- Joined
- Jul 12, 2012
- Posts
- 410
- Virgin
- Platinum
I had the pleasure of traveling to Europe for work last month with Etihad and loved it. The whole experience was excellent, preferred it much more than when I traveled to Europe last September on EK & QF for a holiday. EY will definitely be my airline of choice moving forward when heading to Europe. Having all points with VA / Westpac Altitude I guess having SIN and EY as partners means either option is pretty good.
1. New Etihad lounge in Melbourne. Loved it - brand spanking new. Fantastic food, drinks, ambience and overall service. I was the first one in there for the day and made to feel pretty special. Fantastic negronis! Amazing to think they've built it to cater for only two flights per day.
2. MEL-AUH on 777 in J. Obviously not a brand spanking new plane but loved the privacy and comfort of the window seat. Spent most of the time doing work and watching movies, tried not to sleep too much as I was planning to try and sleep on the next leg so I could arrive in Munich fairly fresh.
3. AUH-MUC on 330 in F. After spending a couple of hours in the lounge at AUH I went to board and got the fabled op-up-at-the-gate from J to F. My first time in F and it was a pleasure. However not sure it would be worth paying a super premium over J. Being fairly tall I appreciated the comfort of the bed and the privacy, was able to get some much-needed sleep. The flight was packed and I think probably at least 3 of us got op-ups, may have been more.
4. ZRH-AUH on 789 in J. Thoroughly enjoyed the flight and although seating space is similar to that on the 777, you can tell the newness of everything around. Particularly loved the large windows and everything that opens and shuts. The in-flight nanny got a fair workout from a large family traveling together in J - the mother took full advantage!
5. AUH-MEL on 380 in J. The loads were very light on this flight in all classes. I was in the second half of the J cabin and there were only a couple of other people in there. Funny to see lots of people requesting to change seats - the backwards facing ones proving not very popular. Very similar in finish to the dreamliner but the added benefit of having the storage bins just made things even better. Couldn't fault it and not sure how you'd improve on it. The bar looked fantastic too but I didn't use it.
Combined with the excellent chauffeur service at either end and the whole Etihad experience was slick, smooth and professional. Big thumbs up from me.
(apologies about the orientation of some of the pictures, if anyone is able to rotate them it would be appreciated)
1. New Etihad lounge in Melbourne. Loved it - brand spanking new. Fantastic food, drinks, ambience and overall service. I was the first one in there for the day and made to feel pretty special. Fantastic negronis! Amazing to think they've built it to cater for only two flights per day.
2. MEL-AUH on 777 in J. Obviously not a brand spanking new plane but loved the privacy and comfort of the window seat. Spent most of the time doing work and watching movies, tried not to sleep too much as I was planning to try and sleep on the next leg so I could arrive in Munich fairly fresh.
3. AUