Etihad Airways

EY470 SIN-BNE on A332. A lot of gimmicks on their seats. They are very sturdy and you unfortunately need to give it your all for a recline no wonder some people say you can't recline on their Y seats. Cabin crew were a diverse bunch so were their level of hospitality. IFE not the best I have experienced. Food was okay but their tea was too strong!

Flight 0090 March 9 to March 24. Athens to Manila. Almost no empty seats. Food was bad. One sandwich for lunch and plain rice with some beef for 8 hours of travel. Limited space. 30 minutes delay on Abu Dhabi. Good staff. I would avoid Etihad and prefer Emirates or Qatar.

BKK-AUH-DUS in Business. The flight from BKK to AUH was uneventful however in Abu Dhabi the transfer was horrible bad signage arrogant and unfriendly assistance and than the overrated F Class Lounge. The check in to DUS was a complete nightmare there were other flights as well departing from the same lounge nobody really understood what's going to happen. Our flight delayed by hours. Than finally boarding no delays anymore. There was no communication at all. Transfer to aircraft via bus. Inflight entertainment did not work the breakfast served was not eatable at all. On my return journey to Australia I selected a different airline.

Flew from Brisbane to Bristol via Abu Dhabi and to Dublin. As usual excellent flight but chaos in Abu Dhabi both ways. Waited 56 minutes to disembark appeared to be problems getting buses from plane to terminal. Abu Dhabi airport taking far too long with its improvements many less experienced travelers would not tolerate the waiting and misinformation. Being a gold member having very little advantage in Abu Dhabi.

Worst experience from AUH to IAD. After sitting on the plane for 3 hours we had to disembark. Long story very much shortened communication from airline personnel was non-existent. Ultimately the flight arrived 23 hours late. After transmitting my objective impressions to Etihad management I received no acknowledgement whatsoever.

I flew from Manchester UK to Melbourne Aus via Abu Dhabi. All my flights to and from Melbourne were punctual clean efficient and more comfortable than expected given I was in Coral Economy Class. I have been on long haul flights with a number of airlines to India and USA and I must say that I was most impressed by Etihad and would recommend this Company. The cabin staff were exemplary in meeting the needs of all their guests treated everyone with respect and yet made me feel like a special individual. My only reservation is that if you seat at the back of the plane the menu choices can run out. However it is possible to pre-book a meal from a drop down list when booking.

2 passengers travelling as a couple LHR-HKT via AUH EY18/EY1996 15-16Jan 2014. These flights and the return in March were booked with Trailfinders UK in summer 2013. Seats were requested on the LHR-AUH flights both ways but seats on the AUH-HKT sectors could not be requested as it was operated under a code share agreement with an Etihad partner Air Berlin. The day before departure I visited the online check-in site at the permitted -24 hours to find seats on the first sector had been allocated window and aisle as requested. There was a very limited option for change so it had been well worthwhile requesting at booking. However second sector seats were allocated as 16K and 15D in opposite aisles making travel as a couple impossible. No option for change. I made a request for more equitable seats at baggage check-in LHR and the agent was able to offer us seats together in 20AC on the second sector less attractive seats due to the missing window in this row but otherwise fine. Once underway on time service on the first sector was in the modern CX/SQ mode a little better in some respects a little less so in others. Food was acceptable even tasty with a pre dinner drink and wine with the meal. Missed was the CX mid flight ice cream. Great IFE. Abu Dhabi was a work in progress crowded busy and confusing with the need to pass through security again. Better is promised for 2015. The second sector on Air Berlin was OK reasonably efficient slightly brusque cabin crew attitude and edible rather than tasty food. No pretence of offering a superior service. No alcohol offered on this breakfast flight but I believe it would have been available on request. Slightly primitive IFE. A quick route from Heathrow to Phuket slightly under 15 hours including stopover. Competitively priced 30 kg baggage allowance and service levels as you would expect but such a pity you can't pre-book seats. So home at the end of the return trip and time for a final verdict. Would we use them again? No not unless they integrate more effectively.

IAD-BKK (via AUH) round-trip. IAD-AUH (A340-600) - flight only 20% full and I had the bulkhead seat with an open seat next to me. Had a great experience with in-flight food entertainment and service. I chalk that up to the empty flight and minimal stress on FA's. Bulkhead seats are normally 75$ per leg but was able to get it during online check-in. Bulkhead had plenty of legroom and you don't have to worry about reclining seats. IFE is slightly smaller and with lower graphics quality. Cons: seats are quite hard halfway through the 12 hr flight my tailbone was so sore I had to sit on a pillow for the rest of trip. Transit AUH - first time at airport and transit in evening was a breeze with minimal lines for transfer/secondary security. I had a short layover so didn't check on the facilities. Food options are limited and expensive. AUH-BKK (777) - completely full flight and boarding process was very chaotic. Basically a complete free for all boarding. They boarded by rows but gate agents were not enforcing it. I will avoid flying on 777 especially with the 3-4-3 set up and the poor seat pitch. Cabin was very hot even though I was just in a T-shirt. FA's did their best scrambling around with the full flight. Seats again were very hard and not comfortable. BKK-AUH (777) - same experience as the inbound flight. Cabin too warm and breakfast food was pretty bad on this flight. By far the worse on the trip. Boarding in BKK still very chaotic. AUH transit with US Customs pre-clearance - 3 hour layover in the early morning and airport was very busy. Secondary security had long lines and had to wait 30 min. Food options is still terrible. US pre clearance at AUH was a mixed bag. No dedicated lines for US citizens. AUH-BKK (A340) - another full flight and a complete reversal in my Etihad experience. FA had difficult time communicating with mostly South Asian customers. Meal service was a zoo - I have never seen so many different special meal requests. There's a 30-40 min lag between special meal service and regular meal service. Special meal customers ended up holding on their meals for 1 hr. Some flyers had to take their own tray back to the FA. Cabin temperature fluctuated a couple times from cold to warm. IAD luggage took forever. Waited for a full 30 min at the carousel from the first bag to my bag. Probably would not fly Etihad economy even with the lowest price. Seat pitch way too small for intl long hauls. AUH transit was not very pleasant with lines everywhere and terrible food options.

Flew (or attempted to fly) EY440 and EY015 Ho Chi Minh / Abu Dhabi / Manchester 7 March. Flight to Abu Dhabi left almost 9 hours late. Utter shambolic chaos at Abu Dhabi. Hundreds of us queuing for boarding cards. Etihad staff apparently beyond even seeming to care. All sorts of wrong/misleading information. Pity any poor person not fit enough to be in a queue for hours on end. Had to wait until same flight 24 hours late to Manchester. I feel I owe Singapore airlines an apology for not flying with them this time. Etihad? Never again!

Flew from Manila Philippines to Malaga Spain on 8th March. Flight supposed to be delayed for departure from Manila for 2 hours which ended to be 3.5. I lost my connection to Dusseldorf and ended up in a queue along with at least 500 people from other flights and different connections lost. There was no type of prioritization communication from staff and they were totally lost. We were standing in the queue for 5 hours looking at the staff behind the counter. When I reached the counter I kept hearing "one minute sir one minute" for about an hour before getting a new reservation for connections the next morning at 4 am so 20 hours later. I then went to terminal 1 since I had to take my boarding pass from there the guy could not print them from Terminal 3. Went there sat in another queue for half an hour just to be told that I was at the wrong counter to get boarding passes for Turkish airlines and I should move to another. There are no signs whatsoever and no people that could provide useful information. It is acceptable to miss a connection it happens everywhere but the level of incompetence and lack of interest in Abu Dhabi is just ridiculous. Not flying Etihad again.