Choose
your seat
Whether you’d prefer a window seat, a row to yourself or extra legroom in Economy Space, you’ll always find the perfect spot on board. Bid to keep up to three seats all to yourself with Economy Neighbour-Free, and if you’re an Etihad Guest member, you can book your favourite seat for free, depending on your Tier.
We’ve made some changes to our seat maps to make sure that there’s more space between you and other guests. If you can’t find the seat you’re looking for, we’ll do our best to help you at the airport.
Read our health and wellness guide to find out more about what we’re doing to keep you protected at every step of your journey.
If you’d like a bit more room on board, Economy Space offers just that, with generous legroom and more space to relax. You’ll only find Economy Space on Etihad-operated flights, and not on flights operated by our partner airlines.
You can pay to reserve your seat in Economy Space from the moment you book your ticket until you check-in.
Reserve your seat at Manage my booking, when you check in online, at the airport or even on board.
If you’re an Etihad Guest Platinum member, you can reserve a seat in Economy Space for free, or save 50% as an Etihad Guest Gold member. Join now or find out more.
Choose your seat when you book from our interactive map.
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Already booked? Reserve your seat through quickly and easily online.
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Check in online and reserve your seat for free.
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Get in touch with our Global Contact Centre to book your seat.
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Subject to the fare you’ve booked, you can pay to guarantee an Economy Standard seat any time from the moment you book your ticket. As soon as online check-in opens, you can reserve your seat for free up to one hour before you fly.
Etihad Guest member? Save 30% on select Economy Standard seats as a Silver member or book for free if you’re a Gold or Platinum member. Reserve your seat at Manage my booking, when you check in online, at the airport. Join now or find out more.
Already booked? Reserve your seat quickly and easily online.
With your health and wellness our top priority, Economy Neighbour-Free is a great way to travel if you’d like even more space on board. Bid to keep one, two or three neighbouring seats passenger-free for up to triple the room and comfort. The higher your offer, the better your chances are of an upgrade.
As long as your bid hasn't been accepted, you can change or cancel your bid up to four hours before your flight.
Start by entering your name and six-character reference number below. If you can’t find your booking reference, please get in touch.
Availability
The closer you get to your flight, there will be fewer seats available for you to select from. All seats are subject to availability. In almost all cases, you will receive the seat that you’ve booked. However, there may be last-minute operational changes that mean we need to allocate you a different seat. If this happens, we will always try to choose a similar seat for you.
Refunds
If you paid for an Economy Standard seat – window, middle or aisle – but were given a different position of seat, you are entitled to a full refund. If you booked one position of seat (for example, window, middle or aisle) and you were given a different position of seat, you are also entitled to a full refund.
You are not entitled to a refund if:
Economy Space is subject to availability, terms and conditions. The closer you get to your flight, there will be fewer seats available for you to select from. All seats are subject to availability. In almost all cases, you will receive the seat that you’ve booked. However, there may be last-minute operational changes that mean we need to allocate you a different seat. If this happens, we will always try to choose a similar seat for you.
If you wish to purchase a seat located next to an emergency exit in Economy Space, you must meet a minimum set of safety requirements. Please make sure that you meet all of these requirements before buying your seat.
If you meet all of the safety conditions, we strongly recommend that you book early as seats are available on a first-come, first served basis.
The price of the seat is per person, per flight sector. In the event of an aircraft type change, Etihad will exert its reasonable efforts to re-accommodate guests in similar seats. In the case where seats in Economy Space are not available, Etihad will refund the amount paid per person, per sector which cannot be accommodated.
Seats in Economy Space are assigned only upon full payment of the associated seat fees and ticket fare. Payment for the Economy Space seats will not earn any additional Etihad Guest Miles points.
Partner airlines
Economy Space is only available on Etihad-operated flights and not on flights operated by our partner airlines.
Refunds and transfers
If you paid for the following seats but you weren’t given them on board, you are entitled to a full refund:
Conditions
Safety requirements
Guests in an exit row seat in Economy Space must meet the following requirements:
The following terms and conditions ("Terms and Conditions") shall apply to an offer (“Offer”) made by you (“Guest”, “you”) to Etihad Airways (“Etihad”, “we”, “us”) for a Neighbour-Free Seat experience (“NFS”)
1. You must be at least 18 years of age and able to enter into binding contracts. You shall be deemed to have the authority to act on behalf of and to bind the person or persons named or included on the Offer to these Terms and Conditions.
