ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 December 2007 by M Cain   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

MAN-BKK via AUH. It was the first time my 3 children had ever flown. Etihad seated my wife and I at either sides of the plane, with my 14 year old daughter two seats behind me, my 16 year old son seated eight seats behind me, and my 19 year old son eight seats behind my wife on the other side of the plane - AUH to BKK all separated again, I tried to complain but all I got was a sorry, nothing they could do, An expensive airline with poor communication, and if things go wrong Etihad cannot manage any problems.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 December 2007 by J Sabaduquia   (USA)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

MNL-AUH-JFK. First leg of the trip on Boeing 777-300 seats were great, so was entertainment, FA's friendly and hard working. We had a layover on Abu Dhabi for 5 hours and it was the worst airport I've ever been. Next leg on Airbus A340-500. Flight was only 50% load so was spacious, Seats were still nice, but food was bad. They also need to improve there cabin cleanliness, All in all still a good experience, considering they are a value for money.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 December 2007 by Anthony Clark   (Indonesia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

CGK-AUH-DUB-AUH-CGK. As someone who travels Indonesia to Ireland on average of 12 times a year, I think I've tried all the operators and any opportunity to bypass London for me is important in which route I take. The check in at Jakarta was very quick with no problems, the plane was full to Abu Dhabi because of Haj but to Dublin was not even 1/3 full so I could stretch out. Arrived in Dublin 45 mins early and was kept waiting on the tarmac for all of that and more for a parking slot. Food on board average, better than KLM whom I also use a lot, staff a mixed bunch but attentive. All in all given allowances for a rapidly growing airline I'd happily use them again. AUH gives a lot to be desired especially to the regular traveller, hit it at the wrong time and you are in a seething eclectic mix of people, at others its like the Mary Celeste, quite bizarre and as for the Business Lounge, its business only in the name, the foods better in McDonalds.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 December 2007 by Z Khan   (Saudi Arabia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

ISB-AUH-JED Coral Zone. ISB-AUH, was a leased Euro Atlantic Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The service onboard was pathetic as the Portuguese crew had a tough time communicating with passengers. Meals were handed out to the passengers without any choice whatsoever. I was given a vegetarian meal that was cold and had no salt. Portuguese crew was friendly and kept smiling. AUH is a nice place to wait for your connecting flight, if your connection doesn't last more than 2-3 hours. I on the other hand had my JED flight scheduled for 0150, so that made it like 8 hours which were tiring and boring. There's a duty free with lots of things to choose from, a costa coffee outlet, free internet. AUH- JEDa Boeing 777-300ER and different story. The legroom was awesome, PTVs in Coral zone excellent with about 78 movies to choose from and the meals excellent this time. The atmosphere of the 2.5 hours flight was peaceful as there were hardly 100 passengers travelling that night. My seat was 25K while the seats besides me were empty like most of the plane. The crew was fantastic and did an excellent job on the night flight.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  20 December 2007 by M Cruq   (France)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

LHE-AUH-CDG. You’d better know that due to the growth of their activity, they face aircraft and staff shortage so we flew Euro-Atlantic B767 LHE-AUH with a so-called Etihad FA. In complete dark a third of the journey (3h30) as individual lamps were all out. Absolutely no entertainment, useless ventilation. AUH-CDG was far better with new A330, great entertainment. Quite chilly in the cabin.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  20 December 2007 by Colin Maclean   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Shiny aircraft, plastic image. We left LHR 3 hours late, inbound plane late, fog at Abu Dhabi. I can handle this but then landed at Al Ain airport in Abu Dhabi because of more fog. 6 hours on the tarmac. One small half filled beaker of water. One tin of biscuits between a few hundred people. Landed at Abu Dhabi airport, missed connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur, told to queue with a few thousand others at the laughable name of the "Guess Desks" -all hell broke loose! No queues just pushing and shoving, five hours to get to shout to someone with no training and no care. I use shout because it was so noisy! Offered flight out 10.00pm via Bangkok that night but no meal vouchers as they said they had run out. Sat on the airport lounge until 6.00pm only to see that on the departure board it read "Delayed" until 7.00am the following morning. Tried queuing for another hour for a hotel voucher but told again, none available. At this point as we had business in Sri Lanka a day later which we couldn't miss, we vacated the mayhem, purchased two tickets to Sri Lanka direct and flew out 2 hours later! All in all the most miserable trip of a lifetime. Etihad three time winners of best newcomer airline - so when are they going to join the real airlines then? Scratch the surface and world Etihad falls apart. Avoid at all costs in case it happens to you. They got star from me because you cannot give lower and the plane didn't fall out of the sky! If really wish I could.
 

