Etihad first class Apartment
Middle Eastern airlines have been adding high-end premium offerings as many American and European carriers are downsizing their own first-class areas.
The offerings from Etihad Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways stem from their fierce competition for passengers. Etihad took the lead in 2014, when it introduced a three-room Residence and nine Apartments. They are available on long-haul routes from Abu Dhabi to New York City, London, Melbourne, Sydney and Mumbai. The prices are staggering—but earned airline miles now can be used to book them.
Every Etihad A380 plane has one Residence, which includes a bedroom with a double bed and shower, as well as a private living room with a leather sofa, two dining tables and a flat-screen entertainment system. Costs of the Residence, which comes with a Savoy-trained butler, range from $5,000 on the three-hour route from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, to about $32,000 for the 14-hour flight to New York City.
Passengers staying in the Apartments spend $960 and $8,400, respectively, for The Mumbai and New York City flight. The Apartments are huge suites that boast benches that fold out into extra-long, twin-size beds. They also come with Poltrona Frau leather armchairs, minibars and a personal chef.
Accumulated airline miles—not just Etihad miles—can be used to book the Apartments. Through Etihad’s non-alliance partnerships, clients can book them by using American Airlines AAdvantage miles and All Nippon Airways Mileage Club miles.
Booking an Apartment from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai costs 32,073 miles each way. London costs 88,048, New York 117,556 and Sydney 128,896 miles.
The Residences can be booked by using Etihad miles, but not miles from other airlines. The shortest and cheapest route for a Residence is Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, requiring 544,629 Etihad miles each way. Abu Dhabi to London requires 2,149,606, Sydney 2,833,283 and New York City 3,555,556 miles.
