Etihad Airways

BKK-AUH-CAI. Flight from BKK to AUH was on a Boeing 777 and excellent Pearl Business lay flat seats. Flight from AUH to CAI was a very old Airbus 319. Small plane cramped seating old and worn fabric. Recliners didn't really recline and the screen was in the armrest. Limited menu due to 4 hour flight time. Uncomfortable and ridiculous for the amount we paid.

Poor Service BNE-SIN-BNE no recognition of Frequent Flyer status. Outbound leg no immigration cards for SIN but Cabin Manager did not bother to advise. If you can't load a plane or actually have someone meet the aircraft with the immigration cards in 7.5 hours there is something wrong. Will not fly again.

Heathrow to Sydney via Abu Dhabi. Flight was packed with kids - obviously the sales pitch of the Norland trained nanny worked though I didn't see much evidence of them being around there was a lot of screaming/squealing all through the flight. Seat allocation is a nightmare be sure to get on-line as soon as you can and book your seats do not leave it until you get to the airport or you'll end up wedged in the middle of a middle section. I've flown a lot on many different airlines and I found the seats in this one incredibly tight and uncomfortable so much so that I woke up in the middle of the night once I got home because my back was so sore. The food was pretty ordinary in the middle of a 14hr leg to Sydney we got a cold bread roll with three thin slices of tomato on it. I have never been so hungry on a plane! The final service before landing was rushed with the staff basically tossing the food at us from piles in their arms there was only one choice and half the contents of my tray were missing but the staff were so stretched I didn't bother to harass them about it. The 30kg baggage allowance and the large toilets on board are good points but the rest of it was pretty average.

Manchester to Kuala Lumpur via Abu Dhabi on New Year's Eve. On boarding dispute over 2 people sitting in wrong seats woman refused to move stewardess did not know how to handle it eventually after unsuccessfully pleading with her to move she told the couple whose seats they were that she would find them somewhere else to sit but they would be apart naturally they refused! Meanwhile nobody else could get past to get to their seats. Service on board was extremely slow we had the wrong menu card. Even though the Cabin Crew were wearing 'Happy new year' hats when we boarded there was only a passing reference to it being 2014 as we passed over Romania. Abu Dhabi airport experience was an awful chaotic shambles. Multiple flights arrived simultaneously and they clearly could not cope with the thousands of passengers in transit. Nobody knew what they were queuing for or even if they were in the right terminal. Airport staff were taking no notice of those who were trying to tell them they would miss their connection if they stayed in the queue luckily we had a 3 hour wait so we were not worried just bemused at the chaos. Security control was a joke only 6 manned and shouting to us to 'leave everything in your bags'. Not looking forward to going back through on the way home. Food on board was nothing special entertainment not brilliant headphones didn't work. Overall not a good experience would not use Etihad again travelled to KL with Emirates last time and there is no comparison. Must say however that landings were excellent hardly a bump.

AUH to GRU: Cabin was hot and meal wasn't very good. I'm not demanding in terms of food but was not happy to see my wife and children barely eating. I thought the a/c had a problem I just had a t-shirt on and I was sweating. Second leg back to AUH: Again the cabin was too hot - very uncomfortable. It seems nonsense to keep temperatures high inside the airplane until someone complains. The flight attendants were very nice. Food again was a problem: we barely touched our first meal the last meal at the end of our flight my wife and children didn't even accept. Seat comfort entertainment are the usual similar to Emirates. Unfortunately I will not give Etihad another chance.

Departed Brisbane 24 Nov 2013. We found this flight extremely disappointing. Being a family with small children the main priority for us was obviously to have as smooth a trip with the children as possible. We were recommended Etihad as they advertised to have a nanny onboard and are good with the children. We flew Brisbane to Singapore onward to Abu Dhabi onward to Paris onward to Toulouse in France. The children were not spoken to nor were we introduced to a nanny as per Etihads advertising until the Abu Dhabi to Paris flight. The nanny in this flight was very pleasant. However on the previous flight I had to ask for water twice before it was brought. We are returning to Australia with Etihad unfortunately. Hopefully the service is better. I would not recommend etihad to a family. I would recommend Etihad to an individual as the food was reasonable entertainment was good and the seats are as comfortable as any other airline.

Toronto to Trivandrum by business class. On the plane from Toronto to Abu Dhabi the cabin staff were more interested in selling duty free goods than serving passengers any food. I had to ask the flight steward to serve breakfast to my son who was awake for at least 45 minutes. The trip from Abu Dhabi to Trivandrum was good. The lounge was good but Terminal 1 was crowded and poorly organized. There was a long line up to check in and business class passengers were not given any priority. On our trip back the 13 hour flight from Abu Dhabi to Toronto was a disaster. They only served dinner and did not serve any food afterwards in business class! I had to ask for a cup of coffee which arrived minutes before landing in Toronto. I don't think I will be travelling Etihad again unless they change their service to passengers.

EY 23 Abu Dhabi - Düsseldorf International. Only 4 check in counter open for Etihad flights at AUH airport terminal 3. Boarding chaotic with no sequence. Plane well maintained and clean. EY's biggest problem is their poor seat pitch and hard seats. This was one of the most uncomfortable flights I have had in a long time. Lots of kids on board parents had to wait for a long time to get their bassinets set up bottles warmed up etc. Then some time ago with big fanfare announced "dedicated inflight nanny" could not be seen anywhere. Staff were friendly but it was obvious that they were severely understaffed. IFE well below the standard of other middle eastern carrier.

I just returned from Abu Dhabi to Manchester on 1st of January with Etihad. I have to say the service and the crew was above of all my expectations. It was a very pleasant surprise after my experiences flying different airlines. Their care for passengers was obvious very attentive and smiling crew throughout the flight. The seats however made me suffer a bit but overall it was a nice experience. I would definitely choose them for my next flight.

Chengdu China to Manchester UK on 29th December. Now the service on the flight from Abu Dhabi was nothing to sing and dance about a busy flight with every seat booked out and cabin crew just scrambling about to keep everyone fed and watered. They did remember my special meal but it was an odd breakfast combination but this is the only reason food and beverages did not get five stars from me. Chengdu to Abu Dhabi: While the ground crew at Chengdu were clueless the cabin crew on this flight were excellent. Attentive and interested in the well being of passengers they conducted regular cabin walks and brought water every hour to passengers in economy. They even conducted a chocolate run going through the cabin during the night to see if anyone watching films or reading would like individual chocolates with another drink. On landing they were helping get baggage down and giving directions for first timers to Abu Dhabi about gates.