Etihad Airways

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.

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.

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.

Chicago to Abu Dhabi on New Year's Eve. Departure board said "on time". Flight scheduled to leave at 8pm. Boarding started promptly at 7pm. Told we could get in line and board the plane first as we had child with us. This did not happen. As it got closer to 8pm passengers were being rushed to sit down and stewardesses were hurrying around trying to find places for excess carry-on bags. 8.30 pm - still on the ground waiting for plane to be de-iced. 9pm - plane still on ground. 9.30 pm - announcement there is medical condition on board. Have to pull back up to gate to unload passengers and offload their luggage. 10pm - still on ground waiting to be de- iced. 10.30 pm - still waiting. Midnight: Happy New Year! Still in Chicago and plane still at the gate. 12.30 am - have to be de iced again and announcement made that we were waiting for runway to be cleared. 1.30 am - we finally take off. No hot food served. Lousy cold sandwiches served only after siting about 5 hours.

All four legs were in business class taken during November 2013. The boarding process following a restful hour or so in the Airline's dedicated lounge at Heathrow was smooth efficient stress less and punctual. Aircraft (a Boeing 777-300) was as expected clean and in pristine condition. Although the seats in this cabin class were somewhat narrower than many other major carriers they were well appointed and functional as was the in-flight entertainment system. Food was of a high standard and served with a smile. My few requests (via the button) were answered promptly and I did not feel that they were in any way considered to be a nuisance. Arrival at Abu Dhabi and transfer to the next flight was seamless and I was soon on board. Cabin attendants were as professional as had been on the first leg as was the food. My in-built clock nudged me to operate buttons and turn my seat into a bed. It was time for some sleep. This was when the narrowness of the seat became more noticeable a pity really as a couple more inches would have given much more comfort. Following my tour”of Vietnamese culture and cuisine I returned to Bangkok - placed the top layer on and prepared for my return to London. This time after check-in I was directed to the airport's Apricot Lounge prior to boarding. Although quite a peaceful refuge its facilities fell far short of the Airline's own lounges. As expected the journey times against the prevailing jet streams were much longer but they were offset to some degree by the good service and ambience of the aircraft's business class cabin. Overall my experience of Etihad Airline certainly falls into the to the 'Very Good' category and if I had to give it marks out of ten it would score a solid nine.

This was my return flight back to Manchester my departure flight was poor bad service on the MAN-Abu Dhabi leg and Abu Dhabi-BKK was only slightly better yesterday's flights were totally different the service on both legs of the flight were exceptional good food drinks service very good could not fault any of the service side of the flight what I would say is that Etihad need to invest in new aircraft or refurbish the existing fleet as the seats and interior are getting very tired and uncomfortable. I will try another airline next year just to compare the airlines but if Etihad Want to retain their high status they need to listen to the customers that use their airline.

I booked to travel from MAN to AUH on EY22 on 20th Dec. I called EY's call centre to upgrade using miles/cash to business where I was assured that there are plenty of seats available and should head to the airport 3 hrs before departure to process this. The information given was completely incorrect as the desks opened 4 hrs before departure and all seats were taken by then which was very frustrating and disappointing. EY ground staff and EY's Business class lounge staff at MAN acknowledged the mishap and were very courteous and attentive and attempted to solve this problem. Return flight on EY21 on the 29th of December light load in J class we were well looked after by the excellent crew in J. as usual EY's catering is excellent cabin crew attentive and good hard product. I just wish they sort out the unhelpful call centre and bring back the old amenity kits in J class with Aigner products that were infinitely better than the current cheap substitutes.

Never Again. Rome-Abu Dhabi (Alitalia Business Class). Abu Dhabi-Melbourne (Etihad). Food excellent on Alitalia flight and entertainment system and service very good this after experiencing the worst business class lounge I have ever been in at Rome. Went to buy a sandwich at bar outside after 5 minutes. No computers showers or food and small bar. Arrived Abu-Dhabi check in and business class lounge good but crowded. Plane terrible. Narrow seat not comfortable. Old seat. Promotes internet from device did not work. Service terrible. Movies poor. Plane old and uncomfortable. Drinks limited. Looking at leaving Emirates and Singapore will not be doing any time soon.