Bid for a Neighbour-Free Seat

Service

Who is eligible for the Etihad Select Upgrade and Neighbour-Free Seat service?
If you are flying with Etihad Airways, holding a confirmed ticket document number that starts with 607, and are not under the categories mentioned below, then you are eligible for the Etihad Select Upgrade (ESU) and Neighbour-Free Seat (NFS) service (subject to seats availability).

 Categories not eligible:

• Tickets booked as Economy ‘Deals’ fares  (for Etihad Select Upgrade) and Business ‘Saver’ (for Etihad Select Upgrade)
• Tickets booked through Guest Seat rewards
• Redemption tickets
• Free tickets
• Tickets already upgraded using miles
• Multi-flyer tickets
• Group bookings

 Who will receive an Etihad Select Upgrade and Neighbour-Free Seat email notification
Etihad Guest members are given high preference to receive the Upgrade email. The criteria to receive an email notification are:

• Purchased ticket issued on Etihad Airways document number 607
• Flight booked at least 3 days prior to departure
• Confirmed Business Class or Economy Class ticket booked in eligible Fare Family
•  Valid email address or valid Etihad Guest member number (this should be updated on the booking record)

I’m holding an Economy Class ticket. Can I make an offer for both Upgrade and Neighbour-Free Seat?
Yes. You can place a bid for both – the Upgrade will be considered first and Neighbour-Free Seat will be considered as a backup bid.

You can also choose to make an offer for either the Upgrade (to Business Class) or Neighbour-Free Seat

I’m interested in the Neighbour-Free Free Seat service. How many seats can I request for in addition to already existing seat?
You may place a bid for 1, 2 or 3 extra seats based on the aircraft configuration of your flight. For wide body (2 aisles), you can bid for a maximum of 3 seats; for a narrow body aircraft (1 aisle) you can bid for a maximum of 2 seats.

A successful bid for 2 seats on narrow body aircrafts grants you an entire row to your self

A successful bid for 3 seats on wide body aircrafts grants you an entire row to yourself

My booking has 2 travelers. How many Neighbour-Free Seats can I bid for?
You can bid for 1 or 2 seats on wide body aircrafts; and 1 seat on narrow body aircraft.

My booking has 3 travelers. How many Neighbour-Free Seats can I bid for?
You can only bid for 1 seat on wide body aircrafts;

My booking has 4+ travelers. How many Neighbour-Free Seats can I bid for?
You unfortunately cannot bid for any seats as maximum seats in one row is 4.

Can I use the Etihad Select Upgrade and Neighbour-Free Seat service on Etihad Airways flights which are operated by its partner airlines?
The Etihad Select Upgrade is available for some of our flights operated by our partner airlines, where ticket issued in Etihad Airways document starts with 607. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for these flights on our partner airlines.

Neigbour-Free Seat is only available on Etihad Airways operated flights.

Procedures

When I enter my booking reference and last name a mismatch error massage appears, what should I do in this case?
You may send an email to SelectUpgrade@etihad.ae quoting your ticket number starting with 607 for further assistance. You may also provide these booking details: Guest name, travel date and flight number.

Would you be sending me a confirmation SMS in the event my offer is successful?
No, you will only receive a confirmation email from Etihad but you may get an SMS from your bank to advice of a charge to your credit card.

I’m not sure if my bid has been successful and I do not have access to emails to check for the confirmation email from Etihad. Will I be notified at the time of check-in?
Yes, you will be notified at the time of check-in.

I cancelled my initial offer, but I would like to submit a new offer.  How can I do this?
After cancelling your initial Etihad Select Upgrade or Neighbour-Free Seat offer, you will receive an email confirming the bid is cancelled. This cancellation email will contain a link to resubmit should you change your mind.

You may also visit etihad.com where the option is available on the right hand side of the homepage.

New offers must be submitted 28hours prior to departure for Etihad Select Upgrade and 35 hours prior to departure for Neighbour-Free Seat.

 

What happens if I have made an offer and it has not been successful?
For an Upgrade bid, you will receive a notification email 24 hours prior to departure informing you that your offer has been unsuccessful. Your card will not be charged and you can travel with your existing ticket.

During check-in you may want to ask for an Airport Instant Upgrade, in case premium seats become available. Note that this Upgrade is sold at a fixed price.

For a Neighbour-Free Seat bid, you will receive a notification email 32 hours prior to departure. The opportunity to purchase Neighbour-Free Seat at the Airport is unfortunately not available.

If I received an email informing me that my offer has been unsuccessful, can I make an offer again?
No, if your offer has been unsuccessful, another offer cannot be made. 

