Last September, we saw Fiji Airways and Malaysia Airlines get added into the online award booking system; later in the year, in October, we saw Air Tahiti Nui, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines get added into the system. As American Airlines claims, “Making more award partners bookable on aa.com is something that our customers continually ask for, so please rest assured that we are working towards this.”
This year, we have not seen many actions in expanding online booking partners from American Airlines and this keeps true until earlier this month. Now, passengers can search and book award tickets for Etihad Airways directly on AA website.
This is a great improvement for passengers like me who find booking online is much easier than calling the reservation center. It is much clearer to know how much miles does the flight costs and which flight is available for booking.
Limited Availability
Currently, AA website only shows GuestSeat from Etihad website as available award tickets on US route. Not all Etihad route award seats are showing on AA website.
A trick is to try calling American Airlines’ call center in Australia. They should be able to give you access to all the GuestSeat tickets shows on Etihad website.
The Cost
Currently, American Airlines has a competitive pricing when redeeming award tickets on Etihad Airways, especially considering not many people accrual their miles on Etihad.
Etihad Airways flies to 5 North America destinations, Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Chicago(ORD), Toronto(YYZ), and Washington(IAD). Below are the mileage costs when redeeming direct flights from North America to Abu Dhabi through American Airlines.
| Economy | 40,000 |
| Business | 70,000 |
| First | 115,000 |
Etihad Experience
The best flying experience on Etihad Airways is definitely The Residence on their Airbus A380s. However, The Residence is not redeemable through partner airlines. Other than that, their First Class Apartment on A380s is also a great First Class product.
A few days ago, Etihad also published a new Economy experience on their short haul flights and just like other cabins, this “enhancement” is seen as another cost-cut consideration by many.
Bottom Line
It is great to see American Airlines finally moving forward with their online award booking system, especially considering Etihad Airways is one of the more valuable award partner for American Airlines miles.
Has anyone experienced the online award booking for Etihad Airlines on aa.com?