Etihad Airways Passenger Reviews and Etihad Airways Customer Trip Reports

Flew LHR to BKK via Abu Dhabi on 27th Dec. Excellent service in Coral Economy. Nice food, great kids meals, good selection of inflight entertainment and quick transfer on both legs at AUH, although not an airport I would want to stop in for long. All in all we thought all 4 flights were great. Very nice cabin staff and probably the most comfortable Economy seats we have ever sat in for a long haul flight. Already joined the rewards programme and booked next trip, trying business class next!

JFK-TRV. Smooth check-in, good service, modern planes though I was surprised how cramped the A340 to Abu Dhabi was. Then I hit the shambles that is Abu Dhabi airport. I checked the monitors several times when I arrived, and they all said that flight EY272, the only flight listed going to TRV was leaving 2 hours late from gate 22. I thought, 'I'll just go and wait'. There were no staff, monitors or information at the gate, but I figured if I read it on the monitors, it must be right. When I finally went to board the flight, the guy at the gate looked at my boarding pass and said that this was in fact the Air India flight to TRV, and that my flight had left 2 hours ago. So I went to the Etihad transfer counter, and after much waiting with other passengers who'd experienced similar problems learned that there had been 'some trouble with the monitors tonight'. So they paid for a hotel, transfers and meals and I took the next day's flight.

BKK-LHR via AUH. Limo pick up in BKK excellent and check in with fast track cards given as it should be. From then the first leg was a disaster. Etihad use Thai business lounges and they are at best shabby with awful food and beverages. Boarding delayed 30 mins and total chaos. On board similar with welcome drinks being served as taxiing out. 1 hour to get a coffee and the apology was that there were problems. Transfer although hurried allowed a quick glass in the first class lounge. On board, first excellent and relaxing and limo quick and easy.

Manchester to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi on 26 December 2012. Overnight flight from Manchester to Abu Dhabi was comfortable (coral economy) but when we arrived at 8am into Abu Dhabi all that changed. The scene in the airport was ridiculously chaotic. Instructed to join a line for transfer passengers - I stood for an hour. Staff were oblivious to people pushing into the queue and seemed happy to deal with these people first! I was handed onward boarding passes and we rushed for our connecting flight. We were about to board when the Eithad official told me my family was not on this flight - in fact, our flight had been delayed by 7 hrs and the transfer agent hadn't told us of the delay! Returned to the same queue - now tired and annoyed - waited in line another hour to be seen. Queued for another 40 mins (so far 2 hrs 40 mins queuing) only to be told I was in the wrong queue. Frustrated, I paid $200 to access a club lounge as we were so tired and hungry at this time. This gave us 4 hours of relative comfort but mid afternoon we had to leave or pay another $200. So we decided to wait in the terminal for the final 2 hours. At 5pm - the boards indicated that there was a further delay on 2.5 hours. When we eventually left Abu Dhabi, some 10 hours delayed we were frustrated, tired and very upset at the way we had been treated by this airline. Very bad customer service, chaotic administration and not an experience I would want to repeat.

Sydney-Abu Dhabi business class. Sitting in AUH lounge writing this review waiting for next flight. Having just 3 weeks ago flown to Dubai on Emirates A380 business, this Ethiad experience was disappointing. Had 2 middle seats with husband - you certainly would not want to sit there with a stranger. No privacy screen, very close quarters. No storage at all - nowhere to put a bottle of water or a book. Seats are fine, nothing brilliant, the 'entrance' to them very narrow. Service friendly but very slow. Food was shocking. Bland, tasteless. The toilets are tiny and crushed at galley so if you have to wait you have to keep dodging the flight attendants going about their business in the galley. Our Etihad seats are on FF, otherwise would not fly with them again.

FRA-AUH-BKK roundtrip. All flights on time. Seats in A330 and 777-300 not very comfortable, A340-500 on AUH-FRA leg much better. Boarding organized, cabin organisation needs refinement. After the meals the crew offered - without cleaning up - coffee or tea (with nowhere to put it). Food average. AUH as a place to be for 2-3 hours is in our opinion lousy.

Melbourne in First Class to Abu Dhabi and Business to Manchester. Route back was Paris - Abu Dhabi in Business and then First to back to Melbourne. Etihad has a terrific first class product. Pick up service, lounge experience, FA's, on board chef, meals and drinks. The suites are generous and comfortable. In flight entertainment is very good. Business class service from Abu Dhabi to MAN was disappointing with the feeling of economy, lots of seats in small area. I found the seat area claustrophobic and very cramped. Seat very hard and narrow. Entertainment system was very good. Meals and presentation good as were the FA's. The tray table hinge also protruded into the seating area which again cramped your knee/legs. Coming back a different seat in business class seat meant slightly more rooma. Other than that much same. First class experience was again terrific.

