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
So hopefully Etihad awards will be bookable using AAdvantage miles again soon!
This issue is now fixed, FYI:
https://onemileatatime.com/etihad-awards-bookable-aadvantage-miles/
Can you post a comment here when it's working? Thank you! :)
@ janyyc -- Will do!
This is great to hear! Just thinking about Lantean's comment, do you think it would be possible to redeem AAdvantage miles for Etihad Residence?
@ Joey -- Nope, it's considered a separate class of service (above first), so won't be available with any miles.
@ Jim - this problem has nothing to do with AA.com; currently, AA agents can't see/book Etihad awards when people call in.
@ Matteo - no.
Is there anyway to transfer USDM miles yet to AA and book Etihad?
@ Matteo -- No way to transfer miles between programs yet.
do you think this has something to do with AA IR person tweeting that people who want to fly Etihad residences are idiots?
@ Lantean -- Heh, definitely not.
is this something new? you haven't been able to book any flights other than domestic and AA or BA international flight on AA.com.
Didn't we always have to call and waste 2 hrs and pay booking fee to book international award flight?
@ jim -- Not sure I follow? Several partners are bookable on aa.com, including Finnair, airberlin, Qantas, etc.
Yay!