Today’s reader review is about Etihad B787-9 and B787-10 Business class review from Reader Jason. You can read his JAL business class review here. 

Etihad B787-9 Business class review Bangkok to Amsterdam

• Departure 20:35 
• Bangkok – Phuket – Abu Dhabi
• Seat  6K        
• Aircraft: B787-9

Check-in

I used the Etihad.com verification service to upload my PCR test result, vaccination certificate, and Netherlands Health Declaration and within three or four hours I received an email that the documents had been approved and I could now obtain my boarding pass and according to the email go straight to my gate (I was travelling with hand baggage only).  However, the security staff at BKK insisted I obtain a paper boarding pass so I had to visit the airport check-in desk anyway.  This was quick and painless enough and I was issued with paper boarding passes for both segments as well as an invitation to the Miracle Lounge.  I was able to use the Fast Track security and immigration control point which was empty and through to a once bustling, now empty departures concourse. 

Lounge

Etihad uses the Miracle Lounge at BKK.  I had fairly low expectations however the lounge was very pleasant.  The décor was very aesthetically pleasing and the lounge was roomy, light and modern with ample seating and plenty of charging points.  All food and beverage items were help yourself.  There was a wide selection of hot and cold options as well as beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks.  I stuck to coffee and there were three very good coffee machines in the lounge. 

The wifi I’d been given a code for by the lounge staff worked well and there were quite a few charging points.  I wasn’t expecting anything to eat on the Bangkok to Phuket sector and planned on sleeping on the flight to Abu Dhabi so had some pork loin with pepper sauce and salads.

Boarding

I arrived at the gate where boarding commenced on time 30min ahead of departure.  Etihad boards by zone and there was a fairly light load boarding the flight in BKK.

I was greeted at the door of the aircraft by very friendly cabin crew and directed to my seat, 6K.  I was immediately impressed by the stunning cabin, the colours, and the lighting.  I had not flown this kind of configuration before.  The seats stagger closer to the window and aisle with the closer to the aisle seats facing rearwards and the true window seats facing forwards.  Centre seats also alternate between forwards and rearwards facing.  I took my seat and was immediately impressed with my personal space and a bottle of water, headphones, blanket and water were already at the seat.  It was definitely the lowest to the floor seat I had ever experienced on an aircraft although I was happy to see a large footwell as so many these days have tiny cubby holes.

Not all seats are equal, however.  The reverse facing window seats are not only closer to the aisle, they also have noticeably less personal space.  The ‘true’ window forward-facing seats are definitely the way to go.

There was only a handful of passengers on the short hour hop to Phuket.  The cabin manager and crew member serving my aisle both came to introduce themselves and they both seemed really genuine in their welcome instead of the often robotic ‘welcome mr xxx my name is xxx it is a pleasure to have you onboard today’.

A choice of Lemon and mint, OJ or water were brought around (no fizz on the ground), washbags were distributed (although earplugs were not included but were provided when asked) as well as a very comprehensive ‘wellness kit’ of a small bottle of hand sanitizer, wipes and two masks.

During boarding I was asked if I would like the light meal served on the BKK-HKT sector and I was pleasantly surprised they were serving anything apart from a drink and perhaps some nuts.  The crew member explained it was just some cold snacks and as I wasn’t eating on the longer flight I though why not. 

The door was closed and we pushed back on time.  During the short hop to Phuket the light meal was served which was some very tasty canapes.

We landed in Phuket and although the cockpit crew had a change the same cabin crew were continuing to Abu Dhabi.

Boarding of Phuket passengers began and the flight completely filled up.  Menus were then distributed and having a quick flick through the catering cost-cutting rumours seemed true.  Meals are just a one-tray affair now with a ‘starter’ (which is really a small side if anything), main and dessert are all served together.  The only choice available is for the main.  Meal and drink orders were taken and I just opted for a glass of wine with some nuts after take off.

We were again airborne and my wine and nuts were delivered and I was so tired I cannot even remember preparing my bed.

I woke up around 2am UAE time by the captain’s announcement that we would be landing in around 45mins.  One of the crew immediately approached me and asked if she could get me anything to drink and I opted for a coffee.  Not that I was interested (I had four hours in the lounge approaching) there was no breakfast on offer or even a simple pastry or some fruit which I thought was a little weak if someone had not had dinner and fancied something light before disembarking.

It was a nice flight, I loved the seat and cabin and the friendliness and genuineness of the crew was a highlight.  I find crew on Asian and Middle Eastern carriers can be extremely polite and professional but sometimes it feels a little forced or rehearsed.  These guys genuinely seemed to be really genuine in their approach.

Transit and Lounge

I passed through the transit security check point and followed the signs for the Business Class lounge.  Upon entering the lounge I was impressed by the space and how serene and quiet it was.  What was not impressive was the lack of food.  The food areas were all empty and when I enquired was advised that breakfast doesn’t start until 04:30, an hour and a half later.  So that’s fine, but surely there can be some snacks or light bites on offer beforehand.  There was absolutely nothing.  I thought this a weak point because in cases like mine, I’d elected not to eat onboard the flight so I could sleep instead and assumed there would be some kind of food offering available in the lounge.  Wrong! 

When the breakfast did commence it was a reasonable offering, nothing special.  The food was served from a buffet by staff members.  I was a little disappointed by the lack of traditional middle eastern items like foul medames and labneh etc.  The focus was more on the usual scrambled eggs, sausages etc.

Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam  Seat: 10A    B787-10  Departure time 08:10

Boarding for the AMS flight was via buses and a remote stand.  Annoying for most, a joy for the avgeek!  This was my first time travelling on the B787-10 variant although it seemed very similar to the -9.

I was again welcomed onboard by a very friendly crew and once at my window seat was welcomed by both the cabin manager and the crew member serving my aisle.  Either Etihad trains their crew very well or I got very lucky.  All the crew I interacted with over the two flights were a ten out of ten.

I’d again selected one of the forward-facing window seats although further towards the back of the cabin this time (have to get those engine pix!).  Flicking through the menu breakfast was the main meal.  Not surprising for a flight departing at 08:05.  Meal and drink orders were taken on the ground and I was asked when I would like to eat.  Dine on demand was suspended during the pandemic but seems to have made a comeback.  I placed my order for the Arabic breakfast and enjoyed one of the lemon and mint mocktails on the ground.  Fizz was available pre-departure from AUH also.

We again had a bang on time pushback and there was some interesting plane spotting during the taxi to the runway including a Qantas A380, two Air Fiji A330’s a LATAM 777 and a South African Airways A320.  We were in the air minutes later.

Breakfast was served and it was fine.  It’s all a one-tray affair and the only choice you make is for the main dish.  The starters were some fruit and yoghurt.  The cost-cutting in catering are evident.  There are no premium offerings onboard such as some smoked salmon etc and the starter could not really be called a starter.  It’s a tiny side dish.  Although nearly all airlines modified their service during the pandemic most have now returned to at least a near-normal offering.  Some cheeky airlines are still using COVID as an excuse for their ‘reduced’ catering however.

Being a day flight I checked out the inflight entertainment.  There is a huge choice of movies, TV even live TV available.  Wifi is also available with packages ranging from a message only service for $1.99 per flight through to wifi by the hour or 24 hours for $24.99.  I couldn’t see in the price plan if the 24hr packages allowed you to continue use on a connecting flight though.

Before landing in Amsterdam there were a choice of light bites available – a steak sandwich or a quiche.  I had the steak sandwich which was served with a bag of crisps and have to say the sandwich was excellent.

Before landing the cabin manager again approached me and asked how my flight was, thanked me and wished me a happy new year and shortly afterwards we were on stand.

Verdict

I really enjoyed my flights.  Etihad has beautiful cabins and great seats although I would avoid the reverse facing window seats and opt for a forward-facing one instead.  I found the friendliness of the crew a highlight and they managed the fine line between being friendly and professional but also genuine and relaxed. 

The catering was an area that definitely needs improvement.  There is little choice, the justification to serve everything at once ‘cos of COVID’ isn’t really on.  Starters are tiny – a little side dish.  Mains are fine.  There is no choice of dessert or cheese.  It’s just one standard dessert and that’s it.  The fact that Etihad operates from a 24/7 hub at AUH should also be reflected in the offerings of their flagship lounge.  Hopefully, these aspects will be improved once business picks up again.

You can read Gus’s review of his recent Etihad flight here and the lounges here. 

The post READER REVIEW: Etihad B787-9 and B787-10 Business class review Bangkok to Amsterdam appeared first on Turning left for less.

Today’s review is by regular contributor Gus. Next week we will also take a look at another reader’s experience with Etihad recently. If you’d like to write a reader review for TLFL please email admin@ turningleftforless.com.

You can read part 1 of the review – flights – here.

Outbound – LHR T3’s No 1 Lounge

Heathrow’s Terminal 3. Normally a OneWorld lounge-hopping paradise, but for me a few weeks ago it was a trip to the No 1 Lounge, thanks to a business class flight with Etihad out to Abu Dhabi (see here for review of that flight).

I actually also popped into the American Express Centurion lounge (thanks to my Platinum card), but that closes at 6pm, so the bulk of my pre-flight lounging needed to be at the aforesaid No 1 Lounge.

Busy but friendly

Truth be told, my expectations weren’t that high for the No 1 Lounge. In reality, while I wasn’t bowled over, I was pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed the hour or so I had there. Reception was swift and friendly, and although the lounge was fairly crowded – probably thanks to the normal £40 charge for any random walk-ins – the staff were visible and active, and there was a relaxed vibe about the place.

I suppose it helped that as business class passengers we were given vouchers for a glass of complimentary house champers (Baron de Marque). However, it didn’t help that the ‘Travel Spa’ (including showers) was roped off, as well as a small cinema room.

Food and drink

Food was fairly basic (a three bean chilli, a chicken curry, naan bread and rice), but it filled a hole and was swiftly replaced when needed.

Being an early-evening flight, the fully-stocked bar was busy throughout my stay, and had all the usuals and favourites. Champagne is at an extra charge after the first glass or for non-Etihad customers. 

Arrival in AUH

On arrival in Abu Dhabi, and much like on Qatar Airways, business class passengers were bussed first to the terminal (in a decent set of bus-wheels), for the then-obligatory PCR test. (As of 26 February 2022, you no longer need a test before you fly to Abu Dhabi if you are fully vaccinated).

For the record, the test was swift, simple and smooth – and over in mere moments. And the formal Etihad Arrival lounge was a welcome pit-stop in the journey, with the usual complimentary drinks station, delivered via an under-worked and attentive team of lounge stewards.

Seating was spacious and comfortable, and as very few from the flight seemed to be using it, it was an oasis of calm before heading out into the city for the rest of the in-bound trip.

Heading back to London

After a fun few days in the Emirate – including a trip over the border to the Dubai Expo and the wider city, and a lovely stay at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel – it was time to head back to Abu Dhabi airport for the return leg.

Etihad business lounge

Abu Dhabi is Etihad’s home airport, but I’m sorry to say that despite this their business class lounge was really lacking.

Business centre

It was pretty large in floorplan, with ample seating spread over several differently-zoned areas, but the seating was not particularly relaxing or comfortable, and it all felt a little mundane.

To be fair it could have been the lateness of the flight (it was in the early hours), but despite the space being spotless and well-staffed, it felt a little soulless. Even the food and drinks offerings were uninspiring.

There was a children’s play area (clinical and tidy, and empty), and a first-class zone roped off (occupied but didn’t look too much better), plus a spacious (but again, dispiriting) business centre area.

Happily, things improved when onboard, as Etihad has a solid hard product and onboard soft experience, but for a flagship home market lounge, it left something to be desired.

The post REVIEW: Etihad business class review part 2 – lounges at Heathrow T3 and Abu Dhabi – arrival and departure lounges appeared first on Turning left for less.

I will shortly be publishing a series of reviews of Etihad business class, but in the meantime, we can take a look at their latest business class product. 

Yesterday a special flight to launch Etihad’s new A350 took flight between Abu Dhabi and Paris. The airline has been trying to keep its new business class seats quiet although inevitably there have been a few leaks. Etihad’s business class seats have been of a good standard for many years, but the new seats take things one step further with the addition of a door. The A350, like British Airways, does not feature a first class cabin. It’s such a shame that Etihad is no longer flying their A380s at the moment as it arguably had one of the best first class products in the work with the First Class Apartments.

New A350 interiors

The new aircraft features Etihad’s newest cabin interior which is inspired by Abu Dhabi and is both more efficient and sustainable in design. 

Etihad’s signature lighting design is inspired by the shadows cast by Abu Dhabi’s palm trees. The cabin lighting emulates natural ambient light and is designed to provide an optimum environment for sleeping and reduce the effects of jetlag. The Airbus A350 also offers the quietest cabin experience for a wide-body aircraft which I did not know before I saw the press release! This could be why it’s my favourite modern aircraft!

Another feature to help reduce light pollution, and therefore jetlag, is the new dark-mode interface on the E-BOX inflight entertainment system. I’d assume this is laos to reduce the amount of blue light which can interfere sleep. Mobile and Wi-Fi connectivity is also available throughout the aircraft.

Etihad’s ‘Little VIP’ younger guests will enjoy the newly launched Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi themed family-friendly flying experience and a special feature on this aircraft is the new interactive flight map feature which means children can explore the maps with the help of some Jurassic-age friends.

Business class – new Business Studio

The new Business class is home to 44 Business Studios with sliding doors that provide a high level of privacy to each suite. Every seat faces forward with direct aisle access. The Business class seat, with a width of over 20”, converts into a fully-flat bed of 79” in length, and features ample storage for convenience. These are the same Super Diamond seats that the new British Airways Club Suites on their A350s are built on. 

There are noise-cancelling headphones and an 18.5” TV touchscreen to allow passengers to enjoy Etihad’s extensive inflight entertainment offering. The Business seats also feature a built-in wireless charging dock and Bluetooth headphone pairing. I’ve not seen that combination before in business class and its definitely very welcome. Although I am yet to find a phone case that allows me to properly charge wirelessly and be practical. I love the headphone pairing idea though! The wireless charger is situated next to the TV screen.

The storage is almost identical to the storage on BA’s Club Suite with a large and small bin set into the space next to the seat. There’s also a side storage bin and room under the footstool for more. The only difference I can see is that there is no headset cupboard but there is a hook to hang your headphones on by the individual lamp. 

Centre seats have the option of a divider that can be removed or installed between the seats. The large table has a built-in book holder too. 

You’ll notice that there are no overhead bins in the centre which adds to a feeling of space. However, from a practical point of view it means the window seats get extra traffic to their bins which can cause a bit of disturbance if you get one of those annoying people that seems to get up every 5 minutes to get something from their bag!

You can explore the cabin in 3D here. 

Business class guests can choose from an à la carte menu, and guests on longer flights can enjoy Etihad’s signature ‘dine anytime’ service. You also get an Acqua Di Palma amenity kit.

The airline’s new A350-1000s will be deployed on a number of short to mid-range routes in Q2, including Mumbai and Delhi, before being introduced on ultra-long-haul operations to Chicago and New York from July.

Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The Airbus A350 is an absolutely incredible aircraft, and we are proud to introduce it into the Etihad Airways network today. Our teams have worked closely together to craft a product and travel proposition that will ensure every journey with Etihad is a choice well made – both for our guests and for the planet. With highly efficient fuel consumption and CO2 savings, the A350 will support our goals to reduce carbon emissions and deliver an unmatched flight experience for our guests.”

The post NEWS: Etihad Airways launches their new A350 with new business class with suites appeared first on Turning left for less.

Etihad are fast becoming the Qatar of special offers with a new one every few weeks. This is probably due to the fact that Etihad have been struggling financially recently. They have cut things like chauffeurs, the London lounge spa, free chauffeurs outside the UAE and now the ‘Shave and Style’ barbers and beauty salon has closed too in the First Lounge at Abu Dhabi. The business class luggage allowance has also shrunk from 2 x 23kg per person to 40kg total.

