Etihad Airways Passenger Reviews and Etihad Airways Customer Trip Reports

Abu Dhabi to Paris as a codeshare flight with V australia. The ground service at Abu Dhabi is just adequate, the check in only opens within a two hour window of the flight - you must get your boarding pass in Abu Dhabi even if your flight is SYD-CDG. Ground staff at check in a bit grumpy. The security check in is a tad slow, and limited english. The seats are spacious, good selection of entertainment, food is good depending on your selection, I don't recommend the shakshuka. The convenience bag is a nice touch for economy.

BKK-AUH-BKK. The flights were on time, attendants were excellent. The transit is hectic especially on the AUH-BKK flight with only a little over an hour between flights. The seat is 1x2x1 arrangement, and comfortable with excellent privacy.

LHR-AUH-MEL. Left LHR a little late. Arrived in AUH for expected 3 hour transfer, but ended up waiting another 5.5 hours on top of that, to board flight to MEL. Made the entire trip 32 hours long from airport to airport Final leg of journey (14 hours) was gruelling and turbulent. No explanation given about 5.5 hour delay. If I hadn't found a lounge to wait in (at my expense), it'd been even worse. Service was very slow and I had to ask 3 times for water. Inflight entertainment was average.

Heathrow - Abu Dhabi - Kuala Lumpur return. Heathrow online checkin counter very helpful, first leg A340-600 told there were 100 free seats - don't know where they were but certainly not near us. Quick transit in Abu Dhabi, only problem was landed at Terminal 1 and not 3 as per flight schedule - found way to T3 through Tunnel, its some way so allow time to transit. Next leg a newer B777. Food on both legs good, but service very slow, inflight entertainment not as good as Emirates. Return from KL again B777, better FA's and quicker service. Delayed extra hour at Abu Dhabi, little information given, lack of facilities at T3. Last leg on B777 But smaller version than when booked seats, luckily person moved and we had 3 seats between 2. I shall be returning to Emirates in future.

BKK-AUH-LHR, checked in online (which opened late) and dropped bags in at BKK. Check-in staff were efficient. B777 plane was half empty giving me 3 seats to myself. Hot breakfast food quatity and portion size excellent. Crew were terrific, later a hot sandwich was served (not great). I had a 1hr 30 mins transit time and the airport was empty and security took a few mins. The second flight an A340 and fairly full. The seats are fairly comfortable and leg room quite generous. A lunch was served - delicious lamb and meal service was quick. The IFE is quite good, has a large screen and good sound but the choice of movies were not great.

Manchester to London was delayed by 9 hours and then finally cancelled. There was a drama of making the passangers embark and disembark the flight 2 times, with a long wait of 2-3 hours in the flight with no information passed on to the passengers. Food coupons were given only to people who demanded them - whole delay was so badly mismanaged. Different staff gave different reasons for the delay and eventual cancellation of flight. The flight had only 30% occupancy and probably did not make business sense for Etihad to fly. Finally, passangers were adjusted in other Etihad flights as per Etihad's convenience and not the passengers. We were told the baggage would be transferred to our new flight by Etihad staff. But, when were boarded the new flights were got to know from Emirates staff that our baggage was not checked-in. When we arrived at our destination, Bangalore, I was told my baggage was in Bahrain and would take 2 days to reach me. Finally, Emirates took the responsibility, traced my baggage and delivered it safely at my house address. I would never fly Etihad ever again in my life.

AUH-SYD. Had to endure a gruelling flight to AUH with Air Berlin (although this flight was advertised as an Etihad flight), we were hoping for a smooth trip to Sydney. We would have checked in online the night before but due to the fact that the first leg of our trip was operated by Air Berlin, this option was not available to us. You should be able to check in online even if the first flight is operated by a codeshare partner - shouldn't be too hard to handle. The flight was smooth and we enjoyed the good service and choice of movies etc. Despite sitting next to a very young child, we were able to sleep for a couple of hours. Food was average. BNE-AUH-DUS (via SIN). Leg-room and food average, service good. Flights were on time and entertainment was good. The annoying thing about travelling through SIN was that we had to go through security checks again before re-boarding the plane. This also meant having to throw away some of the water bottles we had just bought.

Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi on an A330. Smooth and quick check-in and left on time. Very good cabin comfort with plenty of legroom and recline in the seats. IFE was modern with more than enough choice entertainment. The in-flight service was excellent, friendly, polite and efficient. Two meals were served, both of good quality, and in between they frequently came round water refills. First time I've flown Etihad and will definitely fly again. Plus we got a good price on the tickets.

Heathrow - Abu Dhabi and back. On the way over, I was a little worried that the extra seat they've put in each 777 row would mean seven hours with someone's elbow in my stomach, but actually it didn't seem that a big a deal. The main difference is in a narrower aisle, which I admit did mean the drinks trolley bashing into me every so often. What was a plus was the USB port for your iPad / iPhone etc, the entertainment system was good, the crew was friendly and efficient and the food was passable for long haul economy. On the way back we were in an ageing A330, as opposed to the newer 777s. As a result, for most of economy the backseat TVs weren't working. To compensate, Etihad had brought on board a collection of Archos video players to make up for it. No, the Archos players weren't the newest and the cabin staff had to rush around delivering new packs to passengers whenever the batteries ran out, a task they carried out with patience and good humour. However, I'm impressed Etihad even brought them on board, for most airlines, a broken IFE would result in a sorry and shrug of the shoulders. Not only that, on arrival back at Heathrow, staff were waiting for us with letters apologising and offering 5000 miles (with the miles being applied retrospectively for anyone joining). Overall I was impressed with how they handled the situation for what I personally didn't consider such a big issue in the first place. Will definitely fly them again.

Flew MEL to LON via AUH and then MXP to BKK via AUH. I was pleasantly surprised with the service. Very friendly crew, good IFE, seats are ok - a tad cramped but it is economy. Some of the crew were lovely and stopped for a chat and were interested in my travels. Meal service very slow with just one FA, but meals hot and tasty. Prompt response to a call bell, I've flown other UAE airlines and I can say I think I've been converted.

Just completed MAN-SYD via Abu Dhabi in Y. This is my first trip on EY and my first transit to Australia via the Middle East. I have to say I was impressed. Check in at MAN was very quick. I have a gold Membership of Virgin Australia which gave me lounge access at MAN. The lounge was compact was excellent. Even including a cooked to order hot breakfast for traveller. Boarding in MAN was quick and easy. Seating in Y is fine. Space was ok and the inflight entertainment system is quite exceptional with over 300 video options. Connecting in Abu Dhabi was quick and easy. The onward leg (EY454) to Sydney on an A340 was also excellent. The 340 seats seem a little more comfy than the A330 seats of the first leg. But apart form that the service was consistent and excellent. And best of all the flight time seems quicker than travelling via Asia. MAN-Abu Dhabi in 6.5 hrs then Abu Dhabi SYD in 13hrs. Under 20 hours and it felt that fast compared to transits via Singapore or Bangkok. All in all recommended.

Travelled Brisbane-Singapore-Brisbane of EY473 and EY470, Airbus 330-200. The plane seemed well maintained, clean comfortable cabin, great inflight entertainment, very polite, nice meals and courteous service from cabin staff. Would gladly travel again with this airline.

