Bid on roomier seating with Etihad

This item appears on page 4 of the September 2017 issue.

Passengers on Etihad Airways can bid for the Etihad Select Upgrade (ESU), upgrading to a higher seating class, or, in economy class, for a Neighbor-Free Seat (NSF), bidding on up to three extra neighboring seats (an entire row).

After purchasing a seat on an Etihad flight, a passenger may place his bid online at www.etihad.com/en-us/before-you-fly/my-upgrade-options/upgrade-yourself. There are minimum and maximum amounts allowed for bids, though Etihad has not revealed them. When making a bid, a traveler is given a “strength indicator” showing the likelihood of having his bid be successful (though no bid is guaranteed).

Bids can be made from the time of booking until up to three days before departure. Passengers will be notified no earlier than 32 hours before departure on whether their bids have been successful. Passengers with tickets booked with miles or through promotions are not eligible to make bids.