Etihad and other airlines occasionally substitute their services with other airlines under a wet lease, which often creates headaches for travelers.
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You can access Etihad here.
We have had several readers contacting us over the couple of days, as Etihad must have been quite late informing passengers that it will use Hi Fly to operate one of their Abu Dhabi – Jakarta rotations.
Etihad’s Email:
The Hi Fly product is significantly different, but Etihad tries to downplay it.
You won’t have in-flight entertainment unless you use your own device, and there won’t be any internet connectivity.
Only the morning rotation is operated by Hi Fly. The second daily flight is still operated by Etihad’s own plane, crew, and service concept.
Note that this doesn’t count as a cancellation under European Union Air Passenger Rights EC 261/2004 for those starting their trip in the EU/EEA, but Hi Fly is a community carrier based in Lisbon (I have actually walked by their office once).
This is basically déjà vu to what happened earlier this year, when Etihad switched its Lisbon flight to be operated by Hi Fly, and weren’t first offering anything to very displeased passengers.
Reader Question: Etihad Flight Switched To Operated By Hi Fly – Any Rights?
Soon, however, they decided to offer flexibility, including a complete refund or rebooking to service in nearby cities, and I don’t quite get why Etihad is not doing the same here.
Etihad Issues Travel Waiver for HiFly Operated Abu Dhabi – Lisbon Flights – Act by February 28, 2026
Conclusion
Etihad switches this flight to be operated by Hi Fly in a week, and they are only now informing affected passengers, when they must have known about this substitution for months.
Not good.
This is a significant downgrade for passengers in both economy and business class, because Hi Fly simply cannot offer a similar level of service than Etihad, and they aren’t even trying to hide it.
I flew on a South African Airways flight earlier this year from Johannesburg to São Paulo, operated by this Portuguese wet-lease shop, Hi Fly.
The equipment was old, but business loads were light, so the bad seating arrangement wasn’t an issue. There was at least one flight attendant on board from South African Airways, and the rest were from Hi Fly.
I hope Etihad would come to the same conclusion as earlier this year and offer passengers the flexibility to at least rebook without fees on the other Etihad-operated daily rotation to Jakarta.