Etihad Seating

[Franky]

Can those of you familiar with EF explain the seat map on a couple of upcoming flights please? We're flying J on EY473 SIN-AUH 07MAR20, and later EY75 AUH-MAD 13MAR20, and both flights look pretty empty. Something I haven't seen before though is in Y on both flights, a large number of the seats which you would expect to be available have the Paid & Premium symbol on all of them. Is this just an EY thing, or perhaps related to the lack of bookings due to the virus? Thanks for any info. Franky.

 

[Mattg]

The seat maps probably look empty because Etihad charges most people in Y for seat selection - and therefore most people haven't selected a seat. And yes, EY does charge extra for up-front/extra legroom seats in Y. The flights may or may not be empty but the seat map is not an indicator of this.

That said, I had a look at the loads on Expert Flyer and every fare bucket is wide open.

These articles may be of interest:

Comparison of Airline Seat Selection Fees

As more and more airlines try to supplement their revenue by charging for ancillary services, many now charge an extra fee to choose your seat.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Why Airline Seat Maps Are NOT a Reliable Indicator of Flight Loadings

Airline passengers often try to predict how full a flight will be for a variety of reasons.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[jase05]

Can those of you familiar with EF explain the seat map on a couple of upcoming flights please? We're flying J on EY473 SIN-AUH 07MAR20, and later EY75 AUH-MAD 13MAR20, and both flights look pretty empty. Something I haven't seen before though is in Y on both flights, a large number of the seats which you would expect to be available have the Paid & Premium symbol on all of them. Is this just an EY thing, or perhaps related to the lack of bookings due to the virus? Thanks for any info. Franky.

Are they still flying the 777’s from SIN?
Would be nice if EY either refurbished them to the Business suite like the 787’s and A380’s or replaced them altogether

 

[Stealthflyer]

Can those of you familiar with EF explain the seat map on a couple of upcoming flights please? We're flying J on EY473 SIN-AUH 07MAR20, and later EY75 AUH-MAD 13MAR20, and both flights look pretty empty. Something I haven't seen before though is in Y on both flights, a large number of the seats which you would expect to be available have the Paid & Premium symbol on all of them. Is this just an EY thing, or perhaps related to the lack of bookings due to the virus? Thanks for any info. Franky.

I flew four flights with Etihad earlier this month. In each case the seat map showed only a few occupied seats but that’s because they charge ridiculous fees for seat selection. In reality the flights were fairly well subscribed. Many of the threes had a middle seat empty in all but one of the flights (which was quite full).

I don’t think Etihad has been affected by COVID in the same way as Singapore Airlines, for instance, because they’re not as reliant on the Chinese market. I was travelling with two others in Europe - one of whom flew SQ to Milan rather than EY. Apparently the SQ flights were almost empty with plenty of empty rows to spread out on. I was jealous!

 

[Franky]

Thanks all - the all seat selection fee explains it. First time I have noticed it on EF. The first leg to AUH is the 777, and the following one AUH-MAD is a 787, which is good to see as the flight departs at 0200 so we'll be thankful for a good J seat for the 8.5hr flight.