Etihad offers “apartments” in First class on all A380 flights between Abu Dhabi & Sydney, London, Paris and New York. Find out how you can book a seat using Virgin Australia Velocity points, Etihad Guest miles or American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
The Opportunity
The Etihad Airways First Class Apartments are an amazing product. Found on all Etihad A380 aircraft, the Apartments almost feel like a private room complete with a live TV, a lounge chair and a bed in the sky. You’ll also have a dedicated chef and access to an on-board bar and showers!
Etihad flies its A380s, each equipped with 9 First class Apartment suites, on flights from Abu Dhabi to Sydney, London, Paris and New York. Sydney’s A380 flights are twice-daily, giving you the choice of a morning or evening arrival in both directions. A one-way First class seat from Sydney to Abu Dhabi would ordinarily set you back around $12,000… but there’s a much cheaper way to experience one of the best First class products in the world!
You can book a seat using frequent flyer points. Virgin Australia Velocity points, Etihad Guest miles and American Airlines AAdvantage miles can all be redeemed for Etihad Apartments. The prices vary between programs. American Airlines charges the lowest number of miles and taxes on the Sydney-Abu Dhabi and Sydney-London routes. On the other hand, Virgin Australia has a very high co-payment due to its USD300 surcharge on each Etihad Airways sector booked using Velocity points.
One-way award seat prices on the Sydney to Abu Dhabi route are as follows:
- Virgin Australia: 152,500 Velocity points + $485 taxes
- Etihad: 130,216 Etihad Guest miles + $288 taxes
- American Airlines: 100,000 AAdvantage miles + $93 taxes
Or if you’re flying from Sydney through to London (via Abu Dhabi):
- Virgin Australia: 203,000 Velocity points + $888 taxes
- Etihad: 218,874 Etihad Guest miles + $493 taxes
- American Airlines: 115,000 AAdvantage miles + $104 taxes
The Facts
- Currency: Virgin Velocity points, Etihad Guest miles or American Airlines AAdvantage miles
- Airline: Etihad Airways
- Route: Sydney-Abu Dhabi, with onward connections available to Paris, London and New York
- Class of travel: First class
- Cost: Varies
- Availability: Many flights have 2x First award seats available if you book well in advance
- How to book: If using Etihad Guest miles, you can book on the Etihad website. To redeem American Airlines miles or Velocity points for Etihad First class, you’ll need to call your airline to book.
Would you like help using your frequent flyer points?
AFF offers a personalised service to take the hard work out of redeeming your frequent flyer points!
Our Frequent Flyer Concierge experts can help you to find the perfect flights using your points. Just let the team know how many points you have and where you would like to go, and they’ll prepare an itinerary for you.