London - Abu Dhabi - Bangkok. Problems with entertainment system on both return flights, no compensation offered. Staff very unhelpful. Food average in my opinion.

MXP-AUH round trip on A340. Good service, nice staff but I would not consider them friendly. Staff professional. You cannot web check into most of their operating cities. IFE was good, plenty ofmovies. Food was tasty, plenty of drinks offered. Unpleasant and very long walks at AUH airport.

AUH-BKK return and AUH-BNE return. Business class product is top notch. Chauffeur transfers most helpful, drivers polite, crew professional and service excellent. Mini day spa experience in AUH lounge is delightful, a la carte dining in first lounge a treat. Food and drinks onboard satisfactory and in flight comfort excellent, flat beds and entertainment system outstanding. Adequate privacy for sole travellers, lounge in BKK brings down the experience. Complaint about this was met with prompt response from management and frequent flyer points given as compensation. Overall very pleased!

LHR to BKK via AUH. First time on Etihad and impressive. First class on leg one and picked up by limo and met kerbside at LHR. Lounge waitress service and faultless. Onboard First product with suites great but superb meal service took just a bit too long. Arrival at AUH easy and transfer simple. As arriving first passenger used First lounge which was a haven of calm. Next leg in business comfortable and seemless. Given priority immigration passes which are important in BKK and aircraft to limo via bags 20 minutes.

Abu Dhabi to Bangkok. Flight delayed 6 hrs. Staff very unhelpful. Flight was put back a further 2 hrs. Every time I asked for an explanation I was never given one. I was left uninformed for 7 hrs. Would never ever use Etihad again. Truly awful experience.

Munich to Abu Dhabi return flight on 21 December 2012. Plane was very hot and no way to control the temperature. Business class seats were narrow and limited leg space in fully flat position. Food was below average. Atlantic lounge in Munich was below average, very limited seats and simple snacks only. Chauffeur service is not provided to upgraded tickets although it is not declared by Etihad anywhere.

Traveled from Bangkok to Manchester via Abu Dhabi. Travelled in coral economy which was very cramped and the seats very uncomfortable on both legs of the journey. The food and service was good but it all seemed very charter airline, I think you get what you pay for. I was very disappointed with Abu Dhabi airport which is very small with nothing to do but walk around shops selling expensive goods.

Brussels to Bangkok return. I've always flown Coral Economy but on Abu Dhabi-Bangkok leg I was upgraded Business class on their Boeing 777, seat 10A. On board staff courteous and professional, meals up to the standards of a good restaurant, seats that transform into a real bed. I was so impressed with the service that I will consider flying Business with Etihad again when funds allow!

Manchester to Phuket via Abu Dhabi in late November. First leg Man to AD wonderful, great service, food, comfortable seat. Second leg AD To Phuket with partner Air Berlin, never in all my years of travelling have I had such a terrible flight. Dreadful crew, inedible food, the worst seats on a plane. The cabin crew were unhelpful to the extent they would not even ask the couple in front of us to raise their seat back so we could eat. If you think you are travelling with a certain airline, check their partners and if Air Berlin is one think again. The scores below reflect the total service we received from Etihad if I was scoring the Air Berlin leg the score would be zero.

Flew LHR-SYD via AHU. Food was plentiful as were the drinks, all flights on time or early. Would recommend, only thing was the IFE films and music were censored.

Just flew in from Manchester to Abu Dhabi and am currently waiting for a connecting flight with Etihad to Kathmandu. First time with Etihad and so far I've been impressed by the service they provided on my inbound flight. Seats in economy class were surprisingly comfortable. Also impressed with the food, the menu's provided had at least 3 choices as a main meal, and it was well prepared and tasty, and nicely accompanied by a warm bakery service they run. IFE was excellent. My only complaint unfortunately goes out to the cabin staff. In spite of it being a very international and friendly crew, a few of the air stewardesses were fairly unprofessional in their conduct with some of the passengers on board. The air stewardess on my aisle was victim to some flirtatious remarks by a few chaps onboard, and instead of brushing it off she spent half of the flight responding and encouraging the remarks. It's the type of behaviour you expect to see on a budget airline. Despite this minor glitch, I really have no other complaints. Will fly with them again.

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