Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Etihad is bringing the Business Class Studio seat to Manchester

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

In an encouraging boost for the region, Etihad is swapping its morning departure from Manchester to a Boeing 787.  This is the first time that Etihad has operated a 787 from the UK.

This means that Manchester customers will be able to experience the hugely impressive Business Class Studio for the first time.  It is one of the top 2-3 business class products on the market – you can read my review of the A380 version here.

Etihad Business Class Studio Manchester

The evening flight from Manchester will remain as a Boeing 777 with a more traditional lie-flat seat.  However, from 31st March 2019 there will be a switch with the 787 moving to the evening departure from Manchester.

The Boeing 787 arrives on 1st November and the flights are already showing online at etihad.com.

You can find out more about the Business Class Studio on the Etihad site here. If you are not already an Etihad Guest member, you can sign up here and receive 500 bonus miles.

How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards

How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Etihad Guest does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Etihad Guest mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.

Category

Etihad and Etihad Guest

Comments (97)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Andy says:
    10 Aug10 August 05:32

    How the change of an airplane seat will ‘boost a region’ is beyond me! If the seat is better than other seats then business will be transferred. Also, I’d wager a certain football team that has links to Etihad is the primary driver of thenchoice of Manchester at this stage of the rollout.

    • Paulo says:
      10 Aug10 August 07:29

      The difference in the 777 and 787 seat is minimal. The only noticeable difference is the 787 looks newer.

      I don’t see it boosting the region as the 787 carries significantly less people than the 777. So maybe they switched to the 787 because this route is not selling enough seats.

      • Steve says:
        10 Aug10 August 08:04

        Boost FOR the region as in good news for customers is the way I read it rather than a boost for the economy of Greater Manchester

    • Rob says:
      10 Aug10 August 09:23

      If people always complain when regional airports get the worst products in the fleet (as they do), logically they should be happy when they get the best …

      • Darren says:
        10 Aug10 August 10:21

        Well, I’m one happy bunny as my November flight will be on it.

        • Darren says:
          10 Aug10 August 10:37

          Just checked and my out and inbound to Manchester and both are on 789, good stuff.

  • Vince says:
    10 Aug10 August 07:24

    If you like the beers at the Virgin pop up, a bunch were supplied by The BottleShop wholesale dept who conveniently have a retail space in a railway arch in Bermondsey. [end of shameless plug!]

    • Rob says:
      10 Aug10 August 09:22

      I had some Trappist thing …. when faced with a list of 230 beers I’ve never heard of, I just told the barman to give me something at random!

      • Craig says:
        10 Aug10 August 10:16

        ????

      • Mark says:
        10 Aug10 August 10:23

        I had an email saying come have a drink on us but can’t find if I just show the email etc, any idea?

        • xcalx says:
          10 Aug10 August 10:43

          I had an email from clubindividual (Bank,piccolino etc) saying they had deposited 400 points into my account which is worth 20 quid. Must be used before 31st Aug.

  • Ian M says:
    10 Aug10 August 08:00

    Off Topic.. SPG Amex..

    For everyone on the double points for 3 months retention offer…

    I called Amex again today as I’m still only getting 1 extra point instead of double (should now be 3 extra points). Last time I spoke to them a few days ago they said to call if it happens again and they would add them again manually. Well I noticed that the last set of points had not been added at all and all my new purchases since were still not posting correctly. This time the member of staff tried to blame the whole thing on the delay in points posting and said the points would post mid September. I explained this is not an issue with points moving from Amex to Starwood but the number of bonus points they are issuing on every purchase. He said he couldn’t even see the points for purchases on his system (find that hard to believe). He suggested I keep an eye on things over the next few weeks..

    Has anyone else spoken to Amex about this in the last few days?

    • Russ says:
      10 Aug10 August 11:48

      Yes, same response. I’m spending on my Barclaycard for the foreseeable future.

      • Ian M says:
        10 Aug10 August 11:51

        I’ve just spoken to them again. Everyone I speak to seems totally clueless! I’ve got over £10,000 of purchases I want my triple points on. I had always found Amex customer service to be very good in the past, but they seem to have no idea what they’re doing with this

        • Genghis says:
          10 Aug10 August 11:56

          Have you actually raised a “formal complaint”. I’ve never had to make sure a complaint at Amex but surely that would then need to be reviewed by a manager?

    • Lev441 says:
      10 Aug10 August 12:02

      I’m in the same boat. However, not particularly worried as I have put most of my spend through that I’ve wanted to and the bonus points ending in a couple of weeks time.

      Wait until your statement comes through, then call again (hopefully getting through to Brighton). Whenever I’ve had any issues with points not posting correctly, they have always manually put it right and thrown in some more points as a good will gesture. Hold tight, you’ll get your double points!

