Etihad Airways

One way flight AUH-BKK with Etihad Airways, had booked business class but were unable to check in on line. Limo was 40 mins late to pick up, no big deal and got us there in time. Were upgraded to first which was great as I am gold member. Lounge as ever good, not busy, food ok, couple of cocktails and boarded, Jet Airways configured aircraft. Suite great plenty of room, looking a bit aged. Overall food was good, wines great. Sleeper suits comfy and as this was a night flight, bed was made up and got 3 hours sleep. Arrived on time. Overall a pleasent experience, and grateful for the upgrade but I found the ground staff and air crews are loosing their touch, they appeared disorganized, unable to communicate, smiling was not in the guide book and lacked any sense of service training. I feel their must be issues in the camp with the retention of staff as both ground and air crew lacked the professional touch.

I travelled Etihad Airways from London to Kathmandu on 11th December, and it was one of the worst ever. First thing you will be given the menu but when it comes to your place you won't get the meal of your choice because they got limited and you will be given veg Pasta which is one of the worst. If you are in last group of boarding your hand luggage will be given to the cargo with main luggage and they gonna say you that there is no enough space because it's a small aircraft. Its the third day of my arrival to Kathmandu and still today I have not got my main luggage. I have been wearing same dress for three days and planning to buy some today. It's really disgusting.

The Etihad Airways flight to Abu Dhabi was very disorganised. One cabin crew member was clearly experienced whilst the other three in the cabin were clearly too inexperienced to work in the business class section. I also cannot work out why Etihad only had four Arabic Mezze's onboard when the flight had 22 business class passengers onboard. The other choice was soup that most passengers rejected. Seventy percent of the meals were served by the more experienced crew member due to the other three crew members not really having either the energy or enthusiasm to carry out this particular task. The seating arrangement is tight due to a lot of wasted plastic in the cabin. The flight from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok started in a scrum like manner due to the Ground Crew not adhering to their announcement that certain seat numbers would be boarded accordingly. On board again a bit chaotic this time the right hand side of the cabin was working well whilst the left hand side was non-existent. Again the more experienced members on the right had to help the left side out that were again clearly lacking in experience. The seats designated for couples on 777-300 I would avoid due to both plastic sides restricting your movement, I would choose the outside ones even if you get bumped from time to time. In conclusion this is an airline that needs to urgently recruit experienced Managers who can at least direct their crew accordingly otherwise they will struggle to find customers in this difficult market.

The tale of two different flights. The flight from Bangkok was on a Jet Airways wet leased arrangement. The seating arrangement was not ideal and the continual neon light flashing underneath my table tray disrupted my sleep. The service onboard was very poor. The cabin crew even managed to forgot my drink and meal so I ended up with just a hard sandwich, in the end, due to a shortage of meals onboard. Cabin crew did apologise for their lack of service due to being understaffed. Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam you would have thought you were on a different airline. The Manager onboard made sure her crew provided a seamless business class service. The food was prepared to perfection and laid out exquisitely. The seat was fine albeit a little bit tight. So for the first flight I would have awarded Etihad Airways 1 and the second 10, hence my difficulty in scoring in this case.

Düsseldorf to Perth via Abu Dhabi returning from Melbourne. Check-in at Düsseldorf and Melbourne was professional and managed very well. The staff had a friendly approach. We were asked over to the First Class check-in desk as this was not being used at the time. Boarding was carried out in a logical order and special attention paid to families with children and disabled travellers. We were greeted by friendly and helpful staff. Stowing hand luggage was quick. Service was the best I have experienced. Menus provided after take-off, which offered a vegetarian, meat or fish option. All meals were substantial and delicious. I liked the couscous salads and stainless steel cutlery. I was pleased to see water provided by the cabin crew before take-off. When the drinks service slowed down there was water available at the rear of the plane. Comfort levels were good by economy standards. I managed about 3 to 4 hours of sleep on the return journey, which is good by my standards. I found the plane a little bit too cold on the DUS to AUH flight, so I'd advise other travellers to take a good sweater. However, a blanket is provided should you get too cold. Eye masks, headphones toothbrush and toothpaste are provided. A good selection of entertainment.

Abu Dhabi to Manchester. Etihad Airways was ok. Boarding didn't have a clear preference for frequent flyers, or if it did it wasn't clear nor enforced. Cabin crew looked aloof. I get that it is economy, but a sincere smile would go a long way. There doesn't seem to be a lot of cohesion amongst the crew. The pillows offer no support, but the blankets are fine. I travelled with the airline because I have my frequent flyer membership with a codeshare airline.

Bahrain to Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways. Flight departed 15 minutes late and landed late as well. The taxi time was close to 30 minutes. We were given a sandwich on this 1hr 10min flight. The IFE screen was frozen and we could not play the media. Coffee was not given to everyone, although I requested for it and they fortunately obliged.

A new low in customer service on 2 of the 4 flights on my recent trip with Etihad from Manchester to Bangkok. Not what was expected from (as we were reminded via the PA several times each flight!) 6 times airline of the year. Steward on Manchester to Abu Dhabi leg with no eye contact, no interaction, no chance of a smile - he only spoke to inform that drinks were restricted due to the flight being full and no ice or lemon available. Flight from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok okay, more for the fact that it was half full and crew able to cope due to less demands rather than providing good service. Bangkok to Abu Dhabi was a full flight and a return to poor service and shortages of refreshments - informed they had run out of water, orange juice, apple juice, ice and lemon. Had a problem with the seat back display but after several attempts to get it resolved I decided to spend the entire journey without it. Final flight Abu Dhabi to Manchester only half full and as it was an overnight, the crew had minimal demands on them so able to cope. I normally opt for Qatar Airways or Emirates, who have never provided a service this bad, and I will avoid flying with Etihad in future. Airline of the year 6 times running - don't make me laugh.

Very smooth check in in Istanbul and they helped all the way through to departure. Lounge in Istanbul is shared with other airlines not so good. Onboard fabulous food, seat good and good IFE. At Abu Dhabi there was a staff waiting to take me through security to board my flight to Tokyo. Good service, same plane model. Bags first out, one drawback no chauffeur service available in Tokyo.

Our onboard facilities were great and attendants were very kind and professional. Etihad Airways logistics sucked beyond belief! Our flight was delayed. We were supposed to be rebooked, but on arrival no one knew what was going on. No rebooking. Made to wait in lounge for over an hour with no resolution. Lost an entire day. No hotel, no courtesy anything. All as a first class passenger! If this is a luxury airline I dread to think what happens to those in economy. A good airline is more than just nice cutlery and good seats. First they have to get passengers from A to B correctly. This airline is atrociously bad in the basic logistics of flying.