Etihad’s app opens to an elegant homepage with a beautiful photo of Abu Dhabi in the background. You can click the banner in the middle of the page to enter your booking reference number and last name to retrieve your flight information so you can manage your flight options.
Once you are logged in, you can check into your flight, check your flight status or download your mobile boarding pass to your iPhone wallet. With the Etihad app, you can check in for international flights by scanning your passport page with your phone during your check in process and it will update your information.
Booking flights on the Etihad app is a relatively easy process. You are able to choose your preferred cabin and which level of fare you might like – Saver, Value or Freedom. One glitch is that you must choose your preferred cabin for every ticket you are purchasing at one time. You are unable to book one ticket in first class and one ticket in economy during the same purchase. Once you have chosen your flights, you can clearly view the seat maps to choose your intended seat. When you are logged in with your Guest membership number, the app will remember previously search flights so you can pick up right where you left off in your search. This is great for anyone booking flights on the go.
You can easily pay with a credit card and simply scan your card with your phone, as opposed to typing in the information. However, Etihad does not allow you to use your miles when booking flights. You can view your miles balance in the app when you are signed in, as well as, see a copy of your Guest membership card. The app does not let you save your Guest Membership card to your Passbook which means you must open the app whenever you need your card.
Tracking your flights is convenient in the Etihad app. You can view the live flight tracker to see if your flights are on time, delayed or canceled by navigating to the status button on the bottom menu and inputting departure and arrival cities. You can choose your flight to see more detailed information, including actual arrival or departure times and terminal and gate numbers. The app will also tell you which baggage carousel your bags will arrive at in the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Overall, the Etihad is a clean and useful app. However, it is a brand new app, having just launched in April 2016 and it could use some updates on the backend. Unlike other airlines apps, there is no option to turn on notifications so you can be notified about your flight information without opening the app. There is also no way to log out from a specific user account and log into another one (if you wanted to check in for two different Guest members, for example). Users are also subject to the app crashing while booking or viewing flights and errors can pop during the booking process. If you fly frequently with Etihad, this could be the app for you. If you are only looking to use the app for one flight, you may be better using your computer and checking in manually.
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