
Bottom Line
For the time being you’ll have to call American if you want to ticket AAdvantage awards on Etihad & Qatar that aren’t for travel to & from the US or Canada. It makes sense that American took these awards “offline,” and now it also makes sense why so many passengers have been having issues with checked bags on awards.
Bottom Line
For the time being you’ll have to call American if you want to ticket AAdvantage awards on Etihad & Qatar that aren’t for travel to & from the US or Canada. It makes sense that American took these awards “offline,” and now it also makes sense why so many passengers have been having issues with checked bags on awards.
- You can now search or book awards for travel on EY (Etihad) on www.aa.com.
- You can search award availability on EY's website. Look only for seats on flights operated by Etihad Airways that are labeled as "GuestSeats". You can also search on ExpertFlyer
- Note: You may see more availability if you search on EY's website using itineraries that do not originate in the US. In other words, to potentially see more availability on a USA-XYZ segment, search for XYZ-USA-XYZ. Expertflyer does not report this additional availability (if any), and US-based agents probably will not be able to see or book it (but see further below for Fiji).
- To expand on this point a bit, it seems that even if you only want to fly USA-AUH (or to other foreign destinations, since they route through AUH), due to an EY website quirk you need to search AUH-USA-AUH in order to find available USA-AUH routes.
- You no longer 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:
- It is often or even typically the case that for first and business class awards US agents cannot see the award space that you see on Etihad's site. Your best bet, then, is to call AA Australia (+61 2-9101-1948 ) then press 3 - or the New Zealand number (+64 09-308-4014) (actually South African contractor Mindpearl in Fiji) or Singapore (+65 6349-8444) as an alternative - what you need is the specific call center which is actually in Suva, Fiji (I believe it's our old South African agency friend Mindpearl) or, according to recent reports, in Trinidad (since there have been some reports that the Fiji center has closed). You can put the EY segments on hold so you can flesh out the award afterward and/or pay the fees in USD through the US call center, or simply buy it through non-US call center if you think you won't be making subsequent routing changes (such as adding AA connecting flights within the USA) that would incur fees. (NOTE: calls may get picked up by the local Brisbane office, or rerouted to Trinidad or the USA. As noted, there are reports that the Fiji call center has closed, but people have still been able to book some of the time, particularly if they reach the Trinidad center since that seems to be the call center that yields the greatest success in late 2017 and 2018 - with the big caveat that there are at least as many failures as successes in calling there, including repeatedly. To increase the chances of success, you may have to call several times, since for some reason a given customer service representative at a given time won't see availability even if it shows at the EY site, but another CSR at the same center may be able to do so even a few minutes later. It's conceivable that this difference is due to some CSRs knowing how to search for award availability better than others do, but that's simply a matter of speculation at this point.)
- Note: EY award holds only last 72 hours...irrespective of what AA reservation hold email states
- Booking connections via AUH / Abu Dabhi using one award is now allowed.
- Get both AA and EY reservation codes/numbers: Upon booking with AA, make sure to get the EY reservation number as well as that of AA from the AA CSR, as without the EY number it will be difficult or impossible to deal with EY, such as for checking or managing your reservation online. And of course, if there is another airline involved in the reservation as well (such as BA), get its reservation number.
- A handy EY route map is here: http://flights.etihad.com/routemap.
- The applicable AAdvantage miles award chart is the oneworld and partner airlines award chart.
- Award routing rules are in the wikipost of this thread.
- 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.
- WARNING: While this trick is great for new bookings (especially if you have patience to get lucky for call to be routed to Fiji office), modifying booking on partner airlines is always risky especially when an overseas center is involved, Your original seats are immediately released and while new reservation is supposedly confirmed, it may actually not the case until ticket desk actually issues ticket after approval of the partner liaison. Weekend/Holidays/Time-Difference can delay issuance of ticket and if something goes wrong, there is always risk of being SOL. (Mistakes by agents are rare but not unheard of).
- SEAT ASSIGNMENTS: You cannot choose seats until after ticketing. Even then, the regular web site will not allow seat assignments to be made for AAdvantage award bookings. The mobile site (which can be reached with either a mobile or a desktop browser) may work in some cases. Calling EY to make seat assignments always works, as long as you can give them the EY record locator, and as long as AA has issued the ticket (which can take a few days, you will get e-mail). Call 1-877-690-0767, press 1 for English, then 2 for First/Business, then 2 for existing bookings, then they will tell you the call is ending - but it's not: they have added "press 1 to speak to an agent", so finally, press 1 to continue the call. After this, you should have someone on the line quickly to help you. They will ask you a series of questions such as "What class are you traveling in?" and "Where are you going?" Alternatively, you can choose your seats on the Etihad website and app by using the EY record locator to find your award itinerary.
