Since late May, American AAdvantage members haven’t had access to Etihad award space. Apparently there was a problem with the link between the two airlines, and it is taking quite a while to fix. I assume what’s actually taking them a while is getting the ball rolling, as opposed to the actual process of fixing it.

Etihad tails at Abu Dhabi Airport
After all, not being able to book award space on a partner airline is a convenient problem to have (much like Delta’s broken SkyMiles award calendar has conveniently been broken for… well, forever). 😉
I wrote a follow up post last week regarding a memo that was sent out stating that this is an ongoing problem, and that there still wasn’t a fix or an end in sight.
Yesterday yet another memo was sent out, and it looks like they’re actually working on fixing it now. Via JonNYC at TravelingBetter:
Etihad Direct Access
Update 1230CT/17JUN HDQMM6We understand that members are expressing a desire to book redemptions on Etihad Airways and are frustrated that Direct Access is not currently working. The problem has been identified and a solution is currently being tested. Once all testing is completed, we will be able to book award seats on Etihad Airways again. Please apologize for the delay and encourage members to call back for award bookings.
So hopefully Etihad awards will be bookable using AAdvantage miles again soon!
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