MAN-AUH-CGK. I checked in online but could only complete the process for the first leg. The "baggage drop" at Manchester Airport turned into a 15 minute procedure. Outward flight about half full, so plenty of space and a relaxed crew. Food excellent, particularly the "Gourmet Pizza" served as a hot snack just before arrival at AUH. The IFE system is far better than I remembered it to be, must have been improved over the last few months. Transit at AUH made unnecessarily complicated by showing every flight up to four times on the departure screen (one mention for each airline that is code-sharing). The result is that even flights leaving within two hours do not appear on the screens, as there is no space for them to be displayed - a bit stupid. Onward flight to CGK a different story, as the aircraft was completely full owing to a group of at least 200 returning domestic helpers, which - being a 777 with the dreaded 3-4-3 seating arrangement - does not make for a fun time, but is particularly problematic during boarding. Snack after take-off OK, hot meal service (breakfast) better but not as good as on the first leg. Arrival on time, but baggage delivery was extremely slow.

MEL-GVA, MXP-MEL. Air NZ lounge a place to sit in MEL. AUH lounge a place to luxuriate. Pergolesi lounge MXP another place to sit. Service on board: chefs and sous vide often work very well; some quite impressive combinations. Beverage selection excellent. Staff service otherwise fine and attentive. Seat/bed excellent accommodation, video screen and AV selection as good as you can get.

R/t FRA-AUH-BKK. Check-in at FRA was painfully slow - almost 10 min per person due to technical issues. Boarding at FRA was also somewhat chaotic. Service on board, though, was good. FAs were nicely presented and friendly. Snack served after take-off was pretty bad whereas the breakfast prior to landing was good. Transfer at AUH not satisfactory, with a 2 hour delay, gate changes and again slow boarding. Return was somewhat better - no delays. The food again was mixed - some good, some bad. IFE in all cases, however, was top-notch. Overall, the experience was satisfactory and I would fly with them again for the right price.

Flew to Abu Dhabi with Etihad and had a good experience. Staff were friendly and courteous. Check-in was a breeze at Heathrow and boarding was very quick too. Once on-board the seat was comfortable. I am 5' 11" and had plenty of legroom, which was good when sleeping. The entertainment system is good with a good range of films and TV although it would have been nice to have a few more episodes in some of the TV programmes. Food was tasty, although there was only chicken left for breakfast which I wasn't sure about but I even enjoyed that. Flight was on time and I collected my baggage quite quickly too. Would definitely fly them again.

MEL-AUH-DUS-SYD. I recently flew Etihad long haul from Australia and was left a little disappointed over all. The flight up to Abu Dhabi had a surly and uninterested crew who were rarely seen and even simple things like water runs were few and far between. The seats could do with more padding and support, however the leg room was quite ample. The trip back was different - a happier crew with numerous snacks and water deliveries but a lack of attention to detail on a full aircraft. Toilet paper ran out and not re-stocked in virtually all conveniences, no cups at any of the water fountains from the go get, half the plane didn't receive menus for the trip so overall it gave a 'lackadaisical' feel to the service. On top of this, a completely farcical boarding experience with no PA system in operation at Abu Dhabi. Not quite there yet.

I have done Sydney-Paris-Sydney via Doha in both Business and First and generally, think this to have been amongst the better flying experiences I have had. In my view, the most important thing leading to great service on a flight is crew integration, coupled with good skills and attitudes and good food and beverage. I did enjoy the comfort in First and the privacy, as well as the luxury of a great bathroom although with carry ons, there is still not a lot of space once the bed option is activated. Food was generally good and crew uniformly good. Business was a little less memorable due to narrow seats and configuration. I generally watch reviews and while personal experience for any airline getting my business is paramount, the cumulative comments of others are also noted.

After years of travelling happily with Singapore Airlines but finding the seats on its new A380s to be too hard for long haul flights, I decided to try Etihad for Melbourne to Athens return via Abu Dhabi. Sorry, but never again. Being 6'5'', the seats while being softer than Singapore's, are far more narrow and the leg room is much poorer. The result? No sleep at all with the worse part was the Abu Dhabi to Melbourne leg. This was the rear seat against the toilets with almost no reclining and constant flushing all through the 13 hour journey. Food poor, service surly. By far the worst air experience on any of the major airlines.

If you experience any problems submitting comments on the above link, please use our general   Feedback Page