Economy class - Dublin to Sydney

[IrishPete]

People here tend to write about their Business or First Class experiences, but not everyone can travel at the point end (or upstairs!).

I just got back from a trip to Ireland which I had to stay in Economy the whole way - despite having the points and money to upgrade, I seemed to have bought a completely non-upgradable ticket. Note that you only seem to be able to tell this at the time of booking - there is no easy way of telling later. I'm not sure there is any way at all of telling later, as the issue is whether you booked a "Breaking Deal" fare, and if you didn't book direct with Etihad, you may not know.

I wrote about the Sydney-Dublin experience a few weeks ago. So just some brief notes on the Dublin-Sydney. Check-in in in Dublin was extremely quick. The flight turned out to only be about half full, so there was plenty of room to stretch out. Security in Dublin airport was extremely slow - "my" security person insisted I empty all my pockets, and that even meant taking my passport and boarding cards out of my shirt pocket! They ways of airline security remain a mystery to normal people.

Transit through Abu Dhabi was fine - I do hate buses from planes to terminal, but I realise this is temporary. Al Reem lounge again, and waited for the sure, but the toilet attendant told me to wait in the lounge and fetched me when it was ready. (I left him a decent tip - I try to if I have suitable currency; it's a **** job - haha - and I feel for the expat workers doing such jobs in the Middle East.)

Abu Dhabi to Sydney seemed full, completely full (I gather this is normal). There was an Aston Martin on board, literally - I saw it being loaded, probably something to do with the James Bond movie premiering soon in Oz.

And Etihad, please sort out the issues with your in flight entertainment. When a flight is delayed before takeoff (as in Abu Dhabi), I get very irritable watching the same advertisements over and over and over. And why do you take the headphones away so long before landing, again leaving passengers tired and irritable? I live in Oz, I don't need to watch tourism adverts for it - you could make those optional. And if I'm transiting Abu Dhabi, I don't need tourism ads for it either.

It was great to watch the Rugby World Cup final live, although reception was broken up at time.

 

[Mattg]

And Etihad, please sort out the issues with your in flight entertainment. When a flight is delayed before takeoff (as in Abu Dhabi), I get very irritable watching the same advertisements over and over and over. And why do you take the headphones away so long before landing, again leaving passengers tired and irritable? I live in Oz, I don't need to watch tourism adverts for it - you could make those optional. And if I'm transiting Abu Dhabi, I don't need tourism ads for it either.

Emirates does the same thing. I really don't understand why they feel the need to collect the headphones half an hour before landing. I can only assume they're worried about people stealing them or that they want to quicken the turnaround time after landing.

 

[vmile]

It was great to watch the Rugby World Cup final live, although reception was broken up at time.

How seriously cool is that.Hope EY kept the libations up in Y.

 

[smit0847]

Thats a very good experience for EY Y- they have a horrendous reputation in Y.

 

[EtihadAirways]

Thats a very good experience for EY Y- they have a horrendous reputation in Y.

Thank you very much for your feedback! It means a lot to us and we'll make sure to forward the points mentioned to our respective teams for improvement. Thank you for taking the time to write this comment. Should you need any help in the future, please don't hesitate to get in touch. *JP

 

[spudseamus]

Thats a very good experience for EY Y- they have a horrendous reputation in Y.

My son did a trip to Ireland and then back from London (a380) to,MEL in Y. His comment was " it was fine but some meals could have been better"

 

[IrishPete]

I see the jetlag affected my typing! "Sure"= shower. And many typos. Sorry for the temporary drop in standards!

 

[tirtytree]

I usually fly economy with Singapore Airlines, but I flew economy with Etihad for the first time from Dublin to Sydney in early Jan with a stopover in Dubai to break up the journey. Unfortunately prior to us flying a couple of months in advance, for "operational reasons", Etihad cancelled our flight from Dublin to Abu Dhabi and put us on an earlier flight. Unfortunately that meant we had to fork out for an extra night in a hotel ($400) in Dubai but we would only arrive in at 12am that time. Oh well. In fairness, Etihad did inform us by text and email so no complaints in regards to communications.
Dublin to Abu Dhabi - Flight was full but that's to be expected around that time. Staff were efficient and meals were better than expected. There was also a good selection of movies to choose from. One minor hiccup was that the flight was delayed by about an hour but c'est la vie. As part of the flight ticket, Etihad provide bus transport to Dubai. We were booked in for 9:45pm transfer. Since the flight got delayed we got into Abu Dhabi later than scheduled and didn't make it to the bus on time. After about half an hour of searching for an etihad rep, one appeared at the help desk. He informed us that the next transfer wasn't for another two hours. That was a little frustrating. But anyway, we killed some time and tore into a Maccy D's! ...shameful! Once the two hours were nearly up we lugged our bags to the bus stop. When we got there, we were told we missed our earlier bus (not our fault since the plane was late!) and that we could only get on this bus if a passenger on the current list he was holding didn't show up. I couldn't believe what he just said! So, in other words, we could end up having to wait another two hours. This was the first time I got really frustrated and I basically said to him whether he liked it or not we were getting on this bus.Either that or organise another bus. After a lot of complaining to him and more passengers showing up with the same issue, he eventually organised a second pickup bus for us. We ended up getting to the hotel at 2am.
Abu Dhabi - Sydney
We didn't want to rely on the transfer bus provided by Etihad given our earlier experience with it. We were just too nervous that if the bus was late or some other issue cropped up then we might miss our flight. Instead we took a taxi from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. $125 later (a good price for a long taxi journey I must say!), we arrived at the airport well in advance of our flight. No queues had formed yet which was great. We got our boarding passes, although the lady at the check in counter was a little condescending.
Once all passengers boarded the flight, the captain informed us that we couldn't take off for another hour and a half as we weren't allowed to fly over Oman at this time. Another delay. The plane itself (A380), appeared to be new. Everything was so clean and modern and the entertainment system was very impressive. The touch screen was very responsive. Not once did I have to reach for the remote. Movie selections were also top notch. The toilets seemed bigger than what I would normally see in economy. The food itself wasn't as tasty as the previous flight. Strangely, we were served a lunch and a dinner even though it was a night time flight. Breakfast was served closer to arriving in Sydney. Service itself was adequate. I felt sorry for the crew as again the plane was full. They were quite busy. It was a long flight but probably longer for them.
Overall, I would probably fly economy with them again but not if I planned on having a stopover in Dubai. They seemed very disorganised in that sense.

