Well, lucky I was on may way here. From Lisbon to Frankfurt I flew on the cockpit, on TAP Portugal. And from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne, on Etihad, I was upgraded. And to add to it, didn't paid excess baggage. But in my case I worked for an airline (Air Transat) and have family and friends working in TAP Portugal, and one of them knows people in Etihad. And I can tell you, flying 14 hours lying down is completely another thing.
Cheers
Lusair