Perhaps this post belongs in a different thread, but it isn't quite a Frequent Flyer program question, so I don't think it fits in the Etihad or Virgin FF sections, and traffic in the Etihad one is very thin!
Once a year or more often I fly to Ireland - flying is uncomfortable and time-consuming and Etihad have by far the fastest connections to Ireland (because they fly from Abbu Dhabi direct to Dublin; I think Emirates do too now, but with lesser frequency).
To get an Etihad flight obviously I can also book through Virgin. I've racked up quite a few Etihad points, to the point that I can now get some points upgrades to Business Class which makes the journey more tolerable, and of course Etihad's upgrade auctions are also nice.
I live near Canberra, and using Sydney airport isn't safe because driving home after 24+ hours of travelling is perilous. (Driving is about as quick for me, due to airport transfer times, and but much more dangerous coming home, especially in the dark in the country. It's also much cheaper in a small diesel car, even once Sydney Airport's car parking is factored in, cos I'd be paying that to Canberra airport anyway if I flew from there.)
The strange thing is this:
if I compare booking between the two airlines' websites, I get different pricing. Sometimes Etihad is cheaper than Virgin, occasionally v.v., even if on exactly the same flights. Okay, I can accept different pricing, although it seems odd for them to compete with each other for the same seat(s).
But really annoying is availability - Etihad doesn't seem to have access to the same Canberra-Sydney and v.v. flights, which can make their journey time much longer and less attractive, which pushes me towards the "drive to and from Sydney" option.
As an example, try booking Canberra to Dublin 22 March 2013 returning 6th April 2013 on the two websites. Etihad's latest departure from Canberra is at 18:40 routed via Melbourne at great extra cost for the same arrival time as a 19:05 Virgin departure from Canberra. For about same price as the Virgin fare, you have to leave Canberra at 17:05, catching the same Etihad flights onwards from Sydney. Why the torture of an extra 2 hours in Sydney airport?
(If I could, I'd transit through Melbourne more often, as the domestic to international transfer is easier (no bloody buses! so always free!), and it's a nicer airport, that doesn't extract money from you at anything like the same frequency as Sydney, but that connection isn't often available at anywhere near the same price. But I've also been in the position in the past, different arlines, where after arriving back from Europe my Sydney-Canberra flight was cancelled due to fog and they tried to put us on a coach, so I rented a car one-way; not so practical from Melbourne to Canberra!).
But I also need to factor into my equation: can I use Etihad points to upgrade on an Etihad flight booked as a Virgin codeshare? I'm assuming that auction upgrades and pay-at-check-in (instant) upgrades will also be out of the question. These are significant disadvantages.
I get that earning points and status credits will also be more complicated.
Or would I be better to phone Etihad and try to get them to book the connections that Virgin's website allows? But sometimes the fare over the phone is different from the web too. (I try to avoid phoning Etihad, you can probably guess why - it's an inconsistent and often unsatisfying experience. I once phoned them to be told that my request was impossible, I think it was a minor flight change. Phoned again a few days later and the change was made. Nothing had changed in the meantime, it was nothing to do with flight availability, it seemed to be the competence of helpfulness of the person I spoke to each time.)
Decisions decisions.
For now this is hypothetical, I'm not making a booking, but I come across this issue each time.
Pete
Once a year or more often I fly to Ireland - flying is uncomfortable and time-consuming and Etihad have by far the fastest connections to Ireland (because they fly from Abbu Dhabi direct to Dublin; I think Emirates do too now, but with lesser frequency).
To get an Etihad flight obviously I can also book through Virgin. I've racked up quite a few Etihad points, to the point that I can now get some points upgrades to Business Class which makes the journey more tolerable, and of course Etihad's upgrade auctions are also nice.
I live near Canberra, and using Sydney airport isn't safe because driving home after 24+ hours of travelling is perilous. (Driving is about as quick for me, due to airport transfer times, and but much more dangerous coming home, especially in the dark in the country. It's also much cheaper in a small diesel car, even once Sydney Airport's car parking is factored in, cos I'd be paying that to Canberra airport anyway if I flew from there.)
The strange thing is this:
if I compare booking between the two airlines' websites, I get different pricing. Sometimes Etihad is cheaper than Virgin, occasionally v.v., even if on exactly the same flights. Okay, I can accept different pricing, although it seems odd for them to compete with each other for the same seat(s).
But really annoying is availability - Etihad doesn't seem to have access to the same Canberra-Sydney and v.v. flights, which can make their journey time much longer and less attractive, which pushes me towards the "drive to and from Sydney" option.
As an example, try booking Canberra to Dublin 22 March 2013 returning 6th April 2013 on the two websites. Etihad's latest departure from Canberra is at 18:40 routed via Melbourne at great extra cost for the same arrival time as a 19:05 Virgin departure from Canberra. For about same price as the Virgin fare, you have to leave Canberra at 17:05, catching the same Etihad flights onwards from Sydney. Why the torture of an extra 2 hours in Sydney airport?
(If I could, I'd transit through Melbourne more often, as the domestic to international transfer is easier (no bloody buses! so always free!), and it's a nicer airport, that doesn't extract money from you at anything like the same frequency as Sydney, but that connection isn't often available at anywhere near the same price. But I've also been in the position in the past, different arlines, where after arriving back from Europe my Sydney-Canberra flight was cancelled due to fog and they tried to put us on a coach, so I rented a car one-way; not so practical from Melbourne to Canberra!).
But I also need to factor into my equation: can I use Etihad points to upgrade on an Etihad flight booked as a Virgin codeshare? I'm assuming that auction upgrades and pay-at-check-in (instant) upgrades will also be out of the question. These are significant disadvantages.
I get that earning points and status credits will also be more complicated.
Or would I be better to phone Etihad and try to get them to book the connections that Virgin's website allows? But sometimes the fare over the phone is different from the web too. (I try to avoid phoning Etihad, you can probably guess why - it's an inconsistent and often unsatisfying experience. I once phoned them to be told that my request was impossible, I think it was a minor flight change. Phoned again a few days later and the change was made. Nothing had changed in the meantime, it was nothing to do with flight availability, it seemed to be the competence of helpfulness of the person I spoke to each time.)
Decisions decisions.
For now this is hypothetical, I'm not making a booking, but I come across this issue each time.
Pete