However, they are still a good airline in my option. Although the service was very slow on my flight, the seat, food and lounge were all excellent. Judging by people in other seats, I just drew the short straw in terms of cabin crew. You can read my A380 Business class studio review here.

Although you can’t earn Avios and BA tier points on Etihad like you can on Qatar, Etihad has one of the best business class seats. They are also an Amex Membership reward partner so you could top up any miles earned with Amex points.

The new Business Class Studio

The new Business Studios are available only on the A380 and 787 Dreamliners at the moment. Fortunately, the London to Abu Dhabi route currently has the A380. The rest of Etihad’s fleet offer their older business class which still has fully flat beds.

The Business Class Studio features a 22-inch wide seat that converts into a fully-flat bed of up to 6 feet and 8 inches. Each seat has direct aisle access, unlike British Airways.

All business class seats provide:

• • mood lighting providing a relaxed ambience throughout the flight
  • in-seat massage function and personal lighting, controlled at the touch of a button
  • a turn-down service including a mattress, luxury loungewear and slippers on ultra long-haul flights
  • noise-cancelling headsets.
  • range of connection ports and mobile or Wi-Fi connectivity on board for selected flights.
  • 18.5-inch touch-screen TV (Business Studio)
  • 15.4-inch touch-screen TV (Business Flatbed)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6E9BdY0qK0

If you are reading via email you can view the Business Class Studio video here

The sale

The sale is on for flights departing London, Edinburgh and Manchester. The prices can vary by several hundred pounds between airports so it is well worth looking at all the departure points. Even factoring in the price of a connecting flight it could well be worth starting from a cheaper airport. The price to Singapore is excellent from the UK and well worth a quick positioning flight.

You need to book by 11 February 2018 for travel starting by until 30 September 2018 and completed by 15 October 2018.

The best fares are below and are from London unless otherwise stated:

• Abu Dhabi from £1,500
• Bangkok from £1,643 (Edinburgh)
• Kuala Lumpur from £1,640 (Edinburgh)
• Mumbai from £1,673
• Perth from £2,454 (Edinburgh)
• Singapore from £1,594 (Edinburgh)
• Sydney from £2,761 (Edinburgh)
• Tokyo from £1,953 (Edinburgh)

The sale page is here. 

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British Airways new Club World changes and routes

No sooner had I reviewed the new British Airways Club World service and sung its praises than the changes started happening. Some are as a result of customer feedback about the length of time it takes to do the service, some appear cost cutting.

There will still be a personal welcome by your designated cabin crew member but they are now going back to serving the pre-departure drinks from a tray which I have no issue with. They will then speed up the meal service by taking a combined drinks and meal order and delivering your tray with the second round of drinks. There will also be an express meal option with a cold starter and dessert served together which seems like a good idea if you want to sleep or work rather than have a leisurely meal! The table linen and menu will change colour to match the bedding which I welcome as the brownish colour doesn’t seem very premium to me. Personally, I don’t know why they don’t just go with white as that always looks smart and is probably cheaper.

Then come the cutbacks… The lovely little salt and pepper pots will be replaced by sachets of salt and pepper. This to me screams cheap and nasty, even American have proper salt and pepper for goodness sake! The olive oil will be ‘on request’ which is annoying but I can live with and on all routes except JFK the bread will only have 2 types of bread in your little basket. Again, not very bothered by that. Very sadly, the day cushion is going too – I would have removed the day blankets as I don’t see the point of them.

The new bedding will now be rolled out to 13 new destinations in the US and Middle East over the next few weeks. These routes are: London City to New York JFK, Heathrow to Atlanta, Dallas, Dubai, Washington, Houston, Kuwait, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Riyadh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose.

You can read my 3 reviews of the New Club world service, food and bedding here.

BA Qatar lease update

Between writing the article and it appearing on the blog yesterday it appears that BA did a u-turn and retracted its application to the CAA for the Qatar aircraft. However, it has been formally confirmed by BA that they will be leasing Titan aircraft to cover the Gatwick Monarch slots which leads me onto…..

BA Gatwick changes

British Airways recently bought failed airline Monarch’s slots at Gatwick giving them an additional 150 flights a week this summer. This will be the airline’s biggest schedule in almost a 10 years. To cope with all the extra flights BA say “A small number of flights will be operated by Titan Airways on behalf of British Airways”. The schedules are currently showing Titan’s A320s being used for some of the Menorca and Gibraltar flights. The A320s have an “in-flight entertainment system, enabling passengers to stream content, including movies, games and magazines, from an onboard server to their own Portable Electronic Devices.” There are two possible A320 aircraft with a 3-3 configuration, one with 180 seats and one with 168.

UPDATE: The routes that Titan will be used on between late May and late September are confirmed as:

London Gatwick – Bari
London Gatwick – Dalaman
London Gatwick – Dubrovnik
London Gatwick – Faro
London Gatwick – Funchal
London Gatwick – Lanzarote
London Gatwick – Larnaca
London Gatwick – Malaga
London Gatwick – Paphos
London Gatwick – Rhodes
London Gatwick – Tenerife South
London Gatwick – Thessaloniki

They have also been using a few CityFlyer aircraft from Gatwick recently and the A319s and Sharklet fitted A320s are due to move to Gatwick when the A320neos arrive later this year.

The slots will be used for weekly flight numbers to increase as follows:

• Malaga will be boosted from 27 to 35
• Alicante from 14 to 22 (short break guide here)
• Faro from 17 to 21
• Summer flights to Tenerife will increase from six per week to 13
• Madeira will be increased from six to nine per week
• Lanzarote will rise from three to five flights per week

In addition, they will be introducing some new routes to Gatwick that previously from Heathrow. Hopefully, this will lead to lower prices. Much as Gatwick is a pain to get to for me, the prices charged on Palma last year from Heathrow were so high I flew Easyjet from Gatwick (I mean, £400 in economy for a weekday flight not in school holidays?!). British Airways’ summer schedule runs between March 25 and October 27, 2018 and the 150 additional flights will be released for sale on BA.com gradually.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and CEO, said: “We are delighted to be able to further grow our presence at Gatwick by adding extra frequencies and improving our timetable. We are also introducing several new destinations to the Gatwick programme, including Palma (Majorca), Mahon (Menorca) and Gibraltar.  These exciting new routes give our customers even more choice of destinations at competitively low prices.

“Over the last five years our operation at Gatwick has seen 40 percent more customers travelling, with passenger numbers increasing from 4.4 million to 6.2 million. According to CAA figures, we are the most punctual of the three big short-haul carriers flying from London: at the 15-minute level and at Gatwick we outperformed easyJet’s punctuality by 13 percentage points and Ryanair’s by nine percentage points in 2017.”

BA has also added more than 40,000 further seats to the schedule for February and March. An additional 400 flights will operate between February 9 and March 24 which means there should be lower fares available even over the peak periods.

British Airways has already announced more long-haul destinations to Gatwick next summer with Toronto and Las Vegas which also operate from Heathrow.

British Airways’ January Sale is still on until midnight on January 30, so it may be worth a look at some Gatwick flights. This also means there are likely to be more Avios seats available too.

If you want more information about flying from Gatwick on BA you can read my BA Gatwick lounge reviews here and my Gatwick flight reviews here.

Save an extra £100 on BA holidays in the sale

British Airways is also offering additional savings on holidays in the sale.

• £25 extra discount on Flight + Car holidays to any destination for bookings with a minimum spend of £600.
• £50 extra discount on flight + hotel/car holidays to any destination for bookings with a minimum spend of £1,250 per booking.
• £100 extra discount on flight + hotel/car holidays to any destination for bookings with a minimum spend of £2,500 per booking.

The offer ends Tuesday 9 January. You should be able to combine this with the Quidco offer I talked about here for 4.5% cashback.

You can find the BA sale page here.

