Etihad Airlines - Review
 

Hi

Just got back yesterday from validation trip so thought I'd share our experiences with Etihad.

Last year we flew economy with Etihad from Dublin to Melbourne via a 2 hour stopover in Abu Dhabi in bulkhead seats. We had planned to take our 20 month old with us but left her behind due to swine flu concerns at the time. The first flight was about 8 hours and the second about 13 hours. Overall it went fine; nothing stood out as exceptionally good or bad. The service was normal, the staff friendly, the food edible and the flights all went on time.

In terms of service I'd put them above average in my experience for long haul flights. I flew to Shanghai as well last year with KLM and found them to be functional but not overly friendly or approachable. They gave out to a few passengers for making too much of a 'mess'. This is perfectly normal Dutch customer service in my experience (lived in Holland for 6 years). Etihad are also more pleasant/tolerant than BA and JAL, the only other long haul carriers I've travelled with.

The seats were as comfortable as normal economy seats and the inflight entertainment center had plenty of new and old movies to choose from and the food was as good as I've had in economy, plentiful with plenty of snacks available in the galley. Abu Dhabi seemed small but modern from what I can remember. The food hall was clean with plenty of choice. We flew out from the same terminal we arrived at so didn't see much else of the airport. Over 20hrs sat in a plane in a 24hr period is tough, especially when you can't sleep. A week later we did the return trip.

Overall I'd put them above average in all categories.

As we had bulkhead seats during that trip we got a look at their business class through the curtain. I've flown business class a lot during the late 90's to Japan and the US with work and never considered it worth the premium paid. You got a bigger seat, more recline, better food, lounge access, better service etc.. but it was never worth the money (unless the company was paying of course :thumbup: ). Things must have changed a lot since then.

Etihad business class looked very comfortable. Seats that turned into a fully horizontal 6 foot go-flat bed had to be investigated. I always thought the bed option was only reserved for first class. So for our 3 week validation trip to Sydney, and after lots of research, we decided to spend the money and upgrade. Lots of reasons for this, wife is 6 months preggers, risk of DVT, hyperactive toddler, never had honeymoon, my bad knees/back, any other excuse I could think off etc...

It was worth it. :thumbsup:

For us it was all about the seat/bed. They certainly hype it up on their website but for me it lived up to the hype. It really does go fully flat, has adjustable lumbar support and built in massage function. I actually managed to get a few hours sleep, a first for me on a plane. Theres a big screen for movies and games and the food was excellent for a plane. You could order anything you wanted from the menu, any time you wanted.

You also got lounge access which is nice. Abu Dhabi have the nicest business class lounge area I've ever been in. They have a complementary spa with a range of massage treatments (very nice after a 14 hour flight) .They have a family room for the kids with a child minder so you can leave them there while you have a massage, and the normal free booze, food (pretty good) and computer terminals.

One important point for people travelling with small kids, you won't get your buggy at the gate if transferring to another flight anymore. They have bought in 1000's of buggies (we were told at check in) which you can use. I saw 4 in total.

It was very expensive. Our situation warranted spending the money this time and I'm glad we did. I took a stroll back through economy towards the end of the 14 hour Sydney/Abu Dhabi leg and it was very depressing. Tired, haggard looking people packed in like sardines with the prospect of a short stopover before they do it all again on another plane. This is were we would normally sit and it'll be difficult to go back to it.

Very pleased with Etihad.

Cheers

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

Thanks for that...we're currently debating if it's worth spending the extra for business class with Emirate, our favourite airline...keep your fingers crossed thata we get a lottery win between now & then :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

I'd like to see more flight reviews on be. Expats tend to be a mobile lot between home and the uk and it's very helpful for others to see the choices available and the experiences of different airlines.

Well done.

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

Flying cattle class I would recommend Etihad, especially booking seat online.....

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

If you ever get the chance to fly business with Emirates, I would highly recommend it. We were fortunate enough last year to get an upgrade from Dubai to Brisbane (14 hours) and it was fantastic.
We weren’t sure whether an upgrade would include the complimentary limousine service, but it did, so we were chauffered to the airport in Dubai and met again n Brisbane and driven home. Our only complaint was that it was a night flight, therefore slept most of the way. Would have liked a few more hours to play around with the IFE, but having said that the flat beds were great

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

Are Emirates seats completely flat now, as in 180 degrees? I have never used them so far because I thought they had those angled, almost flat beds.

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

They have a variety of different business seats....some seemingly pretty awful and others decent lie-flats - you'll know what type of product is scheduled on a particular route but of course there can always be last minute equipment changes.

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

Husband and I flew cattle class with Etihad to Sydney and weren't especially impressed. Staff were rude, food was poor, the ambient lighting drove us nuts (they keep changing it all different colours every few hours) and by the time we got to London on the way back, 3 out of the 4 loos were blocked up and out of use (I won't even start with the smell). There was also a poor girl who was violently ill all over herself, her neighbour and the side of the plane. They did give her something to change into but left her and her somewhat horrified neighbour more or less sitting in the vomit all the way back to London.

On the other hand my very hard to please mother flew with them last year on the same route and thought they were the bees knees so like any airline I guess you'll get good and bad flights. I won't be going with them again though.

Abu Dhabi airport was crap too. I know it was 2am local time but people were surly, took ages to find anything, badly laid out etc. We ended up sleeping on the floor for want of anything else to do...

Tx

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

Should have mentioned also that they definitley don't allow people to swap seats between business and economy. A women flying business class opposite me tried to swap with her teenage son flying economy so they could both get some decent sleep. They made no attempt to disguise what they were doing and when the staff caught them they made it clear it wasn't allowed.

Re: Etihad Airlines - Review
 

Emirates 777 BC is not great compared to Qantas A380, Singapore or Qatar. I would never pay to fly them again in BC. As a freebee its fine, but for money not by choice.

Their economy product on 777's is bad either as they cram 10 across, rather than 9 in most others.

The Emirates A380 product BC and economy is a better if you can get it.