I received an email informing me that my offer has been unsuccessful, but a short while later, my card has been charged. What do I do?
Seats do sometimes become available closer to departure and thus unsuccessful offers may be reviewed again. If you receive notification that your card has been charged, then your upgrade has been processed. You will receive an email confirming the same, as well as your updated itinerary.

I placed bids for both Upgrade and Neighbour-Free Seat. My Upgrade offer was successful and notification email has been received. What happens to my Neighbour-Free Seat offer?
Your Neighbour-Free Seat offer will not be considered and you need not to do anything. Our system will note the upgrade is processed and will not review the Neighbour-Free Seat offer.

Is it possible to upgrade my confirmed Economy Class ticket to a First Class ticket?
No, your confirmed Economy Class ticket can only be upgraded to the next higher cabin which is Business Class.

Will I have the option to choose my seat after a successful Neighbour-Free Seat offer?
No, you cannot choose your seat after your Neighbour-Free Seat bid has been processed. Our system will assign you seats based on the number of Neighbour-Free Seats requested for. You cannot request to change your seat during check-in at the airport either.

 I have booked for 5 guests under the same booking reference. Is it possible to place an Etihad Select Upgrade or Neighbour-Free Seat bid for two guests only?
If you have booked directly via Etihad Airways, you can call our Global Contact Centres and request the Agent to split your booking.

If you have booked via travel trade, you can ask your travel agent to split your booking.

Request for booking split should be done at least 35 hours prior to the departure date to avoid the expiry of offer submission. 

I am too late to make an offer, what are my chances of securing an upgrade?
Your chance of securing a seat depends on its availability. You should ask when you check in if it is possible to upgrade using an Airport Instant Upgrade.

My bid was successful. What documents do I need to present at the airport?
You need to bring your updated travel itinerary that was issued when your upgrade was successful or your online check-in details.

For Neighbour-Free Seat, you may present the confirmation email which indicates the extra seats assigned for you.

I have a booking and my family is on a different booking, if I submit an offer for all the bookings, will the offers be considered together?
We can link the bids to consider them as one, please send an email to SelectUpgrade@etihad.ae. We will add a remark note in the system to link the offers.

Payments

Can I choose any amount I want for my Upgrade or Neighbour-Free Seat offer?
The system has a default minimum and maximum bid amount set. It will not accept any offer lower than the minimum amount or higher than the maximum amount.

For Neighbour-Free Seat , the minimum 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 its success.

Can I offer different amounts for each segment of my journey?
Yes, you can offer different amounts for each eligible segment.

Can I change my offer to a higher or lower amount?
Yes, you can modify the bid amount before you receive a status notification email informing you whether your offer has been successful or before 30 hours. The confirmation email received will contain a link to allow you to modify your bid.

Can I cancel my bid?
Yes, you can cancel your bid before you receive a status notification email informing you whether your offer has been successful or before 30 hours. The confirmation email received will contain a link to allow you to cancel your bid.

 

Other than the bid amount, are there any additional fees to be paid when using Etihad Select Upgrade and Neighbour-Free Seat service?
The Airport departure taxes are applicable in certain countries such as UK, India and Pakistan. Any extra charges will be shown clearly in the Upgrade offer submission process.

No taxes apply for Neighbour-Free Seat.

What fare rules apply for my upgraded ticket?
The same rules apply as the original fare purchased, including change fees and cancellation penalties.

 

If I have an existing offer and wish to use a different card, how can I change my card information?
You need to cancel your current offer first if inside the offer deadline window. Only after cancellation will you be able to submit a new offer using your preferred card.

When your offer is selected for processing but card authorization failed, you will receive an email with a link to enter your new card details.

Will the amount I offered be refunded if the flight where I have been upgraded has been cancelled?
In the event of a flight cancellation from Etihad, we will try to accommodate you in the upgraded cabin on your next flight. Otherwise, we will refund the full upgrade amount (within 10 days) to the card used for purchase.

My offer for upgrade has been successful. However, I would like to cancel my ticket for that segment of journey. Will I receive a refund for the amount paid?
If you are cancelling/changing your ticket, no refund will be offered. The same rule applies if you are cancelling/changing your entire trip and one segment of your journey has been upgraded.

My offer was successful and I received the status notification email as well as my updated travel itinerary. However, at the Airport, I did not receive a boarding pass for the upgraded cabin and remained in my original booked cabin. What do I do?

In the event you are downgraded at the Airport for reasons attributable to Etihad e.g. oversold cabin, schedule change, flight change etc. you should send an email to SelectUpgrade@etihad.ae highlighting the incident. If the downgrade is attributed to Etihad, a full refund will be processed.

If the downgrade is attributed to the guest, a refund will not be processed. 

 

My offer for upgrade has been successful. However I would like to change another segment of journey on the same ticket. My travel agent is not able to facilitate these changes.
Once your ticket is reissued by an Etihad office, any subsequent changes to the ticket can be done through our Global Contact Centres.