Etihad sale

I recently flew on Etihad in their A380 business class studio. there were some issues with the speed of service but the lounges, seats and food/drinks on board were all excellent. You can read my full review of the Business Class Studio here. Etihad have just launched another sale which whilst not fantastic has a few hidden gems and with the Business Class studio, may be worth considering.

The new Business Class Studio

The new Business Studios are available only on the A380 and B787 Dreamliners at the moment. Fortunately, the London to Abu Dhabi route currently has the A380. The rest of Etihad’s fleet offer their older business class which still has fully flat beds.

The Business Class Studio features a 22-inch wide seat that converts into a fully-flat bed of up to 6 feet and 8 inches. Each seat has direct aisle access, unlike British Airways.

All business class seats provide:

• • mood lighting providing a relaxed ambience throughout the flight
  • in-seat massage function and personal lighting, controlled at the touch of a button
  • a turn-down service including a mattress, luxury loungewear and slippers on ultra long-haul flights
  • noise-cancelling headsets.
  • range of connection ports and mobile or Wi-Fi connectivity on board for selected flights.
  • 18.5-inch touch-screen TV (Business Studio)
  • 15.4-inch touch-screen TV (Business Flatbed)

The sale

Etihad sale prices aren’t fantastic from the UK compared to an ex EU on Qatar or a Finnair to Asia. I do like the Singapore and Kuala Lumpur flights though as these are cheaper than most of the premium airlines but without the hassle of an ex EU.  Muscat is also reasonable. Prices vary between London, Manchester and Edinburgh so I have just included the cheapest option in each case.

• Abu Dhabi from £2193 (London)
• Bangkok from £1,843 (Manchester)
• Beijing from £2384 (London)
• Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City from £2,145 (London)
• Kuala Lumpur from £1,840 (Edinburgh)
• Mumbai from £1,873 (London)
• Muscat from £1,871 (Edinburgh)
• New Delhi from £1,862 (London)
• Perth from £2,754 (Edinburgh)
• Singapore from £1,794 (Edinburgh)

The Etihad sale page is here.

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I reviewed the Etihad First and Business class lounge at Heathrow yesterday. Etihad’s business class studio is often said to be one of the best business class products going, so what did I think? (Note: if you are reading by email you may need to click through to the website to see the slideshows).

Check-in and boarding

This really impressed me, as much as a check-in can. Although the Etihad business class check-in area isn’t very exciting, the service was superb. I was greeted with a smile and my luggage was lifted onto the belt for me. You don’t even get that with most first class flights on many airlines. There was certainly no evidence of cost cutting here. The agent explained where the lounge was and wished me a pleasant flight. You can read yesterday’s article about the Etihad Heathrow lounge here.

As you approached the gate there was some secondary screening going on but I was waved through. Despite leaving the lounge as soon as boarding was announced, they had already begun. The boarding seemed fairly orderly and I didn’t have to fight my way through a queue. The boarding for the upper deck was via a ramp. I glanced enviously at the First Apartments as I walked past but I knew I was going to experience them on the way home.

The seat

I was sitting in 14K, a window seat. Business class on the A380 is upstairs and fills the majority of the space along with first class. The seats are in a forward and backward unique 2-4-2 configuration. If you were travelling with someone you would need to get the middle pair to be able to talk to each other. The layout means that every seat has aisle access which was great.

My first impression of the seat was excellent. It had everything I would want in a business class seat – privacy, direct aisle access, plenty of space and lots of storage. I liked the feel of the cabin with the brown leather seats and the bright cushions on each seat. There was the right balance of sophistication along with a few unique touches to add a bit of wow factor.

The lights were my favourite design feature both at the seats and the ones of the ceiling with its fretwork look that cast patterned reflections. Despite this, there was no bling factor here!

There were no pillows as such, only the cushions which you could use as a pillow. At the seat, there were already noise cancelling headphones and a blanket. I was offered a glass of champagne or soft drink. The champagne (Piper Heidsieck) although not great, came in a lovely elegant glass and having the shelf to put it on made it feel like there was less chance of knocking it over compared to a table.

The seat is controlled by two methods. The first being the usual buttons which were underneath the side shelf (see above photo). The second was a far more modern handset which was much easier to use and control the settings more finely. You could control every aspect of the seat and I particularly liked the massage function which was fairly powerful at full tilt. You could control how firm (or not) you wanted your seat too. There was even a ‘do not disturb’ option from the handset! The lights were also controlled from here with lots of different options of ‘mood’ lighting.

The seat had a cubby hole for your feet which was under the TV. Unlike many business class seats, this wasn’t too narrow and I could reach it from my seat without having to recline. The footrest was well padded and I found the seat comfortable when reclining.

Storage

The overhead bins were quite small and I had to shove my bag quite hard to actually get it in. (I know I don’t do packing light but it wasn’t  that big – I promise!). Fortunately, there was a ton of storage space for the window seats. This is a big bonus for me as having just flown back on BA’s B777 I found the lack of storage space at the seat to be a major annoyance.

Next to the window were the storage bins you usually find on the A380 which you could fit quite a lot into.

There was a handy water bottle holder and above this was a hidden compartment for your headphones plus you could fit a couple of personal items in as well. A bottle of water was already sitting there ready for me. I liked the large side table which was perfect for your drinks and an iPad without having to get your main table out.

Privacy was also extremely good in the business class studio. From my seat I could only see the person across the aisle if I leant forward. If you wanted more privacy, the rear facing window seats would be even better but it is not so easy to look out of the window in those seats.

The window blinds were novel with electronic controls where you could have a transparent screen to keep out glare or a full opaque shade.

Amenities

Not a lot to write about in this section as you don’t get an amenity kit! From April this year as part of their cost-cutting, Etihad stopped amenity kits on daylight flights but they are still on the seats for evening flights. They do have socks, eyeshades etc on request though I didn’t bother. I thought this was pretty stingy. It doesn’t really create the image of a premium airline on a 7 hour flight.

Sleeping

After I had finally finished my meal, I was feeling slightly sleepy so I decided to have a quick snooze. The seat easily transforms into a large (up to 6’8″ long) bed. As I mentioned earlier there was a pillow/cushion which was reasonably comfortable but I would have preferred a proper pillow like you get on most airlines. The blanket was fantastic though and I was quite tempted to pop it into my carry-on! It was amazingly soft and fluffy on one side and the other one had a silky quilted texture like my favourite AA blankets. This gave you two options and it was also very lightweight and not too warm.

I found the bed very comfortable once it was flat with plenty of room and I happily dozed off for a while.

Onboard lounge/bar – The Lobby

The Lobby is Etihad’s onboard bar area but really it is more of a lounge. It is very different to the other onboard bars such as Virgin, Qatar and Emirates as it doesn’t really have a bar as such. I had a quick look at it but it felt a bit soulless. It wasn’t like a proper bar as it was a seating area with a few drinks set up at the side.

I think if you were travelling with friends or colleagues it would be a good place to sit and have a chat over a drink. The Lobby seats up to six guests and is fitted with seatbelts, power supply and connectivity ports. There is also a widescreen TV perfect for keeping up with live sporting events. Both business and first passengers can use the lounge and it is situated between the 2 cabins.

Food, drink and service

One of the food and beverage managers popped along to introduce himself to me at the start of the flight. I thought he looked very dapper in his smart white jacket. This brought back memories of many previous wonderful flights with Etihad and I smiled to myself at the prospect of another one just starting. Little did I know what was coming…

The menu looked interesting and as usual, it was ‘dine on demand’ meaning you could eat whenever you liked (in theory). I decided to eat at the start of the flight and then try to have a quick nap before arrival. There was a choice of two starters plus soup and then 4 mains including a vegetarian option.

It all started well when the crew member asked what I would like to drink after take off and took my food and drinks orders. I decided to go for a gin and tonic for a change since they had Caorunn small batch Scottish gin which I had never heard of. I really enjoyed this gin, it had a very smooth finish and a well-balanced blend of botanicals. I think I may have to buy some now! This was served with some mixed nuts in an elegant china bowl.

