I recently travelled EK First on the 77L Auckland direct to Dubai and returned in First on the Etihad 787 from Abu Dhabi to Brisbane.
Having travelled longhaul First with EK before I was particularly looking forward to sampling EY’s new product on the 787 having not flown with them for a few years.
The EK flight to Dubai met and in many cases exceeded my expectations. I was travelling with my father who had never flown First on EK and we both stepped off the flight wishing we had another 17 hours. Although an older 777, the product is very comfortable for both reclining and we found sleeping. I don’t find the cabin “bling” off putting but understand that others can. The food quantity, variety and most importantly quality was great and the wines and spirits offered were exceptional. The ICE entertainment system is excellent and the pyjamas and amenity kit more than adequate. We also found unlike many EK crew’s that the crew and purser on this service were fantastic. Even with 100% capacity in all three classes we felt we were the only ones in F.
I had high hopes having read recent reviews of EY’s new products on the 787 and A380 and was looking forward to seeing how they compared to EK. The AUH ground experience was underwhelming, the porters were more interested in sitting inside talking than coming to help with my luggage. The lounge was fine for a combined premium lounge and I expect that the new First lounge should be huge improvement when it opens.
Onboard I found the 787 lovely to travel on. The cabin in F is lovely to look at and I don’t have an issue with the rear facing seats. I was the only F pax for the flight which was immediately encouraging. The inflight chef and FA serving me were nice, not as good as the EK flight but perfectly pleasant, just not as genuine. The seat was not as comfortable as EK but that’s a personal preference. In bed mode I also did not find the bed or bedding to be as comfortable. The amenity kit contained some nice products but did not seem to have the quality of EK’s. The Pyjamas were also of a cheap quality when compared to EK’s and I certainly prefer the QF J one’s over EY. I also found the IFE to be not the same quality as EK’s ICE. The most disappointing however was the food and wine offered. Compared to EK and other F carriers I have flown the menu was not as extensive and lacked the quality of the others. The chef was very keen to prepare the 7 course tasting menu for me and I agreed. While there was nothing wrong with the food, I found most dishes to be quite bland and small in quantity. This was particularly evident with the beef ‘main” course which was literally 3 mouthfuls of beef. I also noted that since last travelling on EY F that the grill options had been significantly reduced, so much so that I question the purpose of the inflight chef. Besides the Champagne I also found the wine selection to well below those offered by EK and others. I’m not saying they were bad, just not of a level to justify claims to have the best F product.
Conclusion- as much as I didn’t want to, I found EK’s F much better. I am VA WP so EY makes more sense from a status point of view, but I was left with the same feeling that I have domestically with QF and VA…VA went 80% of the way to being a full service carrier competing with QF but didn’t quite finish the job in terms of meals etc particularly in DOM J. I left feeling EY had a great hard product and aircraft but the soft product that defines the great F products was missed.
I appreciate this is subjective and just my opinion.
My question is, I am going on my honeymoon at the end of the year to Europe booked with EY on the A380 and 787 all in F. After this trip I am very seriously thinking of rebooking with EK. Interested to hear the comments and suggestions on here. Is this the norm with EY or did I not experience their best?
FWIW the loads of the 2 EK sectors BNE-AKL and AKL-DXB 100% in all 3 classes on both.
EY AUH-BNE Y around 80% J 60% and 1/8 in F.
Thanks for reading and any suggestions.
Having travelled longhaul First with EK before I was particularly looking forward to sampling EY’s new product on the 787 having not flown with them for a few years.
The EK flight to Dubai met and in many cases exceeded my expectations. I was travelling with my father who had never flown First on EK and we both stepped off the flight wishing we had another 17 hours. Although an older 777, the product is very comfortable for both reclining and we found sleeping. I don’t find the cabin “bling” off putting but understand that others can. The food quantity, variety and most importantly quality was great and the wines and spirits offered were exceptional. The ICE entertainment system is excellent and the pyjamas and amenity kit more than adequate. We also found unlike many EK crew’s that the crew and purser on this service were fantastic. Even with 100% capacity in all three classes we felt we were the only ones in F.
I had high hopes having read recent reviews of EY’s new products on the 787 and A380 and was looking forward to seeing how they compared to EK. The AUH ground experience was underwhelming, the porters were more interested in sitting inside talking than coming to help with my luggage. The lounge was fine for a combined premium lounge and I expect that the new First lounge should be huge improvement when it opens.
Onboard I found the 787 lovely to travel on. The cabin in F is lovely to look at and I don’t have an issue with the rear facing seats. I was the only F pax for the flight which was immediately encouraging. The inflight chef and FA serving me were nice, not as good as the EK flight but perfectly pleasant, just not as genuine. The seat was not as comfortable as EK but that’s a personal preference. In bed mode I also did not find the bed or bedding to be as comfortable. The amenity kit contained some nice products but did not seem to have the quality of EK’s. The Pyjamas were also of a cheap quality when compared to EK’s and I certainly prefer the QF J one’s over EY. I also found the IFE to be not the same quality as EK’s ICE. The most disappointing however was the food and wine offered. Compared to EK and other F carriers I have flown the menu was not as extensive and lacked the quality of the others. The chef was very keen to prepare the 7 course tasting menu for me and I agreed. While there was nothing wrong with the food, I found most dishes to be quite bland and small in quantity. This was particularly evident with the beef ‘main” course which was literally 3 mouthfuls of beef. I also noted that since last travelling on EY F that the grill options had been significantly reduced, so much so that I question the purpose of the inflight chef. Besides the Champagne I also found the wine selection to well below those offered by EK and others. I’m not saying they were bad, just not of a level to justify claims to have the best F product.
Conclusion- as much as I didn’t want to, I found EK’s F much better. I am VA WP so EY makes more sense from a status point of view, but I was left with the same feeling that I have domestically with QF and VA…VA went 80% of the way to being a full service carrier competing with QF but didn’t quite finish the job in terms of meals etc particularly in DOM J. I left feeling EY had a great hard product and aircraft but the soft product that defines the great F products was missed.
I appreciate this is subjective and just my opinion.
My question is, I am going on my honeymoon at the end of the year to Europe booked with EY on the A380 and 787 all in F. After this trip I am very seriously thinking of rebooking with EK. Interested to hear the comments and suggestions on here. Is this the norm with EY or did I not experience their best?
FWIW the loads of the 2 EK sectors BNE-AKL and AKL-DXB 100% in all 3 classes on both.
EY AUH-BNE Y around 80% J 60% and 1/8 in F.
Thanks for reading and any suggestions.
