Etihad Airways Passenger Reviews and Etihad Airways Customer Trip Reports

From MAN-BNE. First flight delayed and they made us sit in the plane for 2 hours, half of that in darkness. Missed connecting flight in Abu Dhabi and had to wait another 2 hours. Finally got to Australia 5 hrs late. On way back they ran out of food and only had pasta which I don't eat. Didn't eat the food and was left hungry, cabin crew were not bothered. One of the crew was very rude when I asked for a water she asked me to walk to the back and collect it? I paid a lot of money for a shoddy service.

LHR-AUH-KUL, BKK-AUH-LHR. Lie flat bed too short for me (6ft2in). OB reached runway threshold and had to return to T4 to offload disgruntled passengers. 2hr delay. Missed connection to KUL. Rebooked via Doha on Qatar. 6.5 hours late. All sectors food good, also service, especially AUH-LHR. Very good price when booked in Jan.

DUB-AUH-BKK - Feb. First flight was ok, needed bassinet for infant and received one but wife and I were split up on plane with two babies. Never received infant food nor any assistance on DUB-AUH from F/C. AUH airport total chaos, got to gate just on time but when gate opened they were only interested in business class, leaving the rest of us to fight through the queue. I thought parents with infants usually got put on before the rest of economy? Plane was full, so full they kept us waiting for 2-3 hours until they sorted out the mess of over booking the flight caused by new system on computer. Never again, I'll pay extra for direct from London.

Travelled business Dublin-Sydney during December/January. Outward journey was fine. Lounge in Dublin was excellent with great staff as were flight staff on both legs of journey. Return trip was where things started to go awry. When I endeavoured to change my flight In Sydney I was quoted a fee which in my mind was excessive so I declined their offer. The lounge in Sydney was well below par but in fairness it is not run by Etihad. Flight was very eventful but again not Etihads fault although we had a 12 hour break between meals. Flight staff were good. However, whenever I complained to Etihad via their website I was completely ignored. 7 weeks on and still no return communication from them. Obviously customer relations has not got high priority on their list.

This was the 4th flight with Etihad and the flight was disappointing. Seat comfort worse on the 777 aircraft now that an extra row has been added. IFE fine but selection average (Emirates ICE system far more superior for movie/TV/music choice). Meals ok but the staff was the most disappointing. No smiles, poor attitude and at times just plain rude and arrogant. Noticed maybe 2 other crew seemed to be happy and approachable, everyone else seemed to not care at all. Will not be recommending this airline to anyone.

A terrible experience. Twice I have flown with Etihad Airways on return journeys - 2 out of the 4 flights have taken me over 40 hrs to travel between Manchester and Bangkok. Etihad Airways are fine when everything is running smoothly but when things go wrong, the incompetence just shines through. I could go on and on listing the faults with these journeys but haven't got enough words to use in this comment section. All in all, just avoid Etihad Airways and go with another airline more professional airline.

LHR-AUH-AMD, 10th Feb return 23rd Feb. Outbound in Coral on 777 - Food was a let down as this was the first time I flew with them and expected similar to Emirates/Qatar. Crew were tired and didn't get the service. AUH-AMD delayed 3 hours due to 'heavy traffic' over Muscat. AUH Airport is small and depressing. Return flights were the same. We got the same meals on both legs! Won't fly them again.

Scheduled to fly EY21, AUH-MAN, 19th February 2013. Left Doha on EY390, 0415, 19/02. After 3 aborted attempts EY21 failed again and for the 3rd time passengers had to deplane and return to arrivals. Eventually returned to Doha on EY395 at 17.10rs, and then on QR41, 0145, 20th Feb to MAN. A totally wasted day, with extremely poor customer service. Inconsistent information provided by ground staff. Captain on EY21 spoke to Business Class passengers only - no info provided to economy. The meal voucher provided around 1400 hrs did not cover the purchase of the vegetarian food I wanted, so had to buy my own. After leaving Doha at 0415, arrived back there at 1800ish hrs. Extremely long wait to book on to QR41 (probably 50 minutes, by which time extremely tired). The 25 passengers who returned on this service were given access to Onxy lounge and its facilities. The managerial presence at AUH was extremely poor, and just fobbed off the passengers. Very unlikely to fly Etihad again.

