At the moment, there are some opportunities to redeem miles for Etihad business class in advance, while getting a pretty decent deal…
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Etihad has good business class award availability
I’ve written in the past about the general challenge with redeeming miles for Etihad first and business class:
- While the Etihad Guest program has a good amount of award availability, the pricing is on the high side, and the program’s cancelation policy is so punitive that I think it’s worth avoiding
- While you can redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points and Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles for Etihad first and business class, premium cabin availability is severely limited, especially if wanting to book in advance
That’s why there’s an exciting opportunity at the moment, as flagged by @findflightsforme. Currently, Air France-KLM Flying Blue has access to quite a bit of Etihad business class award availability. This is available in advance, and even on routes to and from the United States.
The Flying Blue award calendar isn’t helpful with searching partner award space, so you do need to search day-by-day. However, if looking far in advance, you should find a good amount of Etihad business class award availability.
Etihad’s destinations in the United States include Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), and Washington (IAD), and soon Atlanta (ATL). Flying Blue’s pricing varies based on the route, but picking a random date in October, I see availability out of most gateways.
One-way awards range from 93,000 miles to 124,000 miles. On top of that, there are around $200 in taxes and fees per direction.
Keep in mind that Flying Blue partners with all major transferable points currencies, and there are also often transfer bonuses, which could get you an even better deal.
Is this award availability worth taking advantage of?
This award availability isn’t some amazing deal that everyone should take advantage of. Quite to the contrary, on the surface, this doesn’t look that exciting at all.
However, Etihad has really restricted award availability in recent times, which is what makes this opportunity more exciting, if you ask me. Etihad business class awards in advance have basically been off limits through partner programs, and I just can’t stomach Etihad Guest’s award cancelation policy, whereby you lose 75% of points if you cancel within seven days.
Honestly, award availability through partner programs on Gulf carriers is super limited nowadays, so there are plenty of situations where this might be a good award opportunity for people to lock in. So if you’re looking to go to the Middle East, India, etc., this could be worth taking a look at.
Etihad also has an excellent business class product, particularly on its Airbus A350s, and on its new Boeing 787s.
Bottom line
At the moment, there’s a good amount of Etihad business class award availability through Air France-KLM Flying Blue, including in advance. Given that Etihad restricts most long haul business class award availability to members of its own program nowadays, this is worth being aware of. Flying Blue miles are easy to come by, since the program partners with major transferable points currencies.
Anyone plan to take advantage of this Etihad business class award availability?
Interesting I do see a few dates from East coast to AUH (more than usual) but cant seem to find much onward availability to Southeast Asia (less than usual)
Kindof the opposite of what I usually find.
As a European who is a UAE resident this would be SO much better if First Class was available via this route. I didn’t get why only AA has first access as a partner. I’d be using all my miles for first via this route if Flying blue allowed it.
We all know AC keeps blocking Etihad, but are these available using OZ miles?
I used 70k Aadvantage miles last month to fly AUH-YYZ-MIA. It was sweet...