A few odd experiences from my trip from Sydney to Dublin commenting late on Saturday evening:
After spending nearly an hour in the Economy Class check-in queue at Sydney Airport on Saturday evening, I was a little surprised to be told by the person on the desk, that my Etihad Guest Silver status entitled me to check-in at the Business Class check-in. This was the first I had heard of that.
I was then advised to use the Air NZ lounge rather than the Etihad one, as the Etihad one was very busy. I assumed this to be genuine good advice, rather than a way of keeping the plebs out of the lounge - and the Air NZ lounge seems to have improved since the last time I was there, so I didn't mind too much. The A380 was completely full (I heard a rumour of one vacant seat, but I saw no evidence of it - in contrast the flight to Dublin was only half full, if that; lots of lucky people had 3- or 4-seat rows to themselves, but my body clock wasn't interested in sleeping, so I didn't bother trying).
The Al Rheem lounge in Abu Dhabi airport has been improved, but still only has one shower in the men's toilets! Luckily I only had to wait a couple of minutes to get to use it, and the "rain" style head was very pleasant, far better than I remember this lounge to be (though I think it's 2 years since I was in it). The lounge itself seems more claustrophobic, and there wasn't a lot of spare seating.
Boarding in Abu Dhabi was by bus. After standing in the economy boarding line for a while, I was told that my Silver status entitled me to use the Premium boarding line. Again, this is the very first time I have heard this, ever. Being first to board a bus isn't a great advantage anyway. After a very long tour of the airport tarmac, we finally boarded - I think I was on the third bus and it will still nearly an hour to departure time, and not many people were waiting for the next one, so I assumed there were lots still wandering the terminal (once again, not enough seating in the departure lounge for all the people on the plane, even though it was only half-full). Departure time came and went, with the pilot telling us there was another bus coming. Some more time passed and he came back on the intercom to say the advice had changed, and there was no further bus coming and we were only one passenger short and his luggage was being unloaded! A few minutes earlier the cabin crew had called out this dude's name - it bothers me that with all the airline security, they can't just walk to the seat he is checked into, maybe look underneath it to ensure that he isn't hiding there, and then assume he hasn't boarded. I mean, if he was on the plane and they don't know it, there's a serious problem with their systems.
Incidentally, the A380 was superbly quiet, which really accentuates the screaming babies (airlines might want to rethink this "quiet airplanes" idea - engine and air noise are drowned out by noise-cancelling headphones, but babies and nor are other intermittent sounds, like speech...)
Oddly, the choice of movies and TV shows seemed different on the two flights... Mildly irritating when you've postponed watching something until the next flight! But that's a real first world problem! More irritating are the advertisements at the start of every show, and the staff confiscating the headphones and turning off the system a really long time before landing (and having to sit through rubbish while awaiting completion of boarding and take-off too). Dublin baggage reclaim was the slowest I've experienced anywhere in a really long time - for a half-full flight remember!
All in all the trip was okay, despite being in Economy. I think this is the first time I have flown this sequence of flights (i.e. leaving Sydney late evening and arriving in Dublin in the afternoon) and so far the jet lag is OK (combined with nicotine withdrawal, so it can be hard to discern which is which). I got exit row seats right at the front of the A380 from Sydney, but frankly I think I prefer a seat in front with a magazine pocket and somewhere I can brace my knees or feet against from time to time. If I were taller than 5' 9" I might feel differently. Also annoying that you can clearly see your neighbour's IFE screen, whereas on seat backs you usually can't.
After spending nearly an hour in the Economy Class check-in queue at Sydney Airport on Saturday evening, I was a little surprised to be told by the person on the desk, that my Etihad Guest Silver status entitled me to check-in at the Business Class check-in. This was the first I had heard of that.
I was then advised to use the Air NZ lounge rather than the Etihad one, as the Etihad one was very busy. I assumed this to be genuine good advice, rather than a way of keeping the plebs out of the lounge - and the Air NZ lounge seems to have improved since the last time I was there, so I didn't mind too much. The A380 was completely full (I heard a rumour of one vacant seat, but I saw no evidence of it - in contrast the flight to Dublin was only half full, if that; lots of lucky people had 3- or 4-seat rows to themselves, but my body clock wasn't interested in sleeping, so I didn't bother trying).
The Al Rheem lounge in Abu Dhabi airport has been improved, but still only has one shower in the men's toilets! Luckily I only had to wait a couple of minutes to get to use it, and the "rain" style head was very pleasant, far better than I remember this lounge to be (though I think it's 2 years since I was in it). The lounge itself seems more claustrophobic, and there wasn't a lot of spare seating.
Boarding in Abu Dhabi was by bus. After standing in the economy boarding line for a while, I was told that my Silver status entitled me to use the Premium boarding line. Again, this is the very first time I have heard this, ever. Being first to board a bus isn't a great advantage anyway. After a very long tour of the airport tarmac, we finally boarded - I think I was on the third bus and it will still nearly an hour to departure time, and not many people were waiting for the next one, so I assumed there were lots still wandering the terminal (once again, not enough seating in the departure lounge for all the people on the plane, even though it was only half-full). Departure time came and went, with the pilot telling us there was another bus coming. Some more time passed and he came back on the intercom to say the advice had changed, and there was no further bus coming and we were only one passenger short and his luggage was being unloaded! A few minutes earlier the cabin crew had called out this dude's name - it bothers me that with all the airline security, they can't just walk to the seat he is checked into, maybe look underneath it to ensure that he isn't hiding there, and then assume he hasn't boarded. I mean, if he was on the plane and they don't know it, there's a serious problem with their systems.
Incidentally, the A380 was superbly quiet, which really accentuates the screaming babies (airlines might want to rethink this "quiet airplanes" idea - engine and air noise are drowned out by noise-cancelling headphones, but babies and nor are other intermittent sounds, like speech...)
Oddly, the choice of movies and TV shows seemed different on the two flights... Mildly irritating when you've postponed watching something until the next flight! But that's a real first world problem! More irritating are the advertisements at the start of every show, and the staff confiscating the headphones and turning off the system a really long time before landing (and having to sit through rubbish while awaiting completion of boarding and take-off too). Dublin baggage reclaim was the slowest I've experienced anywhere in a really long time - for a half-full flight remember!
All in all the trip was okay, despite being in Economy. I think this is the first time I have flown this sequence of flights (i.e. leaving Sydney late evening and arriving in Dublin in the afternoon) and so far the jet lag is OK (combined with nicotine withdrawal, so it can be hard to discern which is which). I got exit row seats right at the front of the A380 from Sydney, but frankly I think I prefer a seat in front with a magazine pocket and somewhere I can brace my knees or feet against from time to time. If I were taller than 5' 9" I might feel differently. Also annoying that you can clearly see your neighbour's IFE screen, whereas on seat backs you usually can't.