2. You may submit a bid per flight which corresponds to the purchased ticket issued on Etihad Airways document number 607 and offers must always be made and paid by using a credit card. Minimum and maximum bid values per seat apply.
3. A bid, when submitted by you in association with a booking made with Etihad, whether made directly with Etihad or indirectly through other means, and presented to Etihad, shall entitle the person or persons named on the bid, subject to these Terms and Conditions, to be considered for a NFS experience.
4. Etihad reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to decide whether or not to accept your bid, and it makes no representation that any Guest will receives NFS regardless of whether or not seats are available in the class of service for which a bid is being made.
5. You may revise or cancel your bid up to four hours before your flight, provided that your bid has not already been accepted and your credit card has not been charged. However, if your bid is accepted before you cancel or amend your bid, you are legally bound to complete payment for the price stated in your original bid.
6. Neighbour-Free Seat is not eligible for the following bookings: Tickets booked using promotional fares and, free tickets; tickets already upgraded using mile.
7. A bid that complies with these terms and conditions will be valid (“Valid bid”) from the time of its submission to Etihad, with the validity of the offer expiring at the scheduled departure date and time, or, in the event that the flight has been delayed, the time at which the airplane doors have been closed for departure. However, should you cancel your Offer prior to processing; the offer shall no longer be a Valid bid.
8. In the event Etihad re-accommodates you on to another flight for operational reasons other than your default, any bid you made in relation to the original booking may be transferred to the new flight(s), subject to availability of seats for NFS.
9. Etihad may accept your bid any time during the period it remains a valid bid. In the event Etihad accepts your bid; your credit card shall be charged the full amount immediately.
10. The charge on your credit card may appear in the name of “Etihad Select Upgrade”. You agree that you will not challenge or dispute a charge for reason of the name appearing on the credit card statement as Etihad Select Upgrade.
11. There will be no refunds, credits, or exchanges once your bid has been accepted by Etihad and your credit card has been charged, except under the following conditions:
12. Should refunds be approved, they will be processed in the currency in which the NFS amount was charged. Such refunds would be limited to amount charged for the NFS and no bank related charges will be refunded, note that refund usually takes about 10 – 15 working days to reflect in your account.
13. The fare conditions for the original ticket you purchased shall remain in effect and will be applicable even if your bid has been accepted, including, but not limited to, cancellation policies, change fees, baggage allowance, and rules relating to the accrual of frequent flyer miles.
14. Etihad does not guarantee specific seat assignments to Guests whose bids are accepted. It may be necessary to move you from a pre-reserved seat to offer you the NFS experience as per your bid.
15. NFS Guests do not qualify for lounge access or additional baggage allowance or bonus miles
16. Neighbour-Free Free Seat Service is only available on Etihad operated flights.
17. Etihad reserves the right to modify and otherwise change these Terms and Conditions at their own discretion. Except as provided for in the preceding sentence, no amendment, modification or waiver to these Terms and Conditions shall be binding on Etihad unless made in writing and signed by an authorized officer of Etihad.
18. These terms and conditions should be read in conjunction with Etihad Airways’ Condition of Carriage, Website Terms of Use, and Privacy and Security Policy which you can read on etihad.com.
Who is eligible to bid for Economy Neighbour-Free? You are eligible to bid for a Neighbour-Free seat if:
You are not eligible for an upgrade if:
I have an Economy ticket. Can I bid to upgrade to Business and bid on an Economy Neighbour-Free seat?
Yes, you can place a bid for both – the upgrade will be considered first, and your bid for Economy Neighbour-Free will be considered as a backup.
How many seats can I reserve with Economy Neighbour-Free? You may place a bid for one, two or three additional seats depending on the type of aircraft you are flying on. On wide-body planes (two aisles), you can bid for a maximum of three seats. For a narrow-body aircraft (one aisle) you can bid for a maximum of two seats.
A successful bid for two seats on a narrow-body aircraft means that you’ll have an entire row to yourself.
A successful bid for three seats on a wide-body aircraft grants you an entire row to yourself.
My booking is for two people. How many Economy Neighbour-Free seats can I bid for? You can bid for one or two seats on a wide-body aircraft, and one seat on a narrow-body aircraft.
My booking is for three people. How many Economy Neighbour-Free seats can I bid for? You can only bid for one seat on a wide-body aircraft.
My booking is for four or more people.How many Economy Neighbour-Free seats can I bid for? You cannot bid for any additional seats, as the maximum seats in one row is four.