After my gin and tonic I sat and waited for my food to arrive. And waited and waited…… I watched as my fellow passenger opposite had both his starter, main and ordered his pudding as I sat there beginning to get ‘hangry’ and whatever the equivalent for lack of a glass of wine is? I could see the person in front of me had not got his food either. When eventually he got his and a further 10 minutes went past with nothing whilst across the aisle he finished his dessert, I decided to take action. I could count the number of times I have pressed the call button on aircraft on one hand and still have 3 fingers left! In these circumstances though, I was concerned I had been forgotten altogether. After a few minutes, the crew member appeared and without waiting for me to say anything said ‘your food is coming’ and walked off.

After a further 5 or so minutes my food eventually arrived. Given that I was having a cold starter and a glass of wine I could not understand how it was taking so long but at this point I was just glad to get something. I have to say this is the worst service I have had on any flight in business class that I can ever remember.

Fortunately, the tray was beautifully presented and had a very smart individual bread basket with warm bread (perhaps he was making it from scratch which is what took so long – he certainly had the time!). I had chosen the mezze even after my earlier buffet samples as I am something of a mezze fiend. It was a pretty big portion and even came with a mini Arabic bread. At least when I eventually got the food I wouldn’t go hungry. It all tasted and looked good too which is not easy with mezze. One of my favourite things about the food was the balsamic and olive oil in the little ceramic dish for dipping your warm bread into. Delicious!

I had chosen the Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc as I was sure I had heard of it. Despite being a little bit over Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at the moment, I really enjoyed this wine which retails about £15 (the winemaker was formally at Cloudy Bay). It wasn’t too overpowering like many others from this area. It had plenty of tropical fruit flavours but was well balanced with some citrus notes. Top ups of wine were pretty much non-existent but fortunately, I had chosen a different wine for each course so I didn’t have to sober up too much!

Next, I stuck with the Arabic theme and went for the Lamb Kabsa. The description was pretty vague and I had no idea what it was but I thought I would give it a go! It was a little like a lightly spiced biryani. I enjoyed the dish as it was well spiced and tender but I could have done with some more sauce. I had a glass of the Chateau Moulin Haut Laroque 2012 with it. This was a fairly average Bordeaux which retails around £15 a bottle but it was pleasant enough.

I would normally have gone for cheese but as they had a dessert wine I thought I would try the apple pie with the Nederberg Late Harvest Chenin blanc. The wine was a little sweet for me although it did have some acidity on the finish to balance it out. There was a fairly rich honey flavour to it which probably was the issue as I’m not a great honey fan. It was still a nice way to finish the meal though.

Unfortunately, the apple pie was not really a success. The pastry was very odd. It was quite stodgy and soft even though it looked like it would be crispy. I suspect storing it after cooking in cold storage is probably not the best recipe for success.

About 90 minutes before landing I was asked if I would like anything else. I decided to try a cappuccino for the novelty factor on a plane accompanied by some baklava. The cappuccino was pretty good and certainly better than the usual airline coffee. Fortunately, it didn’t take hours to arrive! I liked the sugar cubes rather than cheap packets of sugar.

Entertainment and wi-fi

This was a strong area for Etihad in terms of the TV screen. The definition was excellent and it felt like a very big screen at 18.5″.

You control the screen with a handheld touchscreen device that has a second independent screen if you wanted to have the flight path up for instance. The selection of new films could have been a bit wider in my opinion but that was about the only complaint I had. As well as 150 different movies there were also 7 live TV channels to watch and a scrolling news bar at the top of the screen. There were also a number of other features such as the camera to see outside the aircraft, music, box sets and games.

There was also Wi-Fi on the aircraft although after battling to connect for a while I gave up. There were three options from $4.95 for 30MB to $19.95 for 180MB. I did use it on the way home and it was a little bit slow but would be OK for emails and a post on Facebook to boast to your friends that you are at 30,000ft!

Arrival and chauffeur

We arrived on time and disembarked fairly quickly. There was a premium queue for immigration which was good and I was through in just a few minutes. Unfortunately, it then took forever to get my luggage. I think it was one of the very last bags to arrive on the belt. So much for the priority tagging! Luckily a few months ago I invested in a LugLoc Luggage Tracker  which stops me sweating over whether my bag was actually loaded in the first place! It sends you a text once you land to tell you where your bag is, so you know it will arrive at some point.

Although Etihad have stopped chauffeurs for almost all flights in business and first class, it is still available when arriving or departing Abu Dhabi even on miles tickets. I followed the signs to the Etihad chauffeur area and was impressed when they knew who I was when I entered. However, they didn’t say anything else so I sat down and waited and waited…… The lounge was very impressive though with a good selection of hot and cold drinks. Eventually, I went and asked what was happening. There were some puzzled looks and head-scratching but eventually they said my car was ready and to go outside. Once outside it was organised chaos but eventually, I got a car (Audi). The driver was very pleasant and helpful but his driving at times would have given Lewis Hamilton a run for his money! Still, I got to the hotel in one piece.

Conclusion and how I paid for the flight

I paid for the flight using a paid economy class ticket one way which I then upgraded with miles. There are various options for which economy ticket you buy and the more expensive ones need less in terms of miles. I paid £600 (prices started from £400 with more miles to upgrade) for the flight and then upgraded to business with miles.

In terms of the seat itself, this is definitely my favourite business class seat I have flown on to date. I suspect Qatar’s Qsuite may just usurp it with the extra privacy but having already sat in it, I would say that Etihad is equally impressive even without the doors to the suite. The other positives were the food and wine. The wines were equally a match for BA’s Club wines and in fact, I would say slightly better apart from the Champagne. I liked being able to have a glass of dessert wine and not just port. Everything was presented well and tasted good apart from the apple pie. Being able to eat when you wanted (assuming it wasn’t within the first 2.5 hours of the flight!) was a positive too.

The main area that let this flight down was obviously the service. The crew were generally polite and friendly but so sloooow… It was not what I expected from Etihad but unfortunately, this seems to be common at the moment. Whilst some passengers receive excellent service, others are getting very variable service. Despite this, I would still fly with them again as pretty much everything else was a really premium product and I actually preferred the seat to Qatar. Hopefully I would be luckier with the crew member next time.

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I began my business class flight to Abu Dhabi with Etihad in the lounge at Heathrow T4. I will be covering my business class flight to Abu Dhabi tomorrow. You can also check out my Etihad First apartment review back to Heathrow if you haven’t had time to read it yet.

Unfortunately, Etihad recently closed their Six Senses Spa at Heathrow which was a great shame. Although it wasn’t free for business class passengers I would have liked to have paid for a treatment if they were as good as the Abu Dhabi lounge treatments. Etihad have been in financial difficulties recently and been going through a serious of cutbacks, not unlike BA. So, would I notice any other evidence of penny-pinching on my journey?

Arrival

The lounge is for first and business class customers, so the overall standard was more of a First Class lounge than business. You can either take the spiral staircase down to the lounge or the lift. I checked in with the receptionist who was professional as well as giving me a warm greeting.

When I entered the lounge, it was still fairly quiet and I have never seen quite so many staff for this size of lounge. The lounge has two main areas, the restaurant and bar and then the main seating area.

The lounge

The decor of the lounge is in keeping with Etihad’s style and colour scheme. The lounge had a subdued colour platter with browns and creams. Although it was modern in style, it felt a little dull to me overall. There was a section with comfortable armchairs hairs and then by the buffet, there was a less comfortable seating area which felt a little cramped if you were trying to squeeze between the tables. The chairs were Parker Knowle type swivel chairs with low tables, so not ideal for eating. There were a few power points in the floor here but they probably could have done with a few more. Natural daylight kept it from being too gloomy but the views of the tarmac weren’t particularly inspiring being on ground level.

In the lounge area, I had a glass of Palmer and Co Rosé Reserve Champagne which retails at around £35 a bottle. I quite enjoyed this rosé although it was nothing special.

If you were travelling with children, there was a really nice children’s area with plenty of toys and games plus a TV to keep them amused.

