Etihad Airways has been cost cutting a lot over the past few months. They have even announced that passengers in economy can purchase a First Class amenity kit for themselves. This stems from the airline having lost a lot of money on some investments, and sluggish passenger growth. The airline has been trying to find ways to nickel and dime people since then, and it shows on their Business class experience. Well, it seems the airline just did something in favor of Economy class passengers, but against premium cabin passengers. A new Etihad baggage policy was just announced today. It is worth noting that the policy DOES NOT IMPACT flights to/from the US & Canada. 

New Etihad Baggage Policy

The premise of the new policy is that passengers will now be charged based on the total weight of their equipment. The changes kick in January 31st, 2018.  Economy passengers now have 4 tiers based on the amount they paid (kind of ticket) for their ticket. The airline sees this as an enhancement, and I don’t agree.

Before, economy was allowed 2 bags at 23kg each. Economy passengers can now carry between 23kg up to 35kg per passenger, depending on fare class. The issue is in business class and first class. Business passengers were allowed 2 bags at 32kg each. Now they are allowed 40kg, which is a huge loss, Yikes. First class was allowed the same two bags at 32kg each, now it’s a max of 50kg, a net loss of 14kg.

Landing Thoughts:

I think this is a very good move for economy class passengers, but a fairly negative one for premium cabin passengers. Although the Residence passengers still get 4 pieces at 32kg each, most other premium passengers are now strongly limited. This is another example of the airline continuing to cut costs. I can’t imagine what will be next, as the airline gets creative to squeeze out more revenue. The silver lining is that the changes don’t affect US/Canada flights, as this would be a huge blow to the airline’s US passengers. 

Will Etihad retire the A330 and 777-200LR? How will Etihad cope with SO MANY aircraft orders? I don’t know. The thing is I love Etihad’s Apartment, but I think that if the airline continues to cut costs, it will lose what makes it so special.

What do you think? Happy about the baggage policy changes at Etihad? Will you switch travel partners because of this? Let us know!

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