ETIHAD AIRWAYS   Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports an official 4-Star Airline   Add your Etihad Airways review   Etihad Airways official 4 Star ranking   Airline Reviews : A-Z Index   2009 Quality Approval Status ?

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ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  6 April 2009 : by Heiko Jockers   (China)

MUC-AUH-PEK C Class - rare opportunity to be on the A340-500 from MUC-AUH, great plane but Pearl Class consistent with the A330's no difference. Both legs great attentive service, window seat nice and private. Movie selection probably too limited. Due to timetable changes MUC to China does not work anymore, only Paris connects! Why not launch PVG sometime soon? Back to CX for me.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  30 March 2009 : by Robert Jago   (UK)

London/Abu Dhabi/Sydney return. Limo transfers, check in and ground services, inflight service, cabin comfort, food and drink all excellent. On three of the four legs my wife and I were allocated seats up to five rows apart - this even though we'd been booked for from two to five weeks in advance and checked in together. Out of London we managed to swap seats with two men. In Sydney we found we were to be separated on both return legs and had to create quite a fuss, even threatening not to board the aircraft - the final change was made at the very last minute. We'd like to fly with Etihad again, but only if seats are allocated and confirmed before check in.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  20 March 2009 : by Ian Sinclair   (UK)

AUH-JNB on their 2 cabin service. Outbound I made the mistake of selecting an aisle seat, its a bit like sitting on a shelf, with most of the passing traffic either bumping into you or rather heavy footed. Couldn't change seats as J cabin was full. I made sure that I had a window seat on the return leg, much more privacy although the lack of space to put anything in either aisle or window was irritating. The tables are also quite compact and hard to reach in a reclining position - there was nowhere else to place a glass or laptop. Food service on both sectors excellent and what they lacked in basic comforts was than made up by professional and friendly attitude of crew. The Shongololo lounge in Johannesburg is superb, far more comfortable and up to date than most of the lounges in Johannesburg. The limo service to Dubai was complimentary and made for a comfortable and efficient transfer.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  12 March 2009 : by D Hiralal   (Switzerland)

C class from Geneva to Mumbai via Abu Dhabi. All flights are with fully lie-flight seats in C- Class. Window seats give good privacy. Geneva - Abu Dhabi leg very professional, good food and very reactive FAs. Abu Dhabi to Mumbai was a code share flight run by Jet Airways. C-class was empty, plane was clean and FAs perfect. Mumbai to Abu Dhabi was sub-standard. No amenity kit nor blanket. FAs just sitting around doing nothing. Abu Dhabi to Geneva was again a very good flight. A la carte dinner, good cabins and helpful FAs. In general the in-flight movies were better before. Terminal 3 has opened in Abu Dhabi and the lounge is much better the previous one.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  10 March 2009 : by A Newton   (UK)

LHR-AUH-BKK. Average airline, does not deserve its 4 star rating. Some FA's great, others not. Very inconsistent. IFE was not bad with a good selection. Was asked which I would prefer out of three choices for breakfast, asked for the one I wanted only to be told no longer have any left. So said give me whatever you have got left, only to be told 'oh sorry, actually no breakfast left now'. Fair enough I may not get my fair choice, but to be told there are no breakfasts left at all?

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  10 March 2009 : by A Berry   (UK)

Manchester to Abu Dhabi and return with my wife and a ten month old baby. The staff at check in and on the plane were fantastic and entertainment system was great. Cabin crew were polite and efficient. Abu Dhabi airport is small and shops and eateries are limited but we spent 3.5 hrs there with no complaints. I would rate my experience as one of the best when flying with Etihad.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  4 March 2009 : by C Lin   (USA)

JFK-AUH-MAD return economy class. The food was okay but not great - I would not consider it 4-star. Inflight entertainment decent. The seat pitch in economy is slightly wider than American airlines I've been on. My real complaint was on my flight from New York to Abu Dhabi - there were a set of restrooms in the middle of the coach cabin that were closed because of turbulence. FAs claimed that if something happened to someone in those restrooms during turbulence, they would not be able to access them quickly, so they locked them to prevent anyone from using them. I understand this point, they are concerned with safety, except they didn't make any announcements to anyone, and nobody knew. So people were standing in line waiting for these permanently locked restrooms that never opened. I waited almost 15 minutes before seeing an open one at the end of the cabin near the galley and rushed there, and that's where they told me. On my way back from Chennai via Abu Dhabi, the flight was pretty empty, people got to stretch out across whole rows, and there were two Australian male FAs who were particularly nice.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  3 March 2009 : by Anita Vollmer   (Germany)

Etihad wants to offer you a service at a high standard. But they must work on it! They offer a selection of three meals but very seldom that you can choose between the three meals. They also have to work about their on-board service! Very Good inflight entertainment! The Seats in the Economy class are very comfortable.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  28 February 2009 : by Peter Clark   (Australia)

On a recent Brisbane Singapore return trip we were held at the gate in Brisbane for 1 hour after scheduled departure time with no explanation, no apology apart from messages from the captain. No offer of refreshments while we waited. BNE-SIN is a long enough haul as it is without adding another hour. During both flights, the cabin service can best be described as perfunctory. The cabin staff appeared at meal times, did what they had to, and disappeared. Barely a word was spoken. Nobody patrolled the aisles with water or juice in the interim periods. We have no idea if this was airline policy or the staff were on some kind of work to rule, but they certainly gave the appearance of simply "going through the motions". These two flights were our first and last with Etihad.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  28 February 2009 : by P Brady   (Ireland)

