Staff travel information
Etihad staff receive detailed flight load, listing, and upgrade information approximately 72 hours before departure. Prior to this window, only estimated data is available.
For flights beyond the 72-hour window, internal staff tools can provide estimated seat availability with a margin of error of approximately ±10%. These figures are unofficial and subject to change based on evolving booking patterns.
Ultra long-haul routes, especially those to and from North America and Australia, are often subject to weight restrictions. These are typically applied manually by the operations team closer to departure. Unfortunately, staff and ZED travelers cannot determine in advance whether a flight will be weight-restricted, which may impact final seat availability.
While the number of booked and checked-in passengers shown in the Etihad app is accurate, the seat capacity displayed may not reflect real-time changes. This may be due to weight restrictions, last-minute aircraft configuration changes, or blocked crew seats. More accurate capacity details may be available through internal crew or booking systems, but these often update more slowly than the app and may lag by several minutes or hours.
Pending commercial upgrades, including those paid by cash or miles, are not visible to ZED or staff travelers. These upgrades may be processed at any time between 24 hours before departure and gate closure.
Etihad does not issue gate standby passes under current policy, primarily due to immigration handling in the UAE. At outstations where local immigration queues could cause delay and impact your ability to board, you may request an exception from the station manager. The manager, identified by their Etihad uniform, may grant an exception if local immigration procedures allow and if you are likely to be accepted on the flight.
Once a ZED traveler is listed for a flight, real-time booking status, listing details, and upgrade lists become available via the Etihad app approximately 24 hours prior to departure. These can be accessed through the “Manage Flight” section of the app. If the information is not visible there, it may be accessed through the “Manage Booking” page on the Etihad website.
Seat assignments for ZED standby travelers are handled automatically. This generally occurs around four hours before departure but may happen at any time between 24 hours before departure and check-in closure. Some bilateral agreements may permit earlier acceptance; travelers should refer to their company’s specific agreement with Etihad if applicable.
The number of booked and checked-in passengers displayed in the Etihad app is reliable; however, seat capacity figures may not reflect last-minute adjustments due to operational changes. Internal systems may offer more precise capacity data, though these systems may lag behind the app in real-time accuracy.
As per etihadairways.com for the class you are eligible to travel in
The baggage allowance for non-revenue passengers is the same maximum that is provided to revenue passengers in their respective cabins. EY reserves the right to deny baggage allowance for non-revenue interline staff if the reciprocating airline has chosen not to provide baggage allowance to EY staff. For non-revenue staff travelers, if you are only transiting through Abu Dhabi, your baggage will be checked through to your final destination based on your original ticket. If you are denied boarding for your ticketed flight out of Abu Dhabi and need to alter your existing booking or make a new one, you may bring your baggage tag and ticket from your previous flight to the transit desk. The staff will provide instructions based on your specific circumstances and ticketing situation.
Business and Economy: Smart casual / UAE National dress. Smart jeans and trainers are acceptable.
Not permitted: Dirty or torn clothing, beach or jogging clothes, flip flops, non-collared t-shirts, shorts, sleeveless tops. Clothing should not be transparent and shoulders should be covered. Low neckline and short skirts with a hem above the knee are not permitted.
Listing is recommended for acceptance priority.
Listing should be made through www.myidtravel.com/myidlisting.
Listing is recommended for acceptance priority but is not required. If you have booked your ticket through MyID, your listing is done automatically. If you booked through another portal, it is recommended that you use the following URL to list for a flight: www.myidtravel.com/myidlisting. Holding multiple listings for different flights on Etihad is acceptable; however, please do not check in for multiple flights simultaneously, as you may risk being accepted onto multiple flights. No-shows will be reported to your company for ticketing abuse. Please be aware that Etihad actively monitors and enforces policies against ticketing misuse and manipulation.
All standby ticket holders must check in using the Etihad Airways mobile app or www.etihad.com in order to be added to the waitlist.
If you are accepted on a flight, you will be notified via the Etihad app and by email. If seats become available during the final moments of the check-in process, you will receive a last-minute acceptance notification through the same channels.
In Abu Dhabi, accepted passengers should use the self-service baggage drop located at Row D in the check-in hall. At outstation airports, proceed to the check-in counter for the cabin you have been accepted in.
If you encounter an error during online check-in, proceed to an Economy check-in desk to be added manually to the waitlist.
You must be checked in no later than 60 minutes prior to departure, or 120 minutes if you are traveling to the United States.
For non-revenue staff, boarding is prioritized based on boarding priority, not ticket type. Staff with higher priority will board first, even with Economy Class tickets, before ticket holders with business or First Class upgradability, even when Economy Class is full. To accommodate, a revenue passenger may be upgraded. Once all Etihad staff, family, and friends are boarded, priority for other airline staff will be sorted by their respective join date with their airline.
For standby business and first-class upgradability, your ticket will be issued in economy with a cabin upgrade code. You may choose to decline a seat in economy, but you must inform the check-in staff ahead of time. Otherwise, you will be assigned an economy seat if no other seats are available. Standby upgrades are subject to availability at flight closure. Airport staff and cabin crew are not permitted to accommodate guests in a higher class than ticketed. Access to business and first-class standby upgrades for staff is based on reciprocity agreements. The majority of EY's 200+ partners have access to standby business class bookings. However, if the option is unavailable in MyID, it means your airline has chosen not to reciprocate. Please contact your staff travel department to express interest in establishing a premium cabin reciprocity agreement with EY.
Pending paid or mileage upgrades are not visible to ZED or staff travelers. These can be processed anytime between 24 hours before departure and gate closure.
Fully unused tickets will be processed automatically by myIDTravel system. For partial refunds please email [email protected]. If you are downgraded from Business to Economy class please send copy of b/pass to [email protected] for processing. Partial and Downgrade refunds are processed manually and may take some time. A ticket can be refunded within ticket validity, which is one year from date of issuance.
Wheelchairs
Wheelchair is acceptable but no other special requests can be accepted.
Special meals
Not applicable for standby staff.
Seat requests
Not applicable for staff guests.
Infant safety seats
Not applicable to interline staff guests.
EY flights series 1000-8000
API data is entered into PNRs to avoid last minute data-collection at check-in.
Travelling staff/family should ensure that they hold valid passport and relevant visas for their intended destination and/or scheduled point en route, in case off-loading becomes necessary. In the absence of valid passport / visa staff passengers may be denied boarding.
+971 2 511 2233
etihad.ae
Download the StaffTraveler app to get accurate, reliable seat availability for Etihad Airways flights.
Please note that this form is not intended to ask staff travel related questions.
Only use this form to add Etihad Airways tips & notes to the StaffTraveler Airline Notes database.
Questions submitted through this form cannot be answered, as StaffTraveler is not associated with Etihad Airways.
Making staff travel easy and stress-free, like it should be!