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  20 December 2007 by Stuart Walker   (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Business

SYD to MAN return in Business class. Etihad use the Qantas lounge in SYD which is not as good as the Air New Zealand lounge. All flights generally on time. Lie flat seat is good if a little narrow, especially if you have a window seat, so if travelling alone this is the seat to go for - very private. Food average, wine selection poor. Amenity pack OK - but who gets to use the shower gel? Entertainment system very good, enormous selection of films and music. International selection of flight attendants who were generally good and very welcoming. The Abu Dhabi lounge is a disgrace. Too small, food rubbish and only one shower in the so called Health Club. The no smoking rule is generally ignored. Thankfully the connection times were good. Overall, I would say that Gulf Air offers a better product.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  13 December 2007 by Faizaan Asghar   (Canada)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

The seats were comfortable when we travelled from Abu Dhabi-Toronto. The food was delicious and drinks were excellent. In-flight entertainment is cool. The pillows and blankets were good. The service was good and FAs friendly.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  10 December 2007 by Dean Macpherson   (South Africa)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

JNB-AUH-LHE RETURN. Plane was new, service and food was great. If your flying into Pakistan, Etihad is a better service than Emirates. Return flight was a nightmare! They used a lease plane from Lahore to AUH and a crew member opened the door on the tarmac causing the slide to be deployed causing a 2 hour delay. Ground staff rude and would not speak english. The plane was terrible and old, not up to Etihad standards. Other than that, was glad to get home even though narrowly getting to my connection on time. Even through all of this, I would use Etihad again and probably go Pearl Class

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  10 December 2007 by C Stevens   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Excellent flight LHR to AUH and onto MCT. Flight half empty and service and food were excellent. Return on 1st December was late leaving Muscat and our AUH to LHR was 15 hours late due to fog. Etihad had everything in hand. We were told at MCT that we would be taken to a hotel in AUH and were given the opportunity to get swimming things etc from our cases as luggage would be checked straight through. Were taken to a lovely hotel in centre of Abu Dhabi where we spent the afternoon at the pool and had a walk round Abu Dhabi before being given a good meal. AUH to LHR very full and smaller plane than expected but service still good. Would recommend Etihad.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  7 December 2007 by P Mégevand   (Switzerland)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Business

GVA-AUH-BKK C class. Delayed 2 hours from Geneva. Already informed at check in that next morning flight would be delayed for 12 hours but no explanation. Total chaos when entering AUH airport. Hundreds of people laying on the floor. Fortunately access to Etihad premium lounge. Even there it was so crowded that we had to sit on the floor for more than 5 hours. Polite staff tried to do there best, however that was nothing to do as all flights had been postponed up to 24 hours since about 3 days (due to fog in AUH). Flights themselves very comfy in Pearl zone, excellent AVOD. Food average for C class. Service inconsistent. Very friendly outbound, no smiles on the return. Not one drink served on all 4 legs after meals. A very average feeling.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 November 2007 by Vijesh Sreedharan   (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

BNE-AUH-BOM-AUH-BNE, coral class. BNE-AUH great with 1 hour stop in Singapore Changi. The flight attendants were attentive and delicious meals. AUH-BOM sector was just okay. Since, we had a long layover in AUH, EY provided accommodation in Abu Dhabi city at Sands hotel which was comfortable. The hotel was a short 20 minute drive. AUH-BNE sector was comfortable. I would fly Etihad again.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 November 2007 by Micheal Handrich   (Germany)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Abu Dhabi - Munich. Boarding at gate 8 - no announcement to board the plane, staff just opened the door. No separation of boarding organized according to rows or zones. On board, smiling flight attendants who didn't helped to accomodate the personal belongings. Waited for 50 minutes in the plane for some late incoming Bangkok passengers to transfer to our flight - but no information from the crew, only some minutes before the arrival of the missing passengers. After take off a greasy, wet chicken sandwich was served. The napkin was inside the paper bag with the snack, so it was wet as well. Crew only asked for water, tea or coffee. I asked for a Campari Orange, some of the drinks mentioned in the menu, the flight attendant went to the galley and gave me a glass of orange juice and a bit of Campari in a second glass - both room temperature. Had no idea that Campari Orange is a Longdrink. Reduced inflight entertainment without latest world news section. Cabin attendants were in the galley, talking to each other. No water/juice service during the night. Washrooms were not cleaned. 1h40 m before landing at Munich airport (to early!) a breakfast was served, the Arabian selection was not available anymore. Once again, only coffee or tea was served. Small cup was not completely filled. Orange juice on the tray really small, no more drink service before landing. The carpets in the plane were dirty, with stains. The crew smiled a lot, but I could not feel any truthfulness or heartiness.I'm really disappointed of Etihad on this night flight to Munich.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  27 November 2007 by Dominique Epstein   (France)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