Dublin to Abu Dhabi onto Kuala Lumpur three days later, and then return. We travelled in Pearl (business) class all the way. The overall experience was good, but there were elements of the trip that had me thinking we were travelling Ryanair. At Dublin, we strolled along to the gate about 45 minutes ahead of flight time and it was already boarding, which was a pleasant surprise. We had seats 5E/F on this leg, which are together and at the front. The aircraft (A330-200) seemed fresh and flight crew were attentive. Food on this flight was excellent, with no shortage of drinks. After a few days in Dubai, we were back at Abu Dhabi (which has to be the most overcrowded and least pleasant airport I have seen for a while) for the flight to Kuala Lumpur. Even though this flight was at 0240, many Etihad flights seem to depart around this time and the airport was very crowded. Luckily, we were departing from the new Terminal 3, and spent a pleasant hour in the new Business class lounge there, before getting the call for another hassle free boarding. 9E/F this time, good seats On this flight, the 'anytime dining' concept was in force. Lighter meals available at any time. Neither of us ate much on this flight, waiting till near arrival time for a light breakfast. Did not think the crew on this fight were very efficient. On the way back is where the cracks began to appear. We arrived very early on a connecting flight so had hours to spare. We knew at 1500 that the flight was going to be 90 minutes late, and arrived at Check in 3 hours before scheduled departure time. We were about 5th in the Business class line, only for a couple of men to brazenly walk in front of us as if we weren't there. Seems waiting your turn isn't in vogue. I reclaimed our place only for the check in to take an age due to some passengers with a connection to London which they didn't look like making because of the delay into Abu Dhabi. It took 3 desks to sort them out while we waited and fumed. The logical way would have been to take them all to one desk rather than clog up the whole process. Boarding was a fiasco. No announcement for Priority Boarding other than a few shouts of 'any Business class '. We were almost 2 hours late with tempers fraying and I think at least two passengers were denied boarding after a heated argument with staff near the gate. We were in row 10 on this flight, separated avoid. Too close to the curtain and a draught from the exit doors, it was freezing back there. As the flight was over 2 hours late in Abu Dhabi, they announced which gates continuing passengers should go to. No mention of Dublin except for shoulder shrugs and we had to ask ground staff when we got off. Turns out the same aircraft was going onto Dublin, but we had to go out into the scrum waiting to get on. It took us 30 minutes to get back to the departure gate where the old spirit of Ryanair took over again, with chaos when boarding eventually started. Too tired to eat on this flight, slept all the way and the plane landed about 45 minutes late in Dublin. The inflight entertainment system is good, with excellent headphones, but the movie selection is geared to the Bollywood/Chinese audience and there were no European/USA blockbusters on offer. The nose camera is good to watch although it was switched off before the landings. Seating is pretty good. A bit narrow for bigger builds, but the fully reclined bed is comfortable enough. Etihad probably aspires to be as good as their neighbours, Emirates. Not yet by a country mile, but give them time. In the air, they provide a very good product which is let down by substandard work on the ground.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  28 February 2009 : by A Ahmad   (UK)

LHR-AUH-KHI-AUH-LHR. Food wasn't that great and crew not very friendly either. AUH-KHI sector on an A320, looked really bad condition. Return flight was better and crew were more attentive. Had a 2.5 hour transit at AUH. One of the worst airports to transfer, like cattle. Airport very disorganised as well. One flight was going to Dublin and our flight to London. All passengers were mixed up! There is reasonable legroom on Etihad economy and PTV's very big on the A345/A346.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 February 2009 : by Graham Burke   (Australia)

Sydney - Abu Dhabi - Muscat return in Economy. Seats were as comfortable as you could get, in flight entertainment excellent - good choice and it worked. Flight Attendants were fine (attentive to requests, cleaned up quickly after meals, kept the toilets clean) but they didn't have much time to be friendly. Long flight but reasonably comfortable overall. Only disappointment was the food on Abu Dhabi - Sydney leg - avoid the so-called scrambled eggs at breakfast time! They looked as bad as they tasted. Apart from that, a good effort by Etihad.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 February 2009 : by Heiko Jockers   (China)

MUC-AUH-PEK Business Class. Both legs perfect, in terms of comfort and service. If traveling alone in Pearl Class best to avoid one of the twin seaters (E/F rows 5, 7, 9 and 10). Lounge in AUH empty during this trip, 8 to 10 pm. Tried one of the complementary massages in the lounge spa, great, done by Thais, similar to BKK if traveling with TG. Still have not had a flight that departs from the new terminal 3 gates! A much greater western movie selection would be appreciated, otherwise IFE reliable and easy to use.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  23 February 2009 : by Richard Seltzer   (USA)

JFK to SYD via AUH return in Business. Seats the best I've found for Business Class. Total lie flat. Best to avoid the aisle seats as they have less privacy. Food and drink service on demand with excellent service. Food variety was limited and not up to the best Business Class standards but acceptable. FAs were among the best I've seen. Limo service was prompt and courteous and on-time.