  • TimM says:
    10 Aug10 August 08:08

    “Athens is fast becoming the destination of choice”, yes but only viewed over a period of several centuries! It would be more accurate to say the threat of experiencing riots and mass destitution is, at last, retreating. So many good private hotels in Athens closed in recent years it is heartbreaking. This is Grand Hyatt moving in to a vacated space.

    • John says:
      10 Aug10 August 12:02

      We’re talking about Athens not Mogadishu.

    • Mr Dee says:
      10 Aug10 August 21:55

      Last time I went all the street were closed and authorities everywhere for some protest but in general nothing went on apart from some cheering

  • Mariusz says:
    10 Aug10 August 08:27

    OT: Referred someone from Plat card for BAP card but points haven’t posted despite instant approval. Any chance amex might pulled the plug?

    • Rob MC says:
      10 Aug10 August 08:31

      No. How long have you waited?

    • Points Chaser says:
      10 Aug10 August 10:40

      The trigger for getting the referral points is them activating their card, not on acceptance. My referral bonus came in as soon as the card was activated.

      • Jim says:
        10 Aug10 August 11:14

        Simply not true.

      • Genghis says:
        10 Aug10 August 11:14

        Not true

      • GeoffGeoff says:
        10 Aug10 August 11:34

        Think that’s just a coincidence,

      • RakishDriver says:
        10 Aug10 August 15:41

        Yes, my experience today.
        Four referrals made earlier this week from plat, got round to activating all today, bonus posted just now.

        • Max says:
          10 Aug10 August 17:23

          My OH has had referral points posted for a card I never even activated, having changed my mind about using it. I think it must be a coincidence.

      • GRIMZ says:
        10 Aug10 August 16:16

        That’s not correct, I have referred folk who have not even activated the cards and I have received the bonus.

    • New Card says:
      10 Aug10 August 12:57

      +1
      Exactly the same cards. Referral was day after cross-family referrals were reintroduced. No points yet.

      • Alan says:
        10 Aug10 August 14:13

        Ditto – although they didn’t want to issue it at first (no doubt as they gave me a stupidly high limit on another card!). Called and asked them (MBNA-style) to transfer some credit limit over from existing card and they said they’d ask – credit limit on that card as now gone down so I think it’s done the trick.

  • rashad Rasul says:
    10 Aug10 August 09:14

    OT: Flying out of Manchester on QR A350 next March, is there a way to know if this will have the QSuites available? Thanks

    • Rob says:
      10 Aug10 August 09:18

      No, Qatar is refurbishing a plane every 3-4 weeks but Manchester could be down the list – although perhaps now they change their mind …

    • TGLoyalty says:
      10 Aug10 August 09:58

      Thought all the A350 had Q suites?

  • Catalan says:
    10 Aug10 August 09:44

    O/T: My Amex bill is due for payment in the next week or so. Can I pay it off using my Curve Debit card attached to my Virgin Rewards+ card? Effectively getting ‘double dip’ on MR points/VFC miles?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      10 Aug10 August 09:58

      Best way to find out is try it and never mention it in a public forum

    • @mkcol says:
      10 Aug10 August 10:06

      Try just a few quid first, see what happens & then quietly run with it if necessary.

    • Frenske says:
      10 Aug10 August 11:28

      *start mumble* I did it last week with MBNA Horizon connected to Curve *end mumble*.

    • James says:
      10 Aug10 August 11:47

      I have been doing this with the free Virgin card for a few months until last month when they blocked my account after trying it. When I called up to unblock they said that this transaction requires “additional authorisation”, which seems to mean that they block your account. Not sure if this has happened to anyone else.

      • Catalan says:
        10 Aug10 August 11:50

        Oh! Grumble grumble 🙁

      • John says:
        10 Aug10 August 12:04

        Who blocked you, Curve or Virgin and did this mean you couldn’t use the card at all until you called?

        • James says:
          10 Aug10 August 15:12

          Virgin – and yes, couldn’t use the card at all until I called up and unblocked the account.

    • James says:
      10 Aug10 August 19:51

      Best to attach to. IHG for 2 points per pound!

  • Mr Bogart says:
    10 Aug10 August 10:18

    O/T (bits) Advice please about the best way to avoid the £35 fee for changing an Avios booking… would be very grateful. Thanks.

    • Rob says:
      10 Aug10 August 10:48

      Wait for a time change of 15 minutes or more – that should allow free cancellation

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

NEW: Sign-up bonuses boosted to 3,000 and 18,000 points

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? SPECIAL OFFER TO 12TH MAY EARN POINTS WORTH 30,000 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!