Etihad Airways

Etihad are getting a lot worse. Four years ago when we flew with them for the first time they were excellent a true 5 star experience even in economy. Now 3 star at best. They seem to have been taking lessons on customer service from Ryanair but without the cheap fares to compensate they will just alienate their customer base. Emirates and Qatar are now much better and from Manchester offer alternative routings at similar cost. Flew out of Manchester and jobsworth checking hand baggage size and weight really degrading for what is sold as a luxury airline. Didn't have same experience at AUH on way home although check in a complete shambles there.

25/10/13 JFK-AUH. Traveled from JFK New York to Abu Dhabi. Smiling and friendly personnel. Nice food. Entertainment was good. Champagne nice videos everything one needs for comfort.

Bangkok to Abu Dhabi. Previously travelled A340 with them and it was acceptable but this trip on Boeing 777 was torture. Ten across seats should not be allowed and will never fly this airline again. Serving trolley bumped into my shoulder no less than 6 times and have bruise to prove it! Cabin felt so claustrophobic and long queues as travelers could not get passed service trolley to bathroom. This was made worse by repetitive claims they are an award airline - what for the most cramped seats? Never again and would warn all others thinking about using this airline that their Boeing 777 should be carefully avoided. Will take a connect in future on Emirates or Qatar.

Travelled from Brisbane to Dublin return excellent service all round except business class lounge in Abu Dhabi did not seem to be big enough to accommodate the number of passengers that were there while my stop over was there.

I traveled from Washington D.C to Bangalore India. Never again will I make such a mistake! Checking in our bags at Dulles the ground staff were overly picky about the weight per bag not he total weight per passenger so I was there along with innumerable folks re-packing my suitcases. Then the hand baggage was weighed - not once but 3 times the last one being just before we got on the plane. This staff member came with a portable weighing scale and rechecked. When I got on the flight it was literally empty same thing with the return flight. I will never fly on this airline again.

EY404. Business class. AUH to BKK. Product seems much better then than - AUH product. B777-300 has larger PTV and has more storage flight seat pitch is bigger. Before take-off offered the option of pre-ordering drinks and meals. Dine anytime. As soon as at cruising height the drinks were dutifully served individually. Avoid row 11 as immediately in front of galley for economy class so very noisy. Served hot nuts choice of crab tian mezze parsnip and apple soup spiced land ouizi pan fried sturgeon tenderloins beef with red current jus. No complaints whatsoever although the amenity kits are now poor quality and basic no designer products.

MAN to AUH. Delayed landing due to fog so diverted to a regional airport after circling for a while. Plane needed refuelling and awaited weather improving. Once landed had to stay on plane but doors opened and soft drinks muffins and pastries supplied. Kept fully informed of situation by the pilot. PTV kept on and comedy sketch shows available. Delayed about an hour however whilst on board I received a text message from Etihad to inform me I would be transferred to another flight. On arrival at AUH boarding tickets awaiting us the next flight was held for us and our luggage even made the transfer. Completely efficient service. On board the meal selection in business consisted of anytime dining Aarabic mezze oven baked chicken! mushroom soup! chicken biryani! rack of lamb (exquisite) pan seared scallops tagliatelle cheeses desserts and ice cream. On board service excellent without being too intrusive.

EY407 BKK-AUH. Business. Rear cabin toilet appeared to be constantly locked. On enquiring was told that it was kept locked to stop economy class passengers from using it. Therefore had to ask when wanted to access the toilet. British crew particularly friendly. Usual high standard of service and menu.

NBO-AUH-BOM-AUH-NBO. A320 and 777-300ER respectively and vice versa in return. Flight was very comfortable with adequate leg space. Best was the IFE which had lots of choice of latest Movies and Songs. FA's were very beautiful helpful ever smiling and organised. All flights were on time and in fact arrived earlier than ETA. Will travel more often if this type of service continues.

Flew from Buffalo to Mumbai via Chicago and AUD. American Airlines from BUF to ORD. From previous experiences with BA and other better airlines I was carefree about connecting at ORD. Only to realize later that I had to go through another check-in at another terminal. Reaching the check-in counters there was a long queue. Apparently everyone was waiting to check-in. So even with the boarding passes I had of AA they meant nothing. Nowhere did anyone tell me about rechecking in. I waited patiently. Elderly passengers who were also connecting from different cities in the US were annoyed. A rude man walked up and asked everyone with AA boarding passes to queue up separately. I was to fit my industry standard carry-on bag in a non-industry standard bag frame. I was told that I will have to check my bag. Having already paid in Buffalo for excess luggage it seemed like a way of making money out of people's miseries. So apparently the check-in was another money collecting routine by the airline. Went through security again. By the time I reached the gate it was chaotic: noise and chaos galore. Onboard the seats were hard space was tight. FAs were nice and pleasant. Inflight entertainment was ok. Food service and drinks service was very good. Liked the fact that they had steel cutlery. Connecting at AUD was painful. Long walk. The walkways were not helpful. AUD to BOM flight was in a Jet Airways plane. The interiors were old. Run down. General drunk passenger. FA handled him courteously. Food was good again. Inflight Service was very good throughout. Will fly Etihad maybe Business/First because if you're Economy no one cares.