Questions and Answers

Hi Lucky

I was able to book an AUH – JFK flight in J (studios) on the A380 for a flight in a couple weeks, using American Airlines miles. I’m super excited, but had a couple questions which I was hoping you and/or other users could shed light on.

1. Since I am on an award ticket, will I be eligible to use the Premium Lounge at AUH? (it seems that the free limo service is not an option on award tickets- when I tried to book one, it said “this booking is not eligible”)

2. Given that this flight is a pre-clearance flight, how much in advance would you advise arriving at the airport? I don’t want to be rushed, and want to get to see the airport and use the lounge but also will have to go through the pre-clearance AFTER that. How long does immigration take nowadays (I’m on the 320 am departure), and do they have the automated kiosks to speed things up?

3. I originally booked a JFK DXB JFK flight on Emirates in Economy- which I got very cheaply (using cash, not miles) before I became aware of the Etihad option. So I will fly the JFK-DXB leg, but then fly the AUH-JFK back. What is the best way to deal with this? Should I cancel the second EK leg once I fly the first leg, should I just no-show, or should I let them know I will be using miles instead… Since it’s only the final leg I am canceling, there shouldn’t be the issue of the airline canceling subsequent sectors of my itinerary, and also EK and EY are two distinct airlines, so the fact that I have two bookings shouldn’t be an issue should it?

Thanks for any thoughts or advice. Looking forward to my trip.