Maldives: €1,624 Etihad Airways Business Class from Copenhagen (Long Inbound Layover)

Gulf carrier Etihad Airways currently offers a decent price for business class travel to the Maldives. With departure from Copenhagen, you can reach the islands in the Indian Ocean for as little as €1,624 (~DKK 12,113). A change of planes in Abu Dhabi is necessary in both directions. During the inbound, you need to stay around 15 hours in Abu Dhabi to get the lowest price.

Our availability calendar highlights all possible flight dates at the lowest price for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you to Skyscanner with your selected flight dates. There you can check what OTAs have to offer, as they sell these tickets up to €60 cheaper than Etihad on its website.

Eithad uses Boeing 787-9 aircraft on each of these flights, equipped with lie-flat-seats in a 1-2-1 seating pattern. You can find our review of the product here.

Search & Book

According to the fare rules, these flights are on sale until June 30, 2024 for trips between July and November. A generous stay of only 2 days is necessary to get the cheapest tickets. You may not stay longer than four months on the islands.

Google Flights helps you find additional flight dates. While online travel agencies on Skyscanner sell the cheapest tickets, we recommend booking directly on Etihad’s website. We were not able to get the best prices directly on the website, except when using Google Flights’ redirect links. These are available at the last step of the flight selection.

Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?

More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:

Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.

If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.

This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.

Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.

This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.

Miles & Points

Etihad issues all tickets in booking class Z, allowing you to earn the following miles and points:

Destination

Most EU citizens qualify for visa-on-arrival at Male airport, which is free for touristic stay up to 30 days.

The Maldives are famous for their paradise like luxury resorts. We currently have two recommendations when travelling to the islands:

Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives : 4-for-3 Rate for €428/Night incl. Breakfast, $100 Credit & More

Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa: 4-for-3 Rate for €722/Night incl. Breakfast, $100 Credit & More (excl. €554pp Transfer)