Showers

As I had just arrived I didn’t need a shower, but I asked to see one of the cubicles. As you would expect they were modern and luxurious. I particularly liked the mosaic tiling with a slight sheen to it which brightened up the space. A full selection of toiletries including conditioner and body lotion were provided in large containers attached to the wall along with plenty of white fluffy towels.

The toilets!

I also popped into the toilets. It may be strange to say but the toilets had a bit of a wow factor and other than the lack of Aesop toiletries, rival the Cathay ones in T3. The patterned black pearlescent mosaic tiles gave it a feel of a fancy boutique hotel bathroom rather than an airport lounge. I am pretty sure that someone was going in after every customer as I have never seen quite such pristine public toilets anywhere, let alone in an airport. There were unbranded hand wash and hand lotion in large containers too. The whole area was spotless and the hand towels were arranged in a perfect pyramid which was obviously topped up every time someone went in.

Food and drink

I was planning on eating on board but of course, in the interest of research, I decided to go into the main dining area and try something. The menu was fairly limited, but it was good to see some smaller items as well as larger main courses.

I went for the chicken satay. I have to say it was a little disappointing flavour wise, but the chicken was moist, and it arrived quickly. I accompanied this with a glass of Lanson Champagne which was fine. The bar was set to one side of the dining area and I did not see a drinks list which was odd. It would have been good to have a list of what was available rather than having to listen to all the options when I asked.

I also sampled a couple of the middle eastern mezze items from the buffet and these were nicely presented and delicious. The buffet had a selection of individual portions of mezze, cheese and biscuits, fresh fruit, desserts, a couple of salads and a couple of hot items including a hot main course. There was also Arabic bread as well as a more traditional bread selection.  The main course was rosemary and garlic chicken with Parmentier potatoes and vegetables. I didn’t try it, but it looked tasty.

Next to the buffet were some wines to help yourself to. I always prefer this as you can have a look at what is on offer and try one or two before deciding. There was a choice of 3 red wines including a Bordeaux and 3 white. Apart from the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio, there was an interesting sounding South African Rhanleigh Chardonnay which I tried. This retails at about £8 a bottle and was very average. You could also help yourself to a selection of soft drinks and juices in this area.

I could have also sat at the bar but it had no natural light as you faced the wall. I didn’t find a drinks list anywhere but there was a wider selection of spirits for them to make pretty much any well-known cocktail. None of the spirits seemed very premium.

The staff were all pretty helpful and would instantly access if they could help you with something or get you a table if you wanted to go into the restaurant. It actually got the point of being a bit comical and as every time I made the slightest move one of the staff would approach me to see if they could help me! As I was trying to take photos and videos, it felt like they were getting in the way. This is not me complaining though, compared to the non-existent service you get in some lounges I would rather it was this way round.

Conclusion

There was some evidence of cost-cutting with the closure of the spa but overall this was a great lounge to spend some time in. The wines and champagnes were very average but with the addition of bar staff to make whatever cocktail you would like it doesn’t matter so much. The style of the lounge was very in keeping with Etihad’s other lounges and whilst the staff were a little overbearing I had no complaints about the service.

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This is the third in the series of my Etihad reviews. I previously looked at the Etihad First Lounge in Abu Dhabi and yesterday I looked at the First Class Apartment’s features. Today I will look at the rest of the flight with the service, food and drinks (the most important bit!), the amenities and the onboard bathroom and shower.

Amenity kits

The amenity kits are not handed to you but instead are in the vanity area with all the products on the shelves and the bag separate. The products are very high end retailing at around £80 upwards, although it was not a brand I was familiar with.  You get four products from Omorovicza’s ‘Gold’ collection. These were perfecting lip balm, a facial moisturiser, hand cream treatment, and a refreshing cleansing wipe. These have quite a strong fragrance which I liked but may not be to everyone’s taste. You also get cotton pads, nail file, toothbrush and Colgate toothpaste.

I liked the sleep pack with socks, eye mask, earplugs and a relax pack with pillow mist and pulse point oil. There are also more products in the bathroom you can use including face mists, face and hand wash, and hand cream. These all come in a Christian Lacroix bag. The ladies version is purple embossed leather and could be used as a clutch bag as it seals with a magnetic fastening but it looked a bit cheap for me to use it as that. Overall I liked the products and bag. The only negatives were the socks were standard issue airline cheap socks and the eye mask, whilst huge, could have done with the BA style extra padding to stop it pressing against your eyelids. I was also given a pair of pyjamas and slippers.

Onboard service

There wasn’t a lot you could fault here except maybe if you were flying for the first time with them they could have been more proactive with mentioning about the turndown service, shower and extra mattress topper which were not mentioned to me. The Food and Beverage manager did give me a quick tour of the apartment once he had established it was my first time which I thought was good.

As I mentioned yesterday, when I first boarded a procession of staff introduced themselves to me. The Food and Beverage Manager, Yohaane, mainly looked after me. He was very professional and reasonably friendly. He didn’t have the same warmth and humour that you get with a good BA crew but I would rather have consistently good service than a bit of banter. Particularly in First, I do expect a bit of formality, unlike the BA crew member that once called me ‘darlin’ in First – that did not go down well!

The service was well paced, you didn’t feel rushed and of course, you could eat whenever you wanted. I will go through the flight from the beginning.

Food and drink

On boarding, I was welcomed with a warm towel, a bowl of dates and a glass of Charles Heidsieck Vintage Brut 2006 champagne. I enjoyed the champagne and it is a reasonable quality retailing at around £75 a bottle if not quite Krug. I liked the fact that the F&B Manager obviously knew his stuff like a proper sommelier. Each time he poured a new wine he showed me the bottle, talked a little about the wine as I tasted it before he poured the full glass. The whole thing very much felt like a restaurant experience from start to finish.

The chef came to talk to me about what I would like and asked for wine choices for each course as well. I will talk more about the chef later as I had a tour of the galley and a chat about how he cooks on board. I chose the rosé Champagne as my pre-lunch drink and I also decided to eat straight away. You can eat anything from the menu at any time.

There was a food menu along with a First Cellar menu for the drinks. I liked the fact that there was so much choice although I would have preferred there to just be one soup and another starter choice instead. One of the most unique features for Etihad First is the onboard chef who can cook food from the grill menu to order with your choice of accompaniments.

The rosé Champagne was Billecart-Salmon which is an excellent rosé that is highly rated by critics. It is also one of my personal favourites and retails for around £60. This was presented with snacks consisting of mixed nuts, olives and antipasto with artichoke and stuffed peppers. I loved the silver trays that they were served on and all the table wear was very elegant too.

I was surprised that there was no amuse bouche as I know they used to serve them. As you may know, Etihad have been in financial difficulty recently and implemented a lot of cutbacks. I wondered if this was one one of them.

The F &B Manager then came and took my table out and laid it up ready for eating. The table was huge and very stable as well as being easy to adjust. I did feel like I was sitting in a restaurant.

Next came the choice of warm bread. I initially went for the German style bread but I was persuaded to have a second oat roll by the cabin crew member who told me it was the best one. No chance of going hungry on this flight! There was a good quality olive oil and a little dish for pouring in as well as the usual butter dish.

I had chosen mezze for my starter as it would be my last chance to have it for a while and it is not something I have often in the UK. With this I had chosen the Yarra Valley Giant Steps Chardonnay (£20 retail). I really enjoyed this wine which was refined and delicate but with a little hit of acidity at the end which went well cut through the creamy hummus in the mezze.

The starter was well presented which is not easy to do with a mezze. The individual components were hummus, a warm fatayer pastry, tabbouleh and a dip which I wasn’t totally sure what it was but was delicious. I would guess it was a type of baba ganoush with some additional vegetables. I loved the dinky little individual warm Arabic bread for dipping too!

In between courses there was a small bowl of refreshing sorbet which was a nice touch, though I would rather have had an amuse bouche instead at the start.

Next, I had decided to give the chef the ultimate test for cooking on a plane – a rare steak! If you have read some of my other reviews you will know that I have been subjected to some virtually inedible steak on planes. I was hoping this would be different.

