Etihad Airways Passenger Reviews and Etihad Airways Customer Trip Reports

Return NYC-AUH-MAA. Sub $1000 fare in Feb just after the peak travel season. Very comfortable seats. Could spend some time at the AUH airport. Struggled to connect for Wifi. AUH-MAA flight had a short delay. On return, travelled with an infant and toddler. Special attention to kids. Good service. Allowed luggage a little over at MAA. Food could be better.

Our trip from Manchester to Auckland went like clockwork as did the return 3 weeks later. Only once did we not get our choice of food and the alternative was more than acceptable and couldn't have asked for more attention from the crew. Some of the seats were a little snug in the beam and a shade on the hard side (especially for the 14 hour Sydney-Abu Dhabi leg) but I've been in worse. Don't expect business class service in economy and they are hard to beat even before taking in to account the price.

London to Kathmandu return on 02/10/12. No longer do a drinks service. We had to wait 1.5 hrs for a drink with our food and told I could not have a gin and tonic and a red wine with my meal as we were only allowed one drink at a time. Flying home was awful. Again had to wait nearly 2 hours for a drink on a hot plane, not even a glass of water or juice offered. Kathmandu to Abu Dhabi had run out of all meals except vegetarian. Cabin crew apologised and said they were understaffed. The purser apologised and offered us a glass of Champagne and some desserts from first class. The last sector got no better, of course no drinks service on a 7.5 hour flight. Thrown a bag with a dry sandwich and a juice and water in it. Come breakfast and they had run out of meal choices again. 777 seats are cramped and uncomfortable. Unless you can afford business or first class avoid.

BNE-ABU-MAN - Delays on all flights. On two of the flights we had separate fuel transfer problems, then a power outage. A customer got off before we even took off, which meant more delays as they had to find luggage. Lack of communication from ground staff. Gates changed without us being advised. Nothing appeared on departure screens in Abu. Planes were pretty old. Same in flight entertainment both ways even though flew in and out in different months. Positives were nice flight staff, but still given misinformation about connecting flights. Food was very good but would not fly Etihad again. Lack of communication the biggest issue and technical issues with aircraft.

PEK-AUH-DUB. Both sectors were a 330/200 but the AUH-DUB sector had superior newer flat bed seats with more legroom. Travelling as a family with older children. Seats 5 e,f best for couples. Children liked 6k. Staff moved around very quietly so no problem getting a few hours sleep. Flew out DUB-PEK in J, late Oct and returned 01 Nov so surprised to see same inflight entertainment. Cabin crew 10/10. Food 8/10. Seat comfort 8/10. Flat bed comfort 7/10. Amenities 4/10.

Abu Dhabi to Katmandu was a nice flight with enjoyable inflight entertainment and staff. The food on board was superb and the seats were reasonably comfortable for Economy. The only problem was that the inflight entertainment was hard to use and at the start of the flight the system does not allow you to do anything. It was not just that flight it was also with a flight to Geneva from Abu Dhabi that it was hard to use. A great airline to travel with and I recommend it for all long haul flights and flights from the Middle East to Europe.

I was part of a group of 5, we flew Heathrow to Bangkok and found all 4 flights to be comfortable and on time. The food was of a good standard and free drinks were plentiful. The cabin crew on all flights were attentive. The IFE was excellent and had enough to keep us all entertained regardless of age. B777 for all flights and found the legroom to be standard for long haul. Overall a great experience and would not hesitate to travel them again.

MEL-AUH-MXP. First time in First Class. Slight delay leaving Melbourne however staff kept us well informed on departure time. Priority Boarding and greeted by name at the door of the aircraft and escorted to suite. As I was with my wife we had the centre suites at the front of the aircraft. Amazed at the size of the first class area and the clever design of the seats, which are very easy to use, along with the IFE controls. Champagne prior to take off, and Menus distributed. After take-off chef introduced himself and explained the menu. The meals came and it was wonderful. The service with the tablecloths and napkins was as good as any restaurant. The wines were recommended by the staff and were great. The lay flat beds were then made up and slept for nearly 7! Breakfast was just as good with scrambled eggs and toast with coffee. Landed a little late but plenty of time for the transfer to our flight in Business Class to Milan. Great crew and lovely food. The seats were more than comfortable and with the layout really gives you a feeling of privacy.

BOM-JFK-BOM. I was late reaching airport due to traffic, however, they immediately changed the date and gave me a new ticket. It was a great help from them, other airlines might have cancelled my ticket.

MEL-AUH-HRW return. Delay in Melbourne with no reason stating why. Customer service was poor. Had to ask for a water more than 3 times, when I did ask, they always rolled their eyes. Seats slightly uncomfortable and inflight entertainment was average. The touch screen itself was very average. Food was good but long periods of trays being collected after meal was eaten.

LHR-AUH-BKK. Checked in online only to see my reserved seats had been changed. LHR check-in was busy and there is no separate bag drop counter for online check-in passengers - you therefore queue again. Check- in staff were polite and helpful. Left on time and the night A340 (2x4x2) flight was full. On take off/landing the mood lighting was demonstrated in a 5 mins display, but during the flight the lights are left on full white which makes sleeping difficult. The exceptionally loud pings from call bells were disturbing too. Nice cloth amenity kits provided and the seats fairly comfortable but seat cushions are quite hard. Landed on time and the transit was quick through security. Second flight on a full, slightly cramped 777 (3x4x3) and leg room seemed a bit less than the Airbus. Crew service was excellent and breakfast (good) and afternoon sandwiches (tasty), but as aisles are narrow, you can't move around when a cart is being used. PTV has a good size screen and sound but the selection of entertainment is poor.

CAI-AUH-MEL. Economy Cairo - Abu Dhabi leg uneventful. Good IFE and reasonable meal. A320 was fine and service good. Only downside they ran out of kid's packs so one of our kids missed out. Abu Dhabi airport Terminal 3 was poorly organised - departure gate was directly below arrival gate yet we had to walk the length of the terminal to do a security screening and then back again to the gate. Not much to keep us entertained during 3 hr layover - kid's play area was pretty basic, but they had free internet there. MEL leg boarded on time but then told air traffic control was keeping plane on ground for 1hr due to traffic over Oman. Why they didn't know that before boarding I'm not sure, but not Etihad's fault. They turned on IFE to make wait more bearable. Flight itself was good and meals etc fine. At around $1200 per ticket, very good value for money, but not at same level as Singapore or Emirates.

Flew code share Virgin Australia from Sydney to Abu Dhabi then Etihad from Abu Dhabi to Milan. The Virgin Australia flight was excellent due to the flight not being full. The plane seemed new and was very clean, the food was good, and there were snacks available. The change to Etihad from Abu Dhabi to Milan was marked. If I had to spend 14 hours in that plane I would not fly again. It was cramped, full, the seats were so small, the food was not good and the cabin staff didn't seem to care. I would suggest if you take Etihad long haul from Australia, insist on Virgin Australia for the longer leg.

MEL-DOH first time flying business class. Pleasantly surprised given the number of poor reviews. Yes, the seats are somewhat narrow, but very comfortable with massage options. Comfy pillow and doona and all the amenities you could require, except PJs. The food was excellent and the service was outstanding on the MEL- DOH leg. On my return flight, the service could have been better. The flight attendant seemed to be bothered by my (fairly minimal and very reasonable) requests and my empty plate was left on my tray for around half an hour. I am flying Qatar Airways in a few weeks, and it will be interesting to compare the two.

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