[weatherbain]

So after several years of cost cutting to the point where Etihad has become a degraded to standards similar to many budget airlines, they have now stooped to their latest low- they will start charging customers around $30 to select a seat in economy!!! This is what cheap budget airlines do because they have cheap flights. Etihad flights are not cheap, in fact if you fly from Abu Dhabi to anywhere, they are perhaps the most expensive of all airlines- yet you must now pay extra to select a seat!!! What an absolute disgrace and further evidence of their hunger for money. Don't believe the crap that they are losing money, this is not true. They are making more than enough profit and are funded by the rich UAE government, so there is absolutely no reason to introduce these extra charges. After all the complaints on Etihad (I see that they are most complained about airline in the world), how do they have the face to make these extra charges? Welcome to the world's new budget airline from the UAE- Etihad Budget ("budget" only in terms of services, not price!!!). Shame on you Etihad!