As you can tell from the title there’s no point in hiding what the purpose of this post is. Earlier today I managed to snag two Etihad First Class seats from Abu Dhabi to London by using American Airlines AAdvantage miles. It’s a flight that I’m incredibly excited about for a few reasons, of which I’ll get to in a second. First, let me provide some context on how this booking came to be.
The Backstory
My girlfriend and I are planning to take a trip to Europe in late 2020. We have flights to get to Europe, but didn’t necessarily have a way to get back home. Originally I was fine taking an economy class flight from Europe back to the US, but the more I thought about it, I figured this would be a great opportunity to burn some unused AAdvantage miles.
I started my search for flights by looking at business class flights from Europe back to the US. I searched a ton of city parings, but didn’t find anything all that appealing. Sure I could get a seat on British Airways, but that would cost about 50,000 miles and require a $300+ co-pay per ticket. At that cost, we might as well fly in Economy.
So, I then got the crazy idea to shoot down to the Middle East to connect back to the US. In searching for flights from the Middle East I found some award space on Etihad, Qatar, and Royal Jordanian. RJ unfortunately wasn’t in the running as they only offer a slightly above average business class experience. Likewise, Etihad business class isn’t quite as impressive as that offered by Qatar Airways. So, I eventually narrowed my options down to Qatar Airways Q-Suites from Doha to a US gateway or Etihad First Class from Abu Dhabi to New York.
Attempting To Book Flights
I must have spent a few days over the past month trying to book these flights. After some time, I eventually found Etihad First Class “Guest” space on their website, which meant I could book as a sAAver level award with American miles. The only issue is that to book Etihad flights on American, you have to call the Australia call center. So, I fired up Google Voice on my laptop and dialed the AU call center. After 30 minutes of holding to talk to a representative I finally got through. As I tried to book the flights (that were still available online) the phone agent couldn’t “see” the space. After that I hung up and called again… and again… and again. Ultimately, it seems American was unable to see that Guest award space on Etihad.
Next, I began a grueling search for award availability on Qatar Airways routes with Q-Suites. Ultimately, I could find a seat here or there, but nothing that quite fit into our schedule. Additionally, most routes would require us to book another connecting flight back to Chicago anyway. Also, American charges 70,000 miles each for flights on Qatar Airways from Doha back to the US. That’s just 10,000 miles shy of Japan Airlines first class! Since the flights were rather expensive and we couldn’t find anything that worked with our schedules, we decided to keep looking.
Deciding On Etihad First Class
After searching for a while to find more Etihad First Class award space I gave up. I grew tired of finding phantom award space and decided to book something concrete. When searching I ended up finding a very nice Etihad First Class flight from Abu Dhabi to London for the day we needed. Additionally, the flight was early enough in the day that we’d have time to connect from London to New York later in the day or the next morning.
I especially liked this itinerary because I then found award space on British Airways’ “Baby Bus” from London City airport to New York JFK. This is the flight operated by a British Airways Airbus A318 with just 32 business class seats. The flight shares flight numbers with the original Concord flights between London and the US. Overall, taking a flight on the “Baby Bus” is a bit of a bucket list item for an AvGeek. Needless to say, I’m excited.
Now, it’s worth mentioning that this isn’t the most cost effective way to get home from our trip. The flight from AUH to LHR cost 65,000 AA miles each and a very small co-pay. Next, the flights from London to New York cost 50,000 BA miles each and carry a steep $300+ co-pay. Now, it’s worth noting that this is the same number of miles required to fly from AUH to the US directly, but a higher cash price. Because the price is a bit steep I will continue to look for cheaper alternatives during the months leading up to our trip.
What To Expect From Etihad First Class ‘Apartment’
Now, I can hear you sitting there thinking “so what?” Well, Etihad has one of the most over the top First Class products in the world. On the Etihad A380, First Class occupies the forwardmost area of the upper deck. There are just 9 First Class suites and each suite features a large recliner and a long leather bench seat. The wall of the suite partially opens between suites for couples traveling together to see one another easily. The suite is also large enough to seat two or more to dine together.
All of that is great and all, but most importantly, the Etihad A380 offers an on-board shower suite for First Class passengers. That’s right, you get to shower… on a plane! There’s also a lobby with a bar for guest to enjoy while escaping the confines of their seats.
Overall, it’s an incredible product and one that I’ve been hoping to fly for a few years now. I’m especially keen to fly this product as the life of the A380 is coming to an end and I suspect airlines will take them out of service faster than originally anticipated. With that, the era of on-board showers will most likely come to a close.
Final Thoughts
Obviously I’m very excited to have booked a flight in Etihad’s First Class apartment. Also, while the schedule of flying from AUH to London to New York sounds hard, I’m actually excited about it. I’m excited because the Etihad flight ends up being a daytime flight in which I’ll remain awake most of the flight to actually enjoy the flight. Often with long-haul flights you end up sleeping for several hours, which is great, but I can sleep just fine in economy or premium economy. I like taking daytime First Class flights because then you can actually enjoy the flight.
Finally, I think it’s worth noting that this whole post should include a massive asterisk. I say this because there is a good chance that I don’t end up taking this flight. That’s because I suspect more interesting options will present themselves in the months leading up to this trip. Thankfully, because I booked this trip with AAdvantage miles, I have that flexibility. As an Executive Platinum elite member I can cancel this trip for a full cash/mile refund as I please. I can also change this reservation entirely if I find a better option.
So, while I would love to take this trip and expect to do so, I also know that I could end up moving to something else over the next 9 months. For now, I’m going to continue to build up excitement for that nice on-board shower!
Featured Image Courtesy of Etihad Airways
