New Year's Eve in business class in the Maldives with etihad, thanks to Alitalia miles

Today I tell the success story of Frederick, a points and miles sufferer, and his latest pre-pandemic trip thanks to Alitalia miles.

As we explained in this article one should not believe those who say that with miles one never goes anywhere, that it is impossible to find tickets, etc. This is yet another demonstration that "want is power."

Reservation

Once you have enough miles, or membership rewards to be converted to miles, all one has to do is look for premium seats on the desired route, and for Frederick the goal was not even too easy, as he managed to snag four a/r seats, two business and two economy with extra space (Etihad like all Gulf airlines do not offer premium economy at the moment) to Male, i.e., the capital of the Maldives, at the turn of Christmas and New Year 2020.

The decision to divide the family into two different classes was caused by the lack of award places, which are always very difficult to find under the holidays.

The cost of booking

To detach 4 such tickets, and at that time, would have meant spending at least 6,000€, assuming one booked in time and found a discounted business fare on a route that is in very high season at that time of year. However, Federico's family got away with only 380€ in taxes and 540,000 Alitalia miles.

The onboard experience

The partnership between Alitalia and Etihad abruptly ended in 2018; however, the two airlines remained partners for codeshare flights to Asia and the Far East.

Maximum attention was paid to children to whom a cute little bag was distributed for each flight containing games and hobbies and a colorful cover.

The two flights were operated by Boeing 787/9 from Milan Malpensa and by Airbus A330/200 from Abu Dhabi to Male, obviously the first flight in terms of duration and seat quality was far better than the shorter second one.

Business class on the 787 mimics the setup that the Abu Dhabi-based airline has on the A380, renamed "Business Studio. "The special feature of this 1-2-1 configuration, which allows each passenger free access to the aisle, is that the seats are also positioned in the opposite direction to the direction of the plane, with the even-numbered rows facing the front and the odd-numbered rows facing the rear of the plane.

There is plenty of space for each passenger, with several storage compartments as well as a real nightstand that protects even in the even-numbered rows from the aisle.

This, on the other hand, is the business class seat on the flight from Abu Dhabi to Male operated on an "old" Airbus A330/200 with the older configuration of business class seats, reclining, but not convertible into a bed, and especially in the old 2-2-2 mode, so no direct aisle access for all passengers.

Excellent on both flights are the culinary offerings and choices of wine, champagne and spirits.

The wine list

And the menu

If, despite all the crises and difficulties, Alitalia has managed to win the title of best business class cuisine for almost 10 years in a row, there must be a reason!

Have you flown with Etihad? Tell us about your experience in the comments

 

• Success stories