Can I bid for Economy Neighbour-Free on Etihad Airways flights which are operated by partner airlines? Economy Neighbour-Free is only available on flights operated by Etihad Airways. If you need any more information, please email contactcentre@etihad.ae
When I enter my booking reference and last name, an error message appears. What should I do? Email contactcentre@etihad.ae quoting your ticket number (starting with 607). You will need to provide your name, travel date and flight number.
Will I receive an SMS if my bid is successful? If your bid is successful, you will only receive a confirmation email, but we will also make you aware when you check-in.
I’m not sure if my bid has been successful and I don’t have access to emails to check. Will I be notified at the time of check-in? Yes, you will be notified when you check-in.
I cancelled my initial offer, but I would like to submit a new offer. Is that possible? You should have received an email confirming that your initial bid has been cancelled. If you have changed your mind, you can resubmit a bid using the link in your cancellation email.
You can also visit etihad.com or do this through Manage Your Booking.
Economy Neighbour-Free bids must be submitted 6 hours before your departure.
What happens if my bid has been unsuccessful? If your offer has been unsuccessful, you will receive a notification email four hours before your flight to let you know. Your card will not be charged, and you will retain your pre-reserved seat.
If I received an email informing me that my offer has been unsuccessful, can I make an offer again? You cannot make another offer if your bid has been unsuccessful.
I received an email informing me that my offer has been unsuccessful, but a short while later, my card has been charged. Why have I been charged? We will review your bid if a seat becomes available closer to the time of your flight. If you receive a notification that your card has been charged, then your upgrade has been processed. You will receive an email confirming your bid and an updated itinerary. We do review flights again closer to departure. If you receive a notification that your card has been charged, then your bid has been processed. You will receive an email confirming your allocated seats.
I placed two bids - one to upgrade and one for Economy Neighbour-Free. My bid to upgrade was successful. What happens to my Economy Neighbour-Free offer? You do not need to do anything as your Economy Neighbour-Free bid will no longer be considered.
Will I have the option to choose my seat after a successful Economy Neighbour-Free bid? You cannot choose your seat after your Economy Neighbour-Free bid has been processed. Our system will assign seats based on how many you have requested. It is not possible to change your seat during check-in at the airport either.
I have booked for five guests under the same booking reference. Is it possible to place an Economy Neighbour-Free bid for two guests only? If you have booked directly via Etihad Airways, you can call our Global Contact Centres and ask the Agent to split your booking.
If you have booked via a travel agency, you can ask your agent to split your booking.
The request to split your booking should be done at least 35 hours before your departure date, so that you can still place a bid.
I am too late to make an offer. Can I still bid for Economy Neighbour Free? After the bidding window is closed, it is unfortunately not possible to bid for NFS.
My bid was successful. What documents do I need when I check in at the airport? Our system will be updated with the NFS details. You do not need to present any special documentation
How do I pay for Economy Neighbour-Free? The credit card submitted during bidding will be automatically charged if your bid is successful.
How much do I need to bid? Your bid must be between the minimum and maximum bid amount as indicated on the slider. The bid amount applies per seat.
What does the strength indicator mean on the offer page? The strength indicator is a guide that shows the strength of your bid but does not guarantee that you will be successful.
Can I bid different amounts for each part of my journey? Yes, you can bid different amounts for each eligible part of your journey.
Can I change my bid after it has been submitted? Yes, you can modify your bid at any time before you receive an email informing you whether your bid has been successful. When you first place your bid, you will receive a confirmation email, and you can use the link in that email to modify your bid.
Can I cancel my bid? Yes, you can modify your bid at any time before you receive an email informing you whether your offer has been successful. When you first place your bid, you will receive a confirmation email, and you can use the link in that email to modify or cancel your bid.
Other than the bid amount, do I need to pay any additional fees? No. Taxes do not apply for Economy Neighbour-Free seats.
I have placed a bid, but I’d like to use a different card. Is that possible? You will need to first cancel your existing bid first and then submit a new bid using your preferred card.
If your bid has been accepted but the card authorisation fails, we will notify you by email, including a link to enter new card details.
Will my bid amount be refunded if my flight is cancelled? In the event that your Etihad flight is cancelled, we will try to accommodate your NFS request on your next flight. Otherwise, we will refund the full amount.
My bid has been successful, but I need to cancel my ticket. Will I receive a refund for my bid? If you are cancelling or changing your ticket, your bid will not be refunded.
My offer was successful, and I received a confirmation email and an updated travel itinerary. However, at the airport, I did not receive NFS as paid for. What should I do? Send an email to contactcentre@etihad.ae highlighting the incident and a full refund will be processed.