CDG-AUH-BKK return economy. All flights on time with check-in okay. Aircraft new and clean on all legs. Onboard service acceptable. Service without smile, and FA voice often sound like an order. Superb entertainment system, with multilingual films and audio on large screen. Average quality food. Meal service sometimes odd. On CDG-AUH leg, FA serve drinks first followed by meal without drinks! AUH-BKK (flight 6 hours+), a dinner is served after take-off from AUH, but nothing (even a drink) before landing at BKK. I would have appreciated a snack. Abu Dhabi airport is so congested that transit passengers may sleep in corridors, as no space available in this small place. Not a nice place to stay, with very few facilities. Etihad has yet to improve the skills of its cabin crews if the company intends to compete with leading Asian airlines

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  23 November 2007 by Graham Snape   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Bangkok to Manchester. BKK to Abu Dhabi 3 hours late so connection in AUH missed. Check in took 4 hours as they tried to rearrange flights. No special care for old people or children - my 2 kids were ill. If you miss your connection in AUH you are stuck there for an eternity - the flights to Europe from AUHare so infrequent. We were there 7.5 hours and were promised hotel in AUH when we left BKK - but transfer staff at AUH refused one. Staff at AUH knew nothing about problems, and communications between Etihad staff at BKK, AUH and London are non existent. Ended up being sent to Heathrow for another 4 hour wait, before BA got us on a flight to Manchester. 13 hours late - no Etihad staff to help at any point. No information, no help with kids, simply awful service throughout from staff who simply didn't seem to care. Wouldn't use them again at any price.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  23 November 2007 by C O'Connor   (UAE)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

A disgusting experience my girlfriend and I had on 18th Nov 2007.Arriving at AUH airport, first and last time with Etihad - we were met with several hundred angry and very confused travellers as Etihad were still dealing with previous mornings fog delays. What a mess. For the several hundred delayed passengers Etihad had about 3 or 4 totally confused "customer service agents" who ran away if you approached them. No supervisor or management were present so basically there was nobody to get correct information from. A check in agent told about ten of us to relax and go away, so all passengers, no matter where they were travelling to, had no information about their flights. After about 5 hrs we were all taken to various hotels - several hours into our sleep we were woken up and told we had to go back to the airport and wait there instead. On arrival at the airport we met the exact same scenes as the night before.No ground staff with information, no supervisors and no managers, just hundreds of very tired and confused customers. The set up would make Ryanair look professional. After about 4 hours we managed to locate a "manager" but he emphasised he wasnt in charge - when I started to explain our situation he said we have to wait maybe 8 or 9 more hours for any info and walked away. Several hours later we demanded a taxi take us to Dubai so we could organise something with Emirates. Our original flight had a departure time of 10pm on the 18 nov we got in a taxi at 1130 am the next day to leave Abu Dhabi airport with no contact from Etihad and no explanations. Never again.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  21 November 2007 by Phil Rhodes   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Recently used Etihad economy on return trip to SYD from LHR via AUH. Impressed by new aircraft, good quality food and attentive staff. On the way out we were delayed by a technical fault and were all taken to an Abu Dhabi city centre hotel. An interesting free additional experience to our holiday. On the way back, fell apart to some extent by fog at AUH and another delay. Arabic hospitality won through in the end, despite the airport being totally crammed with too many people. The city does need the new terminal badly with better facilities.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  16 November 2007 by David Mullins   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Flew with Etihad from Manchester. My wife and I are retired and opted for the Coral class section. Following the outbound trip, we thought perhaps this was an unfortunate bad day and it would be better on the return leg home. Big mistake. The seats and table trays were filthy and smell was appalling. One meal (breakfast) was served and without choice we were given virtually cold Turkey and potatoes. The cabin staff did keep a regular supply of fruit drinks and water going throughout the trip home. I would suggest that Etihad Airways CEO take a close view at punters level of his coalface operation.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS review :  14 November 2007 by Joanne Goh   (Singapore)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

BNE-SIN. Flight was good with many drinks given. Staff nice and courteous and tried to help when my interactive video was not working at my seat. Had to move to the middle seat because it was not working on my aisle seat. Food selection was not bad. First time on Etihad and my review for this airline is good, other than improvement on the interactive video and the type of blanket. As they are fleece, the wool come off from the blanket on to the clothes so when landed, I looked like a cotton ball.