The steak came with some roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, chips, roasted garlic and a side dish with bearnaise sauce. I also asked for some mustard that turned out to wholegrain which would not have been my first choice. The steak looked fantastic, so how was it cooked inside?

I would say that the steak was medium rare rather than rare but I am prepared to forgive the chef in this environment. The steak was a nice quality fillet which had been well seasoned. It was lacking in a little depth of flavour but that could have been the altitude (40,000ft at that point). The chips were also great, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. I  enjoyed the roasted garlic too which was soft and sweet which went well with the tomatoes as well. I tried the Hewitson “Miss Harry” red wine from Barossa Valley which was a GSM Southern Rhone-style blend. I love this style of wine and it didn’t disappoint. It retails for around £17 a bottle. It was quite a savoury wine so went well with the steak and had a little oak but a well-rounded finish.

Finally, I decided to have dessert unusually for me rather than cheese as I fancied trying the dessert wine.

The raspberry tart was absolutely delicious. It had a lovely crispy short pastry filled with creme patissiere and topped with very fresh tasting raspberries. The Sauternes Château Bastor-Lamontagne was a little disappointing. It was a little on the light side and lacking in any real depth but it was pleasant enough to drink.

Finally, to make sure I had really got my money’s worth I ordered a Cognac which was the Rémy Martin Reserve Cellar Selection Cellar N°28. This is one of the Cognacs I have at home that I enjoy (thanks, Roving Reporter for my present). It retails at well over £100 a bottle so I was pleased to see a large measure. The glass it came in was amazing as it did not stand up but rolled in a circle without spilling any Cognac. I had fun rolling it around the table! I am quite tempted to buy some now for myself. If anyone is interested here are the details: Normann Copenhagen Rocking Cognac Glasses – Set of 2

The onboard chef – so how does he manage it?

I had a tour of the galley to find out how Marco, the chef, prepared the food onboard. Marco was a fully qualified chef who had previously worked in a 5* hotel in Abu Dhabi. The galley is pretty small and is shared with business class so he certainly had his work cut out. I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures, unfortunately.

The steaks are cooked like all airline food – in an oven. However, unlike most airlines, the steaks come almost raw rather than pre-cooked allowing him to cook them to the passenger’s requirements. He had quite a few condiments and cooking implements available. Marco coats the steaks with good quality olive oil first and then seasons them before putting in the oven for the required time for each customer’s preference.

If you were having breakfast they have all the equipment for making a fantastic one. There is a toaster, an omelette pan for fried and scrambled eggs or omelettes and a coffee maker for your latte or cappuccino. He even has fresh eggs on most flights rather than the stuff out of a carton. The pan is put in the oven to do the cooking though – there isn’t a hob for obvious reasons.

The bathroom and shower

There were 2 bathrooms at the front of the cabin for the 9 apartments. The bathroom without the shower was huge and was better for getting changed due to the size. They was a good range of toiletries available in full sizes too.

Only one of the bathrooms had a shower onboard. This means that you have to book a slot for your 5 minutes worth of water. I had planned to have one just for the novelty factor but by the time I asked they had all gone which I thought was poor. I think the crew should ask if you want to book a slot at the start of the flight and then work out a schedule to make it fair. I did have a look in the shower though and I was surprised by the amount of room, although the ceiling does slope quite a bit.

How I paid for it

This was the return flight from Abu Dhabi and was booked all on miles. I earned the miles solely from my American Express credit card sign up bonus, referrals and spending. The flight costs 88,048 miles plus about £136 in taxes and charges. However, there is a clever trick if you use part miles, part cash. If you have a least 75% of the miles, Etihad will sell you the additional miles much cheaper than usual so that is what I did! I purchased the last 22,000 miles in cash which cost around £130. Total bill: 66,000 miles plus approximately £260 cash. To me this is far a better deal than using British Airways for First redemptions with their very high taxes and charges.

Conclusion

Overall this was probably the best flight I have ever done with the size of the First apartment and the onboard service. There were a few things that could have been more proactive but that is a minor grumble. If you want a really special First experience, Etihad definitely delivers!

I will also be doing a review of my Etihad A380 business class flight to Abu Dhabi and a video of my First Apartment experience. Make sure you sign up for the emails at the top right of the page to make sure you don’t miss out!

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Yesterday I wrote about my experience in the Etihad First class lounge at Abu Dhabi with its fantastic spa and long list of very premium drinks. Over the next 2 days I will look at the rest of my Etihad First apartment experience from Abu Dhabi to London. Today I will concentrate on the apartment itself and tomorrow I will look at the food and service.

If you are reading this by email I am not sure whether you will be able to see the 360° photos and slide shows so you may need to click through to the website.

It had been a long time since I flew Etihad First. The last time was when one of my friends managed to blag the world’s best upgrade from economy to first for 3 of us by chatting to the Captain in the Costa Coffee queue at Abu Dhabi airport! The Etihad first apartment has been on my bucket list of premium airline experiences since it began and finally, I had enough miles to book my ticket.

A free chauffeur is included for most First class tickets starting or ending in Abu Dhabi so my journey began at the Shangri La Qaryat al Beri.

Chauffeur service

This was a big disappointment for me and something that needs to be addressed by Etihad in my opinion. I understand that it is a free service but I would expect the basics to be right at least.

I had booked my chauffeur pick up online and I did not receive my pick up time until 2 am on the date of departure which was annoying. I was due to be picked up at 11.30 for a 13.45 flight. With about 25 minutes to the airport and boarding due to start at 12.45, this would only leave me an hour to get through security, go to the lounge and get to the gate. There was a number to call if you needed to change the time. I tried to call the number at least 10 times during the morning and each time I got a recorded message saying all our operators are busy and try these numbers in an emergency and I was then cut off! I also tried the emergency numbers but no one ever answered. Not a very First Class service in my opinion!

The car at least arrived a few minutes early. The driver was not exactly friendly or helpful (the driver on the way was better in that respect). He made no effort to open the door for me and the outside of the Audi car was absolutely filthy. He also did not even know which entrance to take me too as he was unaware which class I was flying. Fortunately, once we pulled up at the terminal things improved.

Check-in

The First check-in area is very impressive. It has its own entrance which I was taken to after I corrected him that I flying First and immediately a porter sprang into action to take my bags from the car. I did not touch my suitcase from leaving my hotel until someone handed it to me at Heathrow.

The check-in area felt very premium and you sat down at a desk to check in. They were very friendly and the whole process took no more than a couple of minutes. There was an entrance directly to premium security but the actual security screening was shared with business class. This took around 7 minutes as they were very thorough which was not a bad thing. Before long I was sipping a glass of champagne in the First Class lounge so it was a very civilised start to my trip.

Boarding

This was very organised. There was a separate premium lane with cabins called in order and once through the gate, there was a staff member on hand to guide you to the right entrance. At the door, I was greeted and taken to my cabin, 3K. Six of the 9 First Apartments are interconnecting, so when you are travelling with someone they can be linked together.

I chose this apartment as I wanted one where the seat was adjacent to the window and also in the middle of the cabin for peace and quiet. There then proceeded to be a seemingly never-ending stream of staff introducing themselves to me before take off – the Food and Beverage Manager, the onboard Chef and the Cabin Manager plus the other cabin crew member serving in First Class. The Cabin Manager was particuarly personable, chatting about what I had been doing in Abu Dhabi and asking if I had been to the new Louvre there.

The Apartment

The apartment had the ‘wow’ factor in buckets when I walked in. At 45 sq feet this is some big space to have to yourself! Here is a 360° view of the apartment. You can zoom in and explore the cabin in 360°. As you can tell I am loving my new 360 camera, the Ricoh Theta SC.

 

 

 

 

 

°°Post from RICOH THETA. – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

The apartment has a lot of features to explore so I will talk about them in turn.

