Etihad/Egypt Air/VA Price differences

[flying_duck]

Hey All,

Doing a search for EY from BNE - CAI in December in J. One way (will pay the other way with points). What is the reason booking with Egyptair is so much cheaper than Etihad or VA? Would I still get points and SC if I book with Egyptair (I'm assuming not). How do I tell which class they book into from third party sites like Expedia?

I'm pretty new to codeshares outside VA/DL so help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[AIRwin]

Egyptair is a member of Star Alliance, so if you're a Krisflyer member with SQ you may be able to credit the points there and then transfer to Velocity...

 

[flying_duck]

Egyptair is a member of Star Alliance, so if you're a Krisflyer member with SQ you can credit the points there and then transfer to Velocity...

I'm chasing SC's primarily right now - with this trip and my November trip I hope to reach platinum again for the first time in years. This will be very valuable to me as my work and personal travel ramps up in the new year.

 

[AIRwin]

Shame SQ has terminated their CAI flights

 

[flying_duck]

Shame SQ has terminated their CAI flights

Presumably if it is Etihad metal with an EY flight number, I will earn SC and Points no matter the booking class?

 

[AIRwin]

Best to refer to the Earn Tables - eligible fare classes on EY are:
J, C, D, W, Z, F, A, R, P

BNE-CAI (via MEL or SYD though) is available for just over $3k directly on the VA website.

 

[flying_duck]

D'oh. Thanks.

 

[flying_duck]

Haven't yet worked out the reason for the price differences, but have reduced my confusion surrounding partner airlines and crediting SC and points. Thanks @AIRwin

 

[flying_duck]

I also want to add, in case this confuses anyone else.

For the same flight number, Google flights gives me the option of purchasing at multiple places. One of those is expedia and clearly says the EY flight numbers.

When I click through, it says EgyptAir flight numbers. If you select back and choose the EY flights the price goes up (about $1000). Bit of a misdirect.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hey All,

Doing a search for EY from BNE - CAI in December in J. One way (will pay the other way with points). What is the reason booking with Egyptair is so much cheaper than Etihad or VA? Would I still get points and SC if I book with Egyptair (I'm assuming not). How do I tell which class they book into from third party sites like Expedia?

I'm pretty new to codeshares outside VA/DL so help is appreciated.

Thanks

Essentially you're not an Etihad passenger if you select the EgyptAir flights. It will be an Etihad plane, etihad produts and service, but you are an EgyptAir passenger, on an EgyptAir ticket. You'll only earn points and elite status based on flying EgyptAir, not Etihad.

The diference in price may come down to the way MS and EY structure their code-share agreement. If MS is responsible for selling a set number of seats per flight, they may be willing to off-load them cheaply rather than let them go empty.

 

[flying_duck]

Essentially you're not an Etihad passenger if you select the EgyptAir flights. It will be an Etihad plane, etihad produts and service, but you are an EgyptAir passenger, on an EgyptAir ticket. You'll only earn points and elite status based on flying EgyptAir, not Etihad.

The diference in price may come down to the way MS and EY structure their code-share agreement. If MS is responsible for selling a set number of seats per flight, they may be willing to off-load them cheaply rather than let them go empty.

That makes total sense, thanks for the explanation.

 

[Mattg]

Wouldn't it make more sense to do this in the opposite direction, i.e. redeem points BNE-CAI and pay for CAI-BNE? Paid J fares ex CAI are (generally) way cheaper!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Wouldn't it make more sense to do this in the opposite direction, i.e. redeem points BNE-CAI and pay for CAI-BNE? Paid J fares ex CAI are (generally) way cheaper!

Indeed. I missed the nuance of the itinerary but I was looking at J fares ex CAI recently and they were around $1500 - $2200 (the latter being for EK non-stop). So there are some bargains.

 

[flying_duck]

I was looking either way for either option... I found Singapore via Istanbul and Singapore for 2300aud and with the right flight choices has a flatbed most of the way. I’d only not get SC for the first 1 hour flight. As it is a bit further than direct via Abu Dhabi it is a few more SC too.

And of course redemption on Etihad via VA is only 121,000 points on the way there. Just waiting on a points transfer before I book took a while to get my head around it all but makes a lot more sense now.