Flew Chicago-Abu Dhabi-Mumbai. Not a comfortable experience. First meal took exactly 2 hrs to arrive. The food was regular plane food, nothing great. Meal options were chopped down from all those shown on the website. I asked for a special meal more than 24 hrs in advance but it simply didn't get there. Total 2 meals and one sorry sandwich was served on a 14 hr flight. I took some food of my own on the return journey. The ethernet jack for Internet access is in every seat as shown on their site, but it didn't work on 4 of the segments I flew. The seat pitch is a story. If the passenger in front reclines fully, and if you yourself are fully reclined the TV panel is just a little more than 1 ft from your face. You cannot fully open your laptop. Ground staff at Abu Dhabi airport are slow to issue boarding passes, no place to sit around. Flight delayed 5 hrs. Wouldn't recommend this airline for long routes at all.

Flew Manchester to Bangkok return via Abu Dhabi. Found the seating on board Boeing 777 to be cramped and particularly uncomfortable on the Bangkok legs and the food was awful. On the Manchester legs on board Airbus 300, the seating was much better and the food was edible. Cabin crew and ground staff very good.

Abu Dhabi - Sydney - Abu Dhabi. Good service as soon as I got on the plane, prompt timing for food and beverages, which were of a good quality. The staff were very friendly, but it took a while for them to get the entry card I needed. The seat was spacious and comfortable, but lacked places to hold phone, wallet etc. The fully reclining seat made it easy to get some sleep on the long flight. Overall nice plane, good trip.

16th January flew from Sydney - Abu Dhabi - Dublin (Ireland). Excellent Flight with friendly and helpful staff, arrived on schedule. Food was average. Return journey, 5th January not so good. Dublin to Abu Dhabi excellent. Abu Dhabi to Sydney extremely long including an unscheduled stopover at Singapore. Very fine print on e-ticket suggested 1 'technical stop' not a full on and off stop. No suggestion as to where the 'technical stop' was to be. At Abu Dhabi I had difficulty finding my gate as there were no flights to Brisbane? Then Sydney via a 2.5 hour stopover in Brisbane. At Brisbane my boarding pass (Virgin Australia) said gate 39 x gate I was directed to gate 41 x again. I cannot fault the service on board any of the flights. The seating left a little to be desired on such a long journey.

Flew from Chicago to Dhaka, Bangladesh through Abu Dhabi and return. Coral economy class. (777). Wife and I were overall very happy with our flight. Good food, quick and friendly service, lots of beverages on request. Excellent entertainment system and real time maps. Enjoyed the external cameras. Centre bathroom was roomy and kept reasonably clean. Cabin was a little warm and seats somewhat cramped (but who isn't in economy class). Staff put us in the front row on return from Dhaka to Abu Dhabi - very roomy. All things considered we were very pleased and would recommend.

I flew Singapore to Melbourne in December. Was a bit nervous after reading some of the reviews, however I have absolutely no complaints with my flight. The price was very cheap, flight left and arrived on time, seats were comfortable with adequate leg room (and I'm 5'10 so that's saying a lot!). Food was well, airplane food but no worse than any I've had before, movie selection was ok, staff was friendly. Would definitely fly Etihad again in the future!

Dublin - Abu Dhabi - Colombo return. Travelled outbound Economy (A330 and A320) and back by Business. The economy service was excellent. The staff were very attentive and answered the button every time. The food was excellent, there were several rounds of drinks and more if you wanted. The IFE is excellent with a huge range of new movies and TV shows. There was a short wait in Abu Dhabi before a long bus ride to the plane. My only gripe was the amount and size of carry on bags that were allowed. This delayed things and seemed to cause ill-feeling. We used the Serendip lounge in Colombo. This was excellent prior to the code share flight handled by Sri Lankan airways. This flight was good, with food and staff very acceptable. The business cabin was half full and the staff were friendly and attentive. The IFE is OK but not as good as that on Ethiad. We had to spend several hours in the Ethiad business lounge which was a welcome oasis. The seat went flat, but it was too narrow to get a good sleep. I also found the full cabin a bit claustrophobic. I skipped dinner. The cooked breakfast was poor, cold in parts.

