Etihad Airways

Flew Sydney-Abu Dhabi-Dublin 5th March 2014. Can not fault the service. Seating good (and I am not a small person - nor am I extra large!) Had G seat - inside aisle - and empty seat beside me. Then two seats between 2 window seats. Water was offered every hour and rubbish cleared frequently Meals more than adequate- toilets clean.

MAA-AUH - EY 269 - 5th March AUH-JFK - EY 101 - 5th March. JFK-AUH - EY 100 - 26th March AUH-MAA - EY 268 - 26th March. Really happy with the service. The cabin quality is good crew were courteous and helpful and most importantly the ground staff were co-operative and available guiding travellers to their destination. Food and entertainment was also great onboard. All in all a good experience.

March 9 2014 and flight numbers EY407 EY71. The worst customer service I have dealt with. Staff very rude with zero regards to passengers. We had a total of 24 hours delay on our flight and they did not offer us a hotel or anything and when dealing with feedback staff they did not even apologize. We received a boarding pass and were denied boarding after being re-routed because we were not re-booked properly - although there were free seats on that flight causing us another 11 hours delay.

I traveled several times with them and each time has been a nightmare. Flights being delayed for 4 to 5 hours is common. Last time I flew out of Kuwait the lady at check-in told me: Sorry Sir but the flight is delayed. 2.5 hrs on a 90 minute flight. Of course I was not offered any voucher not even for a drink of water! The worst was my recent flight to Morocco from Abu Dhabi. The flight scheduled to leave at 2 am finally left at 7 am. Not a single announcement was made to inform passengers or to guide them to some desk to get assistance or a voucher. Up to 7 am the airline's website kept listing the departure on time at 2 am. The company was not to blame with the delay the airport was experiencing a failure of the lighting system on the runways. The Etihad service desks were swamped with stranded passengers needing to be rebooked. It was madness to try to get to the desks. Etihad staff was trying their best not to been seen. No attempt was made to bring order to chaos. Things did not get any better once I finally arrived in Morocco. Being so late I had missed my connection. No help from Etihad no one in the airport to guide passengers and assist them.

Used to love flying with Etihad especially when I had my silver status with them. But my last 3 flights with them have lacked heavily with poor customer service 7 hours flight delay in Abu Dhabi and staff didn't provide any quality information unfriendly staff at gate 59 that day last month. Great customer service by staff in Australia and Germany but the UAE headquarters in Abu Dhabi is the one that pulls down the whole airline performance. Seats are still great and entertainment is ok but could be updated a little. Always flying MEL-TXL-MEL. Staff members wake you up while sleeping only to ask you if you want to have dinner. Thinking about doing future travel with Qatar airways.

I was disappointed when I tried before my flight to arrange meals that were both wheat and dairy free. I was told that I must choose one or the other. Business class surely costs enough to cover this. My first meal consisted of a starter - a chicken breast and a main course - another chicken breast! I decided that there was sufficient choice on the main menu to find suitable options. I felt that I was paying enough to be given a gluten free choice. The entertainment was really poor for European travellers.

24th Feb from Manchester to Abu Dhabi then from Abu Dhabi to Lahore. Onboard the cabin crew gave a warm welcome were polite and helped us find our seats. Seats were very comfortable the inflight entertainment was excellent and I like the fact that I could see take-off from my screen. There were not many facilities provided for infants I was traveling with my 2 year old nephew. I disliked that the food was served very late. Another irritating fact was that the airplane was just too cold. Abu Dhabi airport was good there were guides everywhere however the flight was delayed 2 hours. Flight departed 15 minutes late flight from Abu Dhabi to Lahore was quite bad the airplane was not in a good condition and smelt.

Brisbane to London Heathrow. March 28/29. This is the second time we've used this airline the first being Business Class to and from Australia from London last year. Our overall feelings? The reputation of the airline as 'the best' seems to us to reflect (if true) on how bad other airlines must be though our experience of Emirates flights London/Melbourne have always been better. We had ample airmiles for upgrade on one leg back but were told these classes were 'sold-out' which on observation passing the seats on exit was patently not the case! The Etihad seats for a tall man like me are a nightmare no way to get a headrest into high position to rest head. The space is confined and restrictive. Although Silver Guest card holders we were never advised that we could book actual seats well before the 24 hour on line service. Whilst many of the aircrew really are very nice some are poor at communicating. The food? Well this time much worse than before mostly inedible and boring. I'm afraid we feel this airline is terribly overrated and will never travel with them again.

EY460 9th March from Manchester to Abu Dhabi. This was my first long haul flight so wasn't exactly sure how it would be. Excellent flight with very attentive service comfortable seats and good inflight entertainment. 2nd leg of journey from Abu Dhabi quite poor in comparison. At Abu Dhabi airport was sent to the wrong lounge and no one seemed to have information on our flight details. Lounge very busy. Once onboard the flight staff initially helpful but that soon wore off. Was offered a drink which I accepted only to have it taken away unfinished with no explanation. Obviously an older plane not the one shown on the website and the seats were a bit worn. I hadn't realised that the flight was with an Etihad partner Virgin. I chose to travel business class for the reason that Etihad have flat beds some help with how to flatten them would have been good. Most people sleeping presume this was the reason there was no meal offered? I had to ask for breakfast I don't really consider a bowl of cornflakes a round of toast or a steak sandwich on a 13 hour flight acceptable. The cost of this flight was £3400 I could probably have a few nights in a five star hotel for that. I have my return journey home in a couple of weeks can't say I'm looking forward to it!

Flight from Abu Dhabi to London 28 March. Transfer from an Air Seychelles flight easy but a long walk. Flight to London delayed but information board gave no reason and how long the delay would be. Ground staff didn't seem to know. A 90min delay. Flight full. Families had been separated and ground staff had no clue how to resolve and were just inept. Boarding chaotic with no order. Shame as once on board and off the ground the cabin staff were excellent. Nothing was too much trouble. Food good - a snack bag to start with (flight left around 3am) and then hot breakfast prior to arrival. Good entertainment system. Seats somewhat cramped - they get in an extra seat across a 777 like Emirates - and seat pitch average. Good fares. Need to improve the quality of ground staff at Abu Dhabi as this spoils a good product in the air especially their cabin staff. Worth considering.