Etihad Airways

Flew from AUH to LAX on March 4th 2015 with wife and kids. None of our overhead reading lights worked and we were told to keep the window shutters down so others wouldn't get "disturbed". Had a difficult time explaining this to my 4 year old who wanted to draw and color. There seemed to be only 2-3 stewards for the entire economy class. We had requested a child's meal for my daughter but apparently the request never made it to the airlines. The baggage claim at LAX is half a carousel for an international flight.

I flew Etihad 3 times recently all within 3 weeks and the last 2 flights in the last 4 days. From Amsterdam via Abu Dhabi and 4 days later back home. On my flight to Vietnam and on my flight back home I missed my connection both times because of technical problems with the airplane. I had on a 4 day visit to Vietnam 32 hours delay to spend at the airport. Even access to the lounge was not granted because the flight was "economy". No flexibility no help no apologies no feeling at all to make 32 hours waiting just a little more convenient. They just don't care. They have the reputation to be guest friendly but when something goes wrong they treat you as an animal and from that moment they are only extremely unfriendly not willing to help at all.

This is my first time taking Etihad from Singapore to London. Transit at Abu Dhabi. The boarding of plane went smoothly spacious legroom and seats feel comfortable. Meals were delicious flight departed and arrived on time. I will choose to fly with Etihad again.

LHR to AUH 27th Feb and return 9th March. Travelled as a couple out on 380 and back on 340. The 380 was superb - enormous and comfortable first class suite excellent cabin service from the chef and other staff and good IFE. Less space on the 340 and service friendly but slow as there were only 8 passengers in total to look after.

Manchester-Islamabad-return via Abu Dhabi. Wonderful experience once again. I am single father travelling with two little children aged 9 and 4. Flight nanny on Manchester to Abu Dhabi on 14th February morning flight was extraordinarily good and called my children by their first names. Food choices were very good and all four sectors were fully booked. Chicken option on Abu Dhabi Manchester route was delicious. Our flight out of Abu Dhabi to ISB had to return back to Abu Dhabi due to some technical fault (one hour inflight) but hats off to Etihad for arranging a new aircraft by the time we landed in Abu Dhabi. The new bridge at Abu Dhabi is very convenient. Security was smooth on all sectors. Etihad ground staff at all airports were very friendly and generous. The fare was very reasonable although I booked this flight 5 months in advance. I recommend Etihad to others and will continue to fly with Etihad. Inflight entertainment needs to upgrade but still worth watching.

Flight EY11 18 February. This was the fourth leg of a holiday each flight with its own problems Etihad are getting worse every time I fly with them. This left late as almost every flight does now (previously causing a loss of connection) on this particular leg I was the fifth person asked what I wanted from the menu only to be told that out of three choices this was not available. The entertainment gets less and less and the music selection is non existent consisting mainly of a few compilations. Also they are now trying to avoid giving out fast track cards at London. You almost have to have an argument to get one. I used to have a gold card with Qatar and if they offered me one now I would switch back to them.

Flight from AUH to Delhi on EY224. Flight was slightly delayed. The business class cabins have few flight attendants making service very slow. Food is below average for business class on this flight. It has been better on other flights. Seats are designed for people under 6 feet. Baggage delivery was fast. Prices are much higher than other airlines but you get a direct flight.

Delhi to AUH on EY223. This flight was very delayed with poor communication. Service is slow food was typical for Etihad but average for business class. Bags were slow to arrive. This is the 6th flight in 3 months and convinced me of their consistent poor service. 1/6 flights not delayed.

EY103 First Class from Abu Dhabi to New York. Even though Etihads logo and livery on the metal everything else is from Jet Airways including staff food beverage entertainment system seat and cabin design. Since I am a big fan of EY and didn't expect wet lease service the whole experience was quite disappointing. First of all the menu was all Indian dishes. The onboard chef was apologetic that there was no western food to offer. Beverages were also limited. Amenity kit is non-designer brand and in poor quality. PJ's are again non-designer brand and its material was quite hard and thick. The seat is spacious and fully flat in a private suite. The cabin design is not as swanky as the standard Etihad First class product. The crew were generally friendly but slow to fulfil service requests. Etihad should enhance hard product and service quality of this flight to the same level of the rest of their flights. First class lounge in Abu Dhabi is crowded but service and food is great.

This flight was Amsterdam - Abu Dhabi but I fly regularly from Abu Dhabi around the ME usually 2 or 3 times a month. In the air Etihad are usually OK. Nothing special but OK. On the ground they are one of the worst airlines I experience. This applies to the online booking process online check in at the airport departing and at the airport departing. It is very clear their management have never tried to use their website or travelled with the bulk of their passengers at the back of the plane. On the rare occasions when their website works at all it is usually wrong or fails later. Information at the airports is non existent and passengers are treated as a major inconvenience to the staff. The frequent flyer programme is appalling. Usually wrong often missing flights. When you try to claim lost miles you get an automated message saying they will respond quickly then wait months for anything to happen. Again it is obvious they don't want to provide what you are due. There is never any sign of management in customer facing roles just a group of people who have no power or responsibility. Finally they are always shouting about being the best airline in some poll. Who do they think they are kidding?