London to Penang in December. Flight delayed at Heathrow due to a/c problem. Concerned I would miss connecting flight at Kuala Lumpur was first told by crew that I would have to wait at Abu Dhabi airport for almost 24 hours. Then, was informed connecting flight would be waiting. Nobody at Abu Dhabi airport to help us rush to connecting flight. Departure gate lounge was packed, standing room only. Business passengers told they couldn't board as cabin 'wasn't clean'. About 3am there were only 5 of us left. The 5 of us boarded the plane to find every other business class passenger was already seated. On return flight, mid-January, I was told at Kuala Lumpur airport that my return ticket was 'void' despite my having a confirmed e-ticket and paid invoice. If I hadn't fought long and hard I would probably be still standing around at the airport wondering how to get home. No apology - just a 'misunderstanding'. Despite emails to Etihad, I have still had no explanations and no real apologies. Their ground staff in Abu Dhabi and KL are absolutely appalling.

Arriving from Seychelles Wednesday night to Abu Dhabi and connecting Geneva Thursday morning, one hour delayed, flight steward on flight announces gate 5. In airport, however, no mention of Geneva flight on any screen and after rushing to gate 5 - no mention on gate screen either. Quick check with transfer desk shows gate has been changed without any notice anywhere! So rushing further to gate 32 and barely making it. This is simply unprofessional.

MCT-AUH-CAI. First leg with a new and comfortable A320, flight was on-time. Refreshments were distributed for the short hop. cabin crew very attentive and professional. 3 hrs stopover in AUH was very nice, the second leg was served with an old A346. Flight was again on-time and arrived before schedule (+1 Bonus) for EY. Food was below average. A346 had the most cramped seats I've ever seen. A345/A330s are a better deal. I'd try EY in the future for their great fares and service.

Recently flew from SIN-BNE, and found the flight experience a little underwhelming. The crew were mostly unhelpful, and the flight was understaffed according to one of the more helpful crew. I asked for water and it never arrived, and once I raised this with a crew member, she informed me that they had to attend to other passengers first. The seats were uncomfortable, the seat pitch insufficient and the food was ordinary. Would not fly Etihad again, unless there were no other options.

Seoul to Cairo return flight on 2 Jan 2013. Despite the bad weather, the plane took off smoothly. Plane was warm and comfortable. Staff very friendly and polite. Service was very good, entertainment was up to date. Overall very pleased.

Flight from Heathrow to Bangkok via Abu Dabi - 2 segments of about 6 hours each. The seats on these 777s are too small for comfort and the seat spacing is very short. If the person in front reclines their seat then it becomes impossible to move. Very uncomfortable for extended periods. Two of the segments were also very cold and the staff did nothing despite several different people asking for the temperature to be turned up. But the main problem was the very cramped conditions. It makes no sense to cram in as many seats as possible when many of them are empty anyway. The staff did nothing to help. We did this same trip last year on Qatar - far superior, especially the legroom.

FRA-AUH-FRA. A very short flight to AUH on A330, 5hrs 50 mins. Coral Economy. The look of the cabin is ok but not my style. The seat I found a little hard and uncomfortable for my size. The in seat TV is big but the quality on offer not good enough. Food and beverage service was slow for a night flight. The food was very good but I only received one drink during the meal service. Return 7hrs 10mins day flight on A330 in Pearl Business. Good. Service again very slow. After main service, no active offer of drinks and snack before landing. Cramped seat, no privacy to my neighbour, too warm in cabin and in the area where you put your feet. Business seat in fully flat position to small for my height (1.88). The most positive thing about EY is the friendliness of the cabin crew and in general of the staff. The rest is below European airline standards. And AUH airport is just dreadful.