- Availability: EY award availability using AA miles can be fairly good, including in business and first class - IF you get past the big, aforementioned challenge of actually booking award seats that the EY site shows as available but that AA agents have trouble finding. But it ebbs and flows quite a bit in at least two respects (in addition to the general rule that the further in advance you seek availability, the better, as well as reports that availability is easier to find from one to three weeks before a flight): 1) availability showing at the EY site and 2) even if availability shows at the EY site, the ability of non-US call centers (especially the "least bad" ones for finding availability, which might have been Fiji and might now be Trinidad) to find that availability. So if the EY site is not showing availability for a given day or week, and if you have flexibility, check other dates. And if availability seems to be particularly constrained across many dates, particularly if you are searching many months in advance, check again periodically to see if this has changed (or arrange an alert via ExpertFlyer, if it provides such a service for EY flights).
- "Baby-sit" your tickets: Though this advice could apply to many award bookings, EY's systems can be glitchy and the airline apparently is going through some financial challenges. So it makes sense to check online or via phone occasionally with EY to make sure everything remains in order, particularly if there have been even minor changes in things like your flight times. And if there seem to be problems, including with checking in online or other procedures, the EY forum here at FT can be a source of useful advice about whether or not those problems are worth worrying about.
- Itinerary: You can use https://www.virtuallythere.com/new/login.html to enter your EY record locator and last name to 1)display your complete itinerary 2)save a pdf 3)add to outlook/ical 4)view ticket # and different times the ticket has been reissued
- AA lounge access: If you book a premium cabin itinerary on EY with domestic connections on AA, you will not be able to access the Admiral's Club during your domestic layovers because EY is not a member of OW.
Please see the archived threads for previous experiences:
- How to: Use AA Miles to Book Award on Etihad / EY (Archive - 2015 and earlier)
- Success stories booking awards on Etihad using AA miles (Archive - 2015 and earlier)
- Booking AA Award travel on Etihad / EY - [2015-17 ARCHIVE]
Booking AA Award travel on Etihad / EY (master thread July 2017 onwards)
Feb 16, 2018, 4:17 am
#166
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 39
AA not seeing Biz - existing booking
I have MLE-AUH in Y and then AUH-JFK in J ticketed a few weeks ago. Etihad opened 2 more seats in J for MLE-AUH segment. I called to change the class of service on the first segment. They are not able to see. Called multiple times NZ, Australia, Singapore and US - no luck. Then, one of the calls, I asked them to set up a new reservation - the availability showed up. Pretty weird. Do they go to different lookup screens when setting up a new booking vs. changing an existing reservation? Not sure how to proceed. Those J seats are still available, but they cannot see them when making a change to an existing booking
Feb 16, 2018, 4:23 am
#167
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,575
If you search for MLE-JFK , is there availability or only when searched separately?
It could simply be down to married sector availability where MLE-JFK is only available standalone but not for a through journey
It could simply be down to married sector availability where MLE-JFK is only available standalone but not for a through journey
Feb 16, 2018, 7:26 am
#168
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Queens, NY
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, OW Emerald, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,066
Really excited I was able to secure two seats for the wife and I in the First Apartments, all the way through from JFK-AUH on the 380 and then AUH-SIN on the 787..
We do have a ~11 hr layover while in AUH which we don't really mind since I'm reading that there is a gym, food is great, showers are nice and there is a spa. But not sure if we want to stay in the lounge the entire time...
My question is - how should we best make use of our time during the layover? We've never been to Abu Dhabi and I think we get chauffeur service right to/from so could we theoretically take advantage of the car service to get us into town for some sight-seeing and then back to the airport? If so, any left luggage facilities we can leave our carry ons? Thanks!
Edit: Forgot to mention that I booked this using AA miles, called the Aussie # but I'm not sure if I was routed somewhere else. Cost us 115k JFK-AUH and then 50k AUH-SIN for each of us. Will get back 10% of those miles with the AAviator Credit Card.
We do have a ~11 hr layover while in AUH which we don't really mind since I'm reading that there is a gym, food is great, showers are nice and there is a spa. But not sure if we want to stay in the lounge the entire time...
My question is - how should we best make use of our time during the layover? We've never been to Abu Dhabi and I think we get chauffeur service right to/from so could we theoretically take advantage of the car service to get us into town for some sight-seeing and then back to the airport? If so, any left luggage facilities we can leave our carry ons? Thanks!
Edit: Forgot to mention that I booked this using AA miles, called the Aussie # but I'm not sure if I was routed somewhere else. Cost us 115k JFK-AUH and then 50k AUH-SIN for each of us. Will get back 10% of those miles with the AAviator Credit Card.
Feb 16, 2018, 8:06 am
#169
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Marriott Platinium
Posts: 1,334
So after all of this, I just got an email saying that our departure from JFK to AUH has changed from the 2pm EY102 flight to the 10pm EY100 flight. Our layover in AUH is now only 1hr 55min connecting onward to EY470 to SIN. Not sure why the change happened but we were kind of looking forward to spending several hours seeing Abu Dhabi. Now I guess we can look forward to a rushed experience in the first class lounge.
Last edited by fedechat; Feb 16, 2018 at 8:45 am
Feb 16, 2018, 8:35 am
#170
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Queens, NY
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, OW Emerald, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,066
Call them and ask why an try to get your original flight, which still available, just make sure EY102 still A380 and not a 77W. Keep in mind you can still get an stopover if you find the space because you are actually paying for 2 awards, the cost it will be the same and you can spend an extra day in AUH.