Storage

As the Apartment is so big there is oodles of storage space. I particularly liked the under bench storage for bags so you didn’t have to lift them. The crew were most insistent that they stored my bag for me as well! You definitely feel like a real VIP with Etihad First. It was very simple to use though with a fold up the flap to secure the bag in place. This was so much easier than overhead bins with a heavy carry-on. There was also a full-length wardrobe with a hanger and a few smaller spaces. These included a larger drawer (below) and a small space next to the seat controls for glasses and phones.

The seat and bed

The Apartment has a separate seat with day cushion and a bed/footrest, so the seat does not recline that far. The controls were easy to use via either a smartphone type interface or physical buttons. I could reach the bench quite easily to put my feet up but I would have liked the seat to recline a bit further for just relaxing rather than sleeping. The seat was very adjustable for lumbar support and also had massage settings.

The bed was one of the largest I have seen on board an aircraft with the exception of Etihad’s The Residence. It easily slid out into almost a single bed size sleeping area at 6-foot 10-inch long. There was a pillow and duvet provided which were comfortable but funnily enough not as good as the American Airlines ones which are my favourite due to their softness. There was also a topper for the bed but the crew hadn’t pointed it out to me and I only found out afterwards when I asked. They do offer a special turndown service including a hot drink but I’m guessing you have to ask for it.

I liked the fact that you could put ‘do not disturb’ on and it felt very private in the cabin even if the doors weren’t full length. You could only really see the tops of people’s heads if they walked past although you could see into the neighbouring apartment if you stood by the door. If you wanted to watch TV in bed the TV screens pulls out and can be moved around.

I found the bed the most comfortable I have had on a plane due to the size and that was without the mattress topper. I managed to have a little disco nap before landing to keep me going until I got home (otherwise known as sleeping off the champagne!).

Entertainment

The 24-inch flat-screen TV was impressive and had great definition. The selection of new films could have been a bit wider in my opinion but that was about the only complaint I had. As well as 150 different movies there were also 7 live TV channel to watch and a scrolling news bar at the top of the screen. You could either control the TV screen from the touchscreen itself or on a separate hand held remote. The remote could be used as a separate screen too, which is handy if you like to have the moving map and flight details to hand.

There were also a number of other features such as the camera to see outside the aircraft, music, box sets, games and even calling the crew. So if you were feeling a bit lonely in your big apartment as one blogger famously did, you could call the crew up for a chat or to order something! They call this service ‘room service’ which I like!

If you wanted to charge anything there were both USB and power sockets. One feature I particularly liked was the HDMI port so you could connect your laptop and watch your own entertainment on the big screen. Shame I hadn’t brought my HDMI lead in my hand luggage!

Wi-fi

There was Wi-fi available at a charge as well as the ability to make phone calls and texts. I really, really wish airlines wouldn’t do this. At one point I could hear three different people shouting into the phone ‘I’M ON THE PLANE!’ I had a go with the wi-fi and found it very slow compared to AA’s wi-fi that I have used this recently. I managed to post a couple of things on social media before I gave up. There were three options from $4.95 for 30MB to $19.95 for 180MB. I thought it was pretty expensive for first class considering it wasn’t that great.

Vanity unit and mini bar

Two features I loved were the vanity area (it may be a girl thing) and the mini bar. Unfortunately, there was no alcohol in the mini bar but that may have been dangerous anyway! The chilled minibar had 2 bottles of water and a range of fizzy drinks. It was handy having some water nearby and it seemed to keep them chilled for the duration of the flight.

The vanity unit was a great idea so you didn’t have to waste time in the toilet making yourself look presentable after a flight. It came ready stocked with all the usual things you would have in amenity kit but I liked how they presented ready to use. The area was large and well-lit too. There was also room to store a few of your own things if you wanted.

I will look more at the amenity kits tomorrow along with the miles needed for the trip, food and drink, onboard shower and arrival at Heathrow.

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Apologies as this post went out a day early so I have republished today. If you have been following TLFL on social media you will know that this week I tried the Etihad First apartment. Today and Sunday I will be covering my journey from start to finish. I will review the Etihad first class lounge Abu Dhabi only in this article and then I will include the chauffeur and check in tomorrow. If you are reading this by email, you may want to click through to the website to see the slide shows.

First impressions

The lounge is situated almost immediately after you pass through premium security. I was greeted at the door by someone who checked my boarding pass. This seemed a rather pointless exercise as I then got into the lift and went to the next floor where someone again greeted me. If Etihad are trying to save money, surely they just need someone at the actual entrance on the first floor?

The greeter upstairs asked if I needed any help and I was directed to the spa as I requested. It probably would have been useful if they had pointed out the features of the lounge like Virgin do at Heathrow for first-timers. If you hadn’t read the Etihad website you would be totally unaware of some of the features of the lounge.

The Spa

The Etihad Spa is run by renowned spa company Six Senses and if you have only ever experienced the BA spa at an airport you will be blown away! There was a wide choice of treatments which could either be a free 15 minute treatment or you could pay £20 extra to upgrade to a 25 minute treatment. As I was short on time, I decided to go for the 15 minute foot massage. The rooms are like proper spa treatment rooms albeit very small. The treatment was excellent and very thorough – pretty much the same as you would get in a 5* hotel spa. Another option is a free 15-minute treatment in Style & Shave, their salon. They offer nail treatments, blow drys and a wet-shave service. You can find out more about the Etihad Abu Dhabi Spa here.

The lounge

The lounge is enormous and was virtually deserted when I was there. There are a number of different areas. As you enter the lounge you arrive in the dining area. The overall feel of the lounge is keeping with Etihad’s feel. It felt luxurious, light and modern. Not much bling around here! The dining area also has a bar but drinks are served at your table. The whole lounge has floor to ceiling windows running along its width with a good view of the tarmac.

Next is the main bar area which has a number of stools and then leads to several seating areas. Some of these are a little dark but I liked the fact it was divided into sections to make it seem less huge.

There are a couple of other features of note to the lounge. If you want to relax and zone out they have a Relax and Recline room. You can kick back in a Poltrona Frau leather chair and enjoy a sensory experience with a combination of soothing sounds and images on the giant video wall.

Whilst in the lounge you can leave your bags in storage and they can also arrange for your clothes to be pressed while you are enjoying the lounge. If you are travelling with children there is a Play Room that even has a Nanny, trained at the world-renowned Norland College, on duty at all times. Children also have their own menu of healthy meals and snacks.

There are also luxurious shower rooms if you are connecting, although having just come from the Shangri La Abu Dhabi I didn’t need one. The toilets were equally impressive though. If you have ever visited the Concorde room or BA First toilets at Heathrow this was like night and day. No whiffy NHS-like toilets here! Everything was immaculate as if nothing had ever been touched!

Food and drink

Although I was planning on eating on the plane to try out the onboard chef, I thought I would have something small to see what the standard of food was like. The menu had a reasonable choice of lighter or more substantial options.

Naturally, I started with a glass of pink champagne which was Charles Heidseck 2006 which retails at around £80 a bottle.

The choice of drinks in the lounge was by far the best I have ever seen in terms of spirits with a number of XO Cognacs, malt whisky and Signature cocktails made by their ‘mixologist’. I only wish I had had time to enjoy them. Etihad now sell access to their lounge which may be worth considering if you had some time to kill and enjoy the drinks! The wine list had 4 whites and 4 reds, all good quality, as well as the 2 Champagnes. The smartly dressed waiter was attentive with champagne top ups too, so no complaints about the drinks.

I decided on the beef sliders as a quick snack but when they arrived they were enormous! They took a long time to arrive considering it was an airport lounge. In most lounges, food has arrived in less than 10 minutes. Here it took 15-20 minutes which I felt was far too long given it was just a burger and the lounge was almost empty. The burgers were very tasty with chunky beef mince in the patty and a lovely caramelised onion relish. The quality of the beef was a bit dubious though as I found several pieces of gristle.

Conclusion

Overall this was a very premium experience and it offered the most impressive selection of drinks and spa treatments I have seen in a First lounge. I would say this is firmly in my top 3 lounges worldwide, although I think the food quality and time to deliver could have been better.

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