The Gulf carriers are under a lot of financial pressure from their respective governments, and have been doing significant cost cutting lately. I’d say that Etihad has probably been doing a bit more cost cutting than Emirates and Qatar, and it’s really starting to show when it comes to their product. This includes things like them cutting back the food choices in their lounges, eliminating chauffeur service outside the UAE, etc. On top of that, they’re starting to trim their schedule a bit, like cutting their Abu Dhabi to San Francisco route. All of this is only the beginning.
While minor, Etihad has just announced their latest cost cutting measure. Etihad has a partnership with Six Senses Spa, offering premium passengers spa treatments at their hub in Abu Dhabi. The only outstation lounge to also have a Six Senses Spa is London Heathrow.
Per Live from a Lounge, Etihad has just announced that they’ll be closing the Six Senses Spa at Heathrow Airport as of August 31, 2017. Per the announcement:
On 31 August we will be closing our Six Senses Spa facility at our Etihad First and Business Class Lounge in London Heathrow. We will soon be introducing more areas for you to relax, as well as some new food and drink options to make your lounge experience more convenient.
Back in the day Etihad used to offer free spa treatments to both first and business class passengers, though a couple of years ago they made the treatments only available to first class passengers, while business class passengers have to pay.
That means the number of passengers entitled to complimentary treatments is minimal, and the times I’ve been at the London lounge, I haven’t seen many people pay for treatments. While I’m not suggesting it’s representative of the norm, my last massage at the Six Senses Spa Heathrow was horrible. I was in pain for a couple of days following it.
Ultimately this is a very minor cost cut in the grand scheme of things, though there’s no denying that Etihad is looking for just about any way to cut costs, no matter how small.
If they’re going to invest in their lounges, I’d rather they bring back the a la carte dining than have spa treatments. However, the reality is that we’re getting neither.
What do you make of Etihad closing their spa at Heathrow Airport?
And not much of value was lost.
Only the VX Clubhouse Spa gets it right.
Etihad economy is better than First Class on BA or any American airline. As for the cost cutting, how many people actually use the spa?
Etihad economy worst airline I've flown to Europe. Like an Australian Tiger or Jetstar with a bit of food thrown in
I agree having been an Etihad frequent flyer for several years first it was the chauffeur that got the chop then the food choices deminished. Next it was amenity kits that stopped but biggest shock came this year when Etihad informed me I had to leave a suitcase behind in Sydney as my silver status had expired during my holiday!
Looking into my next Oz trip 400,000 miles to dispose of but considered looking elsewhere.
Indeed there appears to be cost cutting. For example, while for the night flight from FRA to AUH there were amenity kits provided in C (as it should be), on the return flight during the day (still a good opportunity to sleep) none were provided. When I inquired, the flight attendant indicated "...no longer...", so definitely a downgrade.
I bet they're more in trouble than we know. I'm based in Sao Paulo and Rio and they canceled both flights to Brazil not serving South America anymore (even with flights regurlaly full) while Emirates swtiched their 777 by two A380 to coup with demand.
My friend and I had the hot stone foot massage and it was amazing! Not too expensive and when we were there, the spa was fully booked the whole time. This is actually one place I will miss and it does not make much sense to me why they are closing it?
With all these costs cutting, lets hope Etihad doesn't turn into BA.
@Trex
He covered your question in a post last month:
https://onemileatatime.com/the-best-airport-lounge-spas/
Is it wrong to assume that the type of passenger who flies first class is time-pressed and isn't going to arrive early just for a spa treatment anyway?
Now you see a lot of people on the net like to knock BA because it doesn't offer all of the bells and whistles of some of the more "generous" or perhaps premium airline products. I can't really argue with that. But they do make money or so it seems....You have to question the pricing structure and sustainability of the ME3 and even some other airlines. How's Singapore Airlines doing these days?
Can't remember the last time there was a post on this blog about the ME3 that didnt start with "The Gulf carriers are under a lot of financial pressure from their respective governments".
It is (partly) true. But come on, new words..
I'd question if its cost-cutting at all, without knowing the contractual arrangement between Six Senses and Etihad. If the contract put some financial risk on Six Senses (rather than Etihad fully paying for the service), they may have decided to shut down on their own.
Isn't the whole point of having a massage is to feel a bit of pain...?
@lucky Thai's first class spa in BKK is the best airport spa experience I've had so far. Have you tried it? It might be cool for you write about your airport spa experiences in general (this might be out there somewhere, but haven't come across it). I'm flying to AUH in a few hours and looking forward to seeing what their spa experience is like!