 

[IrishPete]

Yeah, customer service isn't always the best, but the product - a flight with reasonable entertainment and okay food - is not bad. I am surprised you weren't compensated for the extra costs you incurred. It could be worth contacting Etihad. I find they are more responsive through Twitter message or Facebook message than any other medium.

And like you, I think the larger toilets on some aircraft are great. It turns what otherwise is like a solo game of Twister, trying to avoid other people's "spills", into something much less unpleasant.

If you can manage to get Silver Status so you can access Etihad Lounges around the world (Dublin's is just perfect), you will never change airlines again! I fear I may lose my Silver Status this year...

 

[EtihadAirways]

People here tend to write about their Business or First Class experiences, but not everyone can travel at the point end (or upstairs!).

I just got back from a trip to Ireland which I had to stay in Economy the whole way - despite having the points and money to upgrade, I seemed to have bought a completely non-upgradable ticket. Note that you only seem to be able to tell this at the time of booking - there is no easy way of telling later. I'm not sure there is any way at all of telling later, as the issue is whether you booked a "Breaking Deal" fare, and if you didn't book direct with Etihad, you may not know.

I wrote about the Sydney-Dublin experience a few weeks ago. So just some brief notes on the Dublin-Sydney. Check-in in in Dublin was extremely quick. The flight turned out to only be about half full, so there was plenty of room to stretch out. Security in Dublin airport was extremely slow - "my" security person insisted I empty all my pockets, and that even meant taking my passport and boarding cards out of my shirt pocket! They ways of airline security remain a mystery to normal people.

Transit through Abu Dhabi was fine - I do hate buses from planes to terminal, but I realise this is temporary. Al Reem lounge again, and waited for the sure, but the toilet attendant told me to wait in the lounge and fetched me when it was ready. (I left him a decent tip - I try to if I have suitable currency; it's a **** job - haha - and I feel for the expat workers doing such jobs in the Middle East.)

Abu Dhabi to Sydney seemed full, completely full (I gather this is normal). There was an Aston Martin on board, literally - I saw it being loaded, probably something to do with the James Bond movie premiering soon in Oz.

And Etihad, please sort out the issues with your in flight entertainment. When a flight is delayed before takeoff (as in Abu Dhabi), I get very irritable watching the same advertisements over and over and over. And why do you take the headphones away so long before landing, again leaving passengers tired and irritable? I live in Oz, I don't need to watch tourism adverts for it - you could make those optional. And if I'm transiting Abu Dhabi, I don't need tourism ads for it either.

It was great to watch the Rugby World Cup final live, although reception was broken up at time.

Hi Pete!

We're so sorry you weren't fully happy with your experience. Have you been in touch with us yet? If not, feel free to let us know through [email protected] and we'll connect you with our Guest Relations team *JP

 

[theblank]

I am going to fly BNE - DUB return in July but don't have enough points for business both ways.
I have read a lot of bad reviews on the Economy Searts, too hard, too narrow. What's your thoughts for those who have flown the long hauls in ecomomy?

i am worried, I have a bad sacrum, I can't sit down for 5 mins at the best of times. But since I mostly fly LCC to/from Asia, and they are not too bad, I suspect that the Etihad economy seats are not different to any other, and it's just a case of too much whining you some.

 

[IrishPete]

If you have enough points to upgrade segments, do so.

For the other segments, if you can afford it, try to get a paid upgrade through the auction system, or pay at check-in. If you did this for all segments, you'd probably looking at around 4 grand - from memory around 700 for the short leg, 1200 or so for the long leg, each way of course.

For the segments you are stuck in Economy, make sure you get an aisle seat, so you can get up and move around easily and frequently. And think about bringing some inflatable cushions if you think they will make you more comfortable. The Abu Dhabi - Dublin leg is a tolerable duration in economy (for me with no back problems), but it also depends on the time of day - you may not want to upgrade the long leg to business if you aren't likely to sleep.

Also try to get lounge access in Abu Dhabi (you will have to pay a one-time access) as you can shower, eat and drink in comfort. A shower and clean clothes really take the edge off your next flight. (If you have a business class ticket onwards, you should get free access - if you have a business class ticket inwards, you probably don't).

If you have bought the cheapest ticket, you may not be able to upgrade through any method, which was the main basis of my complaint in this post. Their website is now much clearer about which price tickets can be upgraded, but that's at time of purchase. It's much harder to find out later. And also much harder to find out if you booked other than through Etihad. You can phone them and ask, but my experience is that the information you are given is not always reliable, so if you don't like the answer, try again later and book the points upgrade when you get the right answer - don't rely on getting the same answer later!

Economy is made for discomfort. Sorry.