 

I have already purchased an Extra Leg Room Seat (ELRS) on my existing booking. What will happen if I I’m upgraded to Business Class on the same segment?
The amount paid for an Extra Leg Room seat will be refunded when you are upgraded to Business Class. Once you receive the status notification email, you should send an email to SelectUpgrade@etihad.aerequesting a refund for the ELRS for that leg.

What are my available payment options?
Currently, the only available option is payment through credit card.

Benefits

What are the benefits of an upgrade from Economy Class to Business Class?

• On the segment of the flight that you have been upgraded to, you are eligible for Business class baggage allowance.
• You can carry additional baggage based on your tier within the Etihad Guest programme.
• You are entitled to priority check-in and boarding.
• You are entitled to access our Business Class lounges based on the flight segment you have upgraded. E.g. if your journey is booked from Sydney to London, and you have upgraded only the Abu Dhabi London leg, you will only have lounge access in Abu Dhabi.  If you have upgraded both sectors, you will be granted lounge access in Sydney as well as in Abu Dhabi during your transit time.
• Etihad chauffeur services are not available for upgrade from Economy Class to Business Class.

 

What are the benefits of an upgrade from Business Class to First Class?

• On the segment of the flight that you have been upgraded to, you are eligible for First class baggage allowance.
• You can carry additional baggage based on your tier within the Etihad Guest programme.
• You will have access to our First Class lounges where available
• If you are holding a confirmed Chauffer booking, this will be re-instated after the upgrade

When one segment of my trip is upgraded, what is the additional baggage allowance for my whole trip?

Additional baggage allowance applies only on the segment that has been upgraded.

For example, A confirmed ticket from Sydney to London has the first segment (Sydney-Abu Dhabi) upgraded. Additional baggage allowance applies only on the upgraded segment (Sydney-Abu Dhabi). For the remaining segment (Abu Dhabi-London), your baggage allowance will depend on the cabin booked. 

I am an Etihad Guest member. Will I earn additional Etihad Guest Miles for a successful Etihad Select Upgrade or Neighbour-Free Seat offer?
Yes, you will earn additional miles for a successful offer. You will earn base miles (as per the flown distance and original booked class) plus an additional 10% bonus miles for a successful bid.

Only Etihad Guest members are eligible for bonus miles.

 

If you have any concerns or need further clarification please write to SelectUpgrade@etihad.ae

Data Privacy

Transfer of personal information

We need to transfer personal information to the Etihad group of companies as well as allow third party service providers to process your personal information where this is needed in connection with a service they provide to us. This means your personal information may be located in various countries around the world, such as the U.S and the UAE.

Please note that different privacy laws may apply in these countries from any laws that may apply in the country where you are located. We will always strive to adopt the highest standards of privacy protection, wherever your personal information is located and adopt appropriate measures (consistent with locally applicable privacy laws) to secure an adequate level of privacy protection.  

For more information and to access the Etihad Privacy Policy, please click here.

Please click here or write to the Ethics and Compliance Office, Etihad Airways, PO Box 35566, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates if you have any concerns about our compliance with applicable privacy laws - we will aim to respond to your concerns as soon as possible and we may make seek further information from you in order to provide a full and complete response. In some countries, you may have rights to raise the matter with a relevant data protection authority or ombudsman.