Feb 16, 2018, 9:13 am
#171
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,590
Feb 17, 2018, 3:17 pm
#172
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
It is again possible to make seat assignments without calling and having to answer 20 questions:
How To Select Etihad Seats Online - One Mile at a Time
The mobile site, which can also be accessed through a desktop browser, is Etihad Airways. Click on "Additional services".
How To Select Etihad Seats Online - One Mile at a Time
The mobile site, which can also be accessed through a desktop browser, is Etihad Airways. Click on "Additional services".
Last edited by SeeBuyFly; Feb 17, 2018 at 3:23 pm
Feb 18, 2018, 6:50 am
#174
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Queens, NY
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, OW Emerald, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,066
Did a little more digging (y'all didn't think I would just let this go, did you? 
). This time I called the AAdvantage desk and as I figured, it seems the Etihad agent I spoke with was misinformed - the flight was not canceled.
The AA agent said that the reason we were bumped to the later flight was because the time for our original flight E1Y02 changed by FIVE minutes from 1445 to 1440 and that is why we got kicked to the later EY100 flight.
He said that EY’s re-accommodation policy moves you forward, not back. Unfortunately EY102 no longer has two award seats in F available so will have to live with EY100 and check in every so often to see if two F seats on the earlier flight open up.
). This time I called the AAdvantage desk and as I figured, it seems the Etihad agent I spoke with was misinformed - the flight was not canceled.The AA agent said that the reason we were bumped to the later flight was because the time for our original flight E1Y02 changed by FIVE minutes from 1445 to 1440 and that is why we got kicked to the later EY100 flight.
He said that EY’s re-accommodation policy moves you forward, not back. Unfortunately EY102 no longer has two award seats in F available so will have to live with EY100 and check in every so often to see if two F seats on the earlier flight open up.
Last edited by vivrant; Feb 18, 2018 at 11:14 am
Feb 19, 2018, 3:06 am
#176
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 9
Just wanted to offer a datapoint. I was able to successfully book LHR-AUH and AUH-JFK roughly 3 months out. I confirmed Class O availability on EF and then confirmed on the Etihad website. I called in to the USA phone line and they were unable to see the AUH-JFK flight, but placed LHR-AUH on hold for me, then I hung up and phoned Australia and was able to get the JFK leg added. Looking forward to trying the A380!
Feb 19, 2018, 7:19 am
#177
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA Plat Pro, Marriott Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist, United Platinum
Posts: 24
EY First Availability
I was eyeing some very specific dates for EY First on the A380. I watched at 330 , 315, and 300 days out and availability never opened up. Anyone know of any other significant time frames I should be targeting?
Feb 19, 2018, 8:54 am
#178
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Just wanted to offer a datapoint. I was able to successfully book LHR-AUH and AUH-JFK roughly 3 months out. I confirmed Class O availability on EF and then confirmed on the Etihad website. I called in to the USA phone line and they were unable to see the AUH-JFK flight, but placed LHR-AUH on hold for me, then I hung up and phoned Australia and was able to get the JFK leg added. Looking forward to trying the A380!
One glitch to keep in mind, though, is that the EY site often doesn't show JFK-AUH F availability if you just check that route one-way. Check round-trip AUH-JFK-AUH round-trip (even if you don't intend to fly AUH-JFK) if you're interested in JFK-AUH.
Feb 19, 2018, 11:48 am
#179
Join Date: Apr 2014
Programs: Hilton - Diamond, IHG - Spire Amb
Posts: 901
Did a little more digging (y'all didn't think I would just let this go, did you? ). This time I called the AAdvantage desk and as I figured, it seems the Etihad agent I spoke with was misinformed - the flight was not canceled.
The AA agent said that the reason we were bumped to the later flight was because the time for our original flight E1Y02 changed by FIVE minutes from 1445 to 1440 and that is why we got kicked to the later EY100 flight.
He said that EY’s re-accommodation policy moves you forward, not back. Unfortunately EY102 no longer has two award seats in F available so will have to live with EY100 and check in every so often to see if two F seats on the earlier flight open up.
). This time I called the AAdvantage desk and as I figured, it seems the Etihad agent I spoke with was misinformed - the flight was not canceled.The AA agent said that the reason we were bumped to the later flight was because the time for our original flight E1Y02 changed by FIVE minutes from 1445 to 1440 and that is why we got kicked to the later EY100 flight.
He said that EY’s re-accommodation policy moves you forward, not back. Unfortunately EY102 no longer has two award seats in F available so will have to live with EY100 and check in every so often to see if two F seats on the earlier flight open up.
When booking Emirates with Alaskan miles, if you make a change, they have to release the seats and entirely reissue. If you change on Etihad, is it the same issue, or can they move you from business to 1st or to other flights without releasing etc?
Feb 19, 2018, 11:55 am
#180
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
If making any change on an AAdvantage booking, reticketing is required. If you are asking whether you need only the miles difference in your account, or the full miles needed for the new ticket, you only need to have the difference. If you are asking whether fees are charged, that depends on what the change is. But it's always reticketed.