LHR-BKK, 16/1/2013, return 3/2/2013. You get what you pay for. I booked this flight purely on price. LHR- Abu Dhabi EY018 on brand new 777-300ER only 2 weeks old. Flight made more bearable by centre seat of 3 being empty so elbow room wasn't an issue. Abu Dhabi airport for a 3 hour plus lay over is a disgrace to the UAE. Chaos! Boarded flight to BKK EY404 on another 777-300, a bit older but still reasonable but this time trapped into window seat by overweight passenger. This made eating very difficult. BKK - Abu Dhabi EY403 on 3/2/2013 on much older 777-300. Not too bad apart from the very narrow seat width and just about enough leg room. Unfortunately this was made less bearable by the passenger in front reclining his seat fully for all of the flight making viewing the seat back screen and eating impossible. Very good option of pineapple crepes for breakfast. Final leg Abu-Dhabi - LHR EY017 flight was held for us as incoming flight was late so slot was lost and we took off 50 minutes late. Much more comfortable A340-600. Seat seemed to have an extra 2 inches more legroom and with only two seats abreast made all the difference. Meals on each leg were fine with a good selection and decent wine. Flight arrived 1 hour later than scheduled and then the chaos of Heathrow T4 immigration, 1 hour wait in EU passport line while other nationalities were whisked through! Given other options at roughly the same price I would rather give Etihad a miss.

MEL-AUH-CAI. Great value for money at $1200 per adult. A340, MEL-AUH with good IFE and reasonable service. Plane was not as new as the trip to MEL. Service fine, kids got their meals first. Transit in AUH was 7 hours unfortunately. Apparently doesn't happen every day, just 1 or 2 days a week. A320 AUH-CAI was a bit old and headsets provided didn't fit properly in the sockets. Luckily our personal iPod headsets worked ok. Etihad seem a good value 4 star airline. Not up there with Emirates or Singapore, but a good cheaper option.

19/01/2012 from Saigon to Manchester, UK. The second time I have flown Etihad and I can find no real fault with the service, seats comfortable, entertainment system, touch screen was excellent. Food was ok, what you expect from an airline. Flight attendants very good, if a little too diligent when the seat belts sign came on. The flights were good, but the experience in Abu Dhabi was average at best, information is definitely delivered fast and clearly enough. I will definitely fly with them again, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

CAI-AUH-MCT. First leg with an old but comfortable A345. Delayed 30 mins. IFE, minimal selection of movies and overall very slow and sluggish system, food is good. Cabin crew very helpful and attentive. Second leg delayed one hour. An A320 equipped with PTV for such a short hop. One major complaint about EY is their timings. Great value given the bargain price of the ticket.

Flight on 16/01/13, LCA-AUH-BKK. First leg with small A319 that offered all the comfort you might need! Great service and professional staff. Arrived in Abu Dhabi on time, small delay on the second leg departure. Boarding 777-300ER wasn't so bad for such a big plane. Then started delaying for one reason or another. The seats were hard, cramped, impossible to recline. Entertainment system wasn't working for a while on our seats, luckily got fixed so we were kept busy since was impossible to sleep. After dinner was served it was nearly an hour before anyone showed up to clean. On my attempt to call some of the flight attendants, no one was responding.

Just returned from a trip from CDG to KUL with Etihad in Economy Class and I must say I just love the Airbus 340-600, very roomy, comfortable and quiet on the leg between CDG to AUH and back. On the KUL leg, with the Boeing 777-300ER it was a different story. With the 10 abreast seats, it is extremely cramped and uncomfortable - rather impossible to sleep. Service, entertainment food and drinks were consistent and nothing to complain about!

BNE-SIN, 22/12/12 was excellent. Service was excellent, brand new plane. However, the return leg on Jan 3 from SIN-BNE was a disaster. Late getting on the plane, ordered drink before take off as usual, took off a few minutes late, no problem, and this is where it went downhill. Service for after take off drinks was delayed. The first glass of wine arrived, then no service until I called the flight Manager, who apologised for forgetting to bring my cheese platter so I settled for another glass of wine. Later woken by the stewardess with my duty free and wanted my passport number etc, 2 hours after take off. Managed to get back to sleep only to hear a whole tray of food being dropped next to my seat. Needless to say breakfast was delayed and there was only time for 1 coffee prior to landing.

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