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1. 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 an opportunity to upgrade from the class of service that was originally purchased for travel with Etihad to one class of service higher (“Upgrade”) or for a Neighbour-Free Free Seat experience (“NFS”)
2. You must be at least 21 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.
3. Guests may submit either Upgrade or NFS Offers; or both 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/Maximum upgrade offer values apply.
4. An Offer, 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 Offer, subject to these Terms and Conditions, to be considered for an Upgrade or NFS experience.
5. Etihad reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to decide whether or not to accept your Offer, and it makes no representation that any Guest will be upgraded or receives NFS regardless of whether or not seats are available in the class of service for which an Offer is being made.
6. You may revise or cancel your Offer through the hyperlink on the offer email before 28 hours of your departure for Upgrade and 35hours before your departure for NFS, provided that your Offer has not already been accepted by Etihad and provided your credit card has not been charged. However, if your Offer is accepted before you cancel or amend your Offer, you are legally bound to complete payment for the price stated in your original Offer.
7. Etihad Select Upgrade and Neighbour-Free Free Seat is not eligible for the following bookings: Tickets booked using promotional fares and Guest Seat rewards, redemption tickets, free tickets; tickets already upgraded using miles, ticket with infant, and multi-flyer tickets.
8. An Offer that complies with these Terms and Conditions will be valid (“Valid Offer”) 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 Offer.
9. In the event Etihad re-accommodates you on to another flight for whatever reason other than your default, any Offer you made in relation to the original booking may be transferred to the new flight(s), subject to availability of seats for both Upgrade and NFS.
10. Etihad may accept your Offer any time during the period it remains a Valid Offer. In the event Etihad accepts your Offer; your credit card shall be charged the full amount immediately upon acceptance, and Etihad will revalidate your existing ticket reflecting an Upgrade for each Guest included in your original flight booking. You will receive an updated travel itinerary highlighting the new cabin of service. The total amount charged will include all applicable pre-payable taxes and fees (if any) for the Upgrade. The total amount that you must pay to us will be disclosed to you prior to you submitting your Offer. An Upgrade that has been issued by Etihad can be changed or transferred only in accordance with applicable Fare Rules and our Condition of Carriage.
11. The charge on your credit card may appear in the name of “Etihad Select Upgrade”. You agree that you cannot challenge or dispute a charge for reason of the name appearing on the credit card statement is Etihad Select Upgrade. This applies for both ESU and NFS.
12. There will be no refunds, credits, or exchanges once your Offer has been accepted by Etihad and your credit card has been charged, except under the following conditions:
    - The flight for which your Offer was accepted was cancelled, and Etihad re-accommodated you on another flight but in the class of service of your original booking, in which case the amount paid for the Upgrade or NFS will be refunded to the payment card that was used to bid and Etihad shall have not further liability to you.
    - Your Offer was accepted and you were given an Upgrade or NFS, but you were not able to be seated in the upgraded class of service for reasons attributable to Etihad, including, but not limited to, a change in equipment, a delay in the connecting flight that resulted in your missing the connection on which you were upgraded, but excluding reasons attributable to your actions, including, but not limited to, you on your own volition opting to change flights, you missing a flight.
    - You are entitled to refunds, credits, or exchanges under applicable Fare Rules and/or our Conditions of Carriage.
13. Should refunds be approved, they will be processed in the currency in which the Upgrade or NFS amount was charged. Such refunds would be limited to amount charged for the Upgrade or NFS and no bank related charges will be refunded, note that refund usually takes about 10 – 15 working days to reflect in your account.
14. The fare conditions for the original ticket you purchased shall remain in effect and will be applicable even if your Offer has been accepted and you have been upgraded, including, but not limited to, cancellation policies, change fees, baggage allowance, and rules relating to the accrual of frequent flyer miles.
15. If you change your ticket, Etihad Airways has no obligation to seat you in the upgraded class of service, unless you pay for the Upgrade or NFS as per the airlines’ standard change policies and the policies and conditions associated with the fare class of original ticket.
16. Etihad does not guarantee specific seat assignments to Guests who’s Offers are accepted.
17. Etihad does not guarantee that you will be offered a meal or other amenities generally associated with the class of service to which you have been upgraded.
18. Etihad chauffeur services will not be available for upgrade from Economy Class to Business Class or for NFS.
19. Lounge access applies only on the upgraded segment. For example if a guest was upgraded on Sydney-Abu Dhabi, the guest is eligible to use the lounge in Sydney airport, not in Abu Dhabi.
20. NFS Guests do not qualify for lounge access or additional baggage allowance.
21. If guest had already purchased an Extra Leg Room Seat and later upgraded to Business Class via Etihad Select upgrade program, Etihad Global Contact Centers or purchase an upgrade at airport, amount paid for Extra Leg Room seat will be refunded.
22. The following Etihad Airways flights are eligible for Etihad Select Upgrade which are operated by our Partner airlines:

Etihad Airways codeshare flights*	Route (to/from)	Partner airline
EY 5995 | EY5994	Belgrade	Air Serbia (JU)
EY 4111 |  EY 4118	Seychelles	Air Seychelles (HM)

*Business Class product and services will be operated by our partner airlines. 

  23. Neighbour-Free Free Seat Service is only available on Etihad Operated flights.

  24. Bonus miles will be credited only for Etihad Guest members, Members of other airline loyalty programs are not entitled to bonus miles.

  25.In the event your Offer was accepted and your credit card was charged the Offer amount but the Upgrade or NFS was not provided, you may apply for a refund.  Your request must include the original boarding pass for the flight in question.  If you are not able to provide the original boarding pass for the flight in dispute, Etihad is under no obligation to refund you for the amount you paid for the Upgrade or NFS.

  26. If you reserve and pay for an Extra Leg Room or Preferred Seat and later discover that your bid for a Neighbour-Free Seat is accepted, your previous seat selection/purchase will not be refunded.

  27. 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. 

  28. 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.

The failure of Etihad to exercise any of its rights shall not be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of the future performance of any of its rights, and your obligations with respect to such future performance shall continue in full force and effect.