It depends on the UK airport. As Etihad only fly into London or Manchester, they aren't the cheapest if someone wants to fly from Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol ...etc
I always try to fly from Birmingham as flying from London adds another £150 at least to the overall cost of my journey (things like, parking, hotels, fuel in my car, time, or taxi fares). Therefore, if an Emirates or KLM flight out of Birmingham is £50 more than Etihad out of London, the net effect is that Emirates are £100 cheaper for me, plus I have 2 hours less travelling each way to the airport.