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 25, 2019, 7:33 pm
#856
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Upstate
Programs: HH Diamond-IHG Plat-AA Gold
Posts: 215
At any rate, once in Male, your next move will depend on what resort you’re headed to. For us, like last time, it’ll be the Conrad Maldives, so that means a seaplane ride from MLE to the resort. Other resorts only require speedboat transfer.
In a nutshell, while I can respect that the Maldives are not for everyone, we totally fell in love with it there. Neither of us have ever experienced the feeling of *sheer remoteness* that we felt staying at the CM. The natural beauty of the islands, and the incomparable ability to unpllug and relax was priceless.
Hope that helps, and feel free to PM me with any other questions you might have. Happy to discuss further.
Feb 26, 2019, 3:19 am
#857
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 78
What's reverse routing?
Feb 27, 2019, 12:20 pm
#860
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 2
Hello. Here I pen my woes regarding booking an INFANT on ETIHAD using AMERICAN AIRLINES miles....
At first the American Airlines Agent tells me to book the infant with a seat for 40,000 miles. I ask her why ? She says that it is the only way to travel with infants on ETIHAD.
I said that I have travelled in 2015 and paid 10% of taxes for the infant and did not have to pay any miles. Then she put the ticket on HOLD and said that I can clarify with ETIHAD and then call back.
I checked with ETIHAD and they said that if the ticket is American Airlines issued with 001 ticket number then they cannot issue the INFANT ticket and only American Airlines can do that.
I called American Airlines back and they now tried to attach the infant ticket to the itinerary on HOLD. She couldnt do that.
So then she tells me to confirm the ticket and that I can then book the INFANT on a confirmed ticket.
I then went ahead and confirmed the adult ticket on ETIHAD using American Airlines miles and waited for it to be ticketed.
Now the American Airlines checked with their fare department and say that Etihad doesnt allow American Airlines to issue an infant ticket on American stock. When I called Etihad they say that since the ticket is issued by American they cannot add an infant to the ticket. This is going in circles.
Now American Airlines wants me to pay full miles for the INFANT ticket as they say they dont have any other way to book the ticket.
I have already spent 6 hours both with American Airlines and Etihad.
Did anyone go through a similar situation ? Any suggestions or tips ?
At first the American Airlines Agent tells me to book the infant with a seat for 40,000 miles. I ask her why ? She says that it is the only way to travel with infants on ETIHAD.
I said that I have travelled in 2015 and paid 10% of taxes for the infant and did not have to pay any miles. Then she put the ticket on HOLD and said that I can clarify with ETIHAD and then call back.
I checked with ETIHAD and they said that if the ticket is American Airlines issued with 001 ticket number then they cannot issue the INFANT ticket and only American Airlines can do that.
I called American Airlines back and they now tried to attach the infant ticket to the itinerary on HOLD. She couldnt do that.
So then she tells me to confirm the ticket and that I can then book the INFANT on a confirmed ticket.
I then went ahead and confirmed the adult ticket on ETIHAD using American Airlines miles and waited for it to be ticketed.
Now the American Airlines checked with their fare department and say that Etihad doesnt allow American Airlines to issue an infant ticket on American stock. When I called Etihad they say that since the ticket is issued by American they cannot add an infant to the ticket. This is going in circles.
Now American Airlines wants me to pay full miles for the INFANT ticket as they say they dont have any other way to book the ticket.
I have already spent 6 hours both with American Airlines and Etihad.
Did anyone go through a similar situation ? Any suggestions or tips ?
Mar 1, 2019, 4:09 pm
#861
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 243
I'm going MLE-LAX but I want to fly the apartment so I am doing the AUH-JFK leg in F and then I have secured JFK-LAX in AA Flagship first. No A380 on the AUH-LAX route.
Mar 1, 2019, 6:55 pm
#863
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North America
Posts: 2,265
Anyone ever had their Etihad tickets randomly reissued by AA? Today I received email from AA that "we have reissued your tickets due to a change" --- but there's been no changes to flights (except now I have new ticket numbers.) Both AA/EY PNRs remain the same, but now the EY PNR has both ticket numbers attached to the reservation.
Mar 1, 2019, 10:08 pm
#865
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,652
Anyone ever had their Etihad tickets randomly reissued by AA? Today I received email from AA that "we have reissued your tickets due to a change" --- but there's been no changes to flights (except now I have new ticket numbers.) Both AA/EY PNRs remain the same, but now the EY PNR has both ticket numbers attached to the reservation.
Every time there is a reticket, EY will retain all old ticket numbers and add the new ones to the reservation. Don't worry, that part is meaningless.
Mar 2, 2019, 12:31 pm
#866
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North America
Posts: 2,265
Yes. And that's how they weaseled out of giving me chauffeur service. Had a driver booking, re-ticket for no reason after they changed the policy, Refused to reinstate the driver.
Every time there is a reticket, EY will retain all old ticket numbers and add the new ones to the reservation. Don't worry, that part is meaningless.
Every time there is a reticket, EY will retain all old ticket numbers and add the new ones to the reservation. Don't worry, that part is meaningless.
Mar 2, 2019, 12:47 pm
#867
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,652
Mar 2, 2019, 1:43 pm
#868
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
No clue. I think my AA to JFK flight might have changed #s , certainly not something noteworthy.
Mar 5, 2019, 2:38 pm
#869
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 243
Anyone ever had their Etihad tickets randomly reissued by AA? Today I received email from AA that "we have reissued your tickets due to a change" --- but there's been no changes to flights (except now I have new ticket numbers.) Both AA/EY PNRs remain the same, but now the EY PNR has both ticket numbers attached to the reservation.
Mar 15, 2019, 6:39 pm
#870
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MIA
Posts: 498
Was able to book MIA-JFK-AUH-SYD in F but not without issues. Had to use reverse routing to get EY flights to show availability. Had to call NZ call center every time (AU call center never saw the space). I originally planned on ticketing AUH-SYD-PER but got told no due to MPM. I also originally placed JFK-AUH on hold via NZ and then called US call center to add on MIA-JFK. That US agent ended up unconfirming my EY F reservation and had to go back to the NZ call center again.
Regardless glad I got this done as I don't think EY will be working with AA much longer and god knows how long EY will continue to operate independently after those awful 2018 results
Regardless glad I got this done as I don't think EY will be working with AA much longer and god knows how long EY will continue to operate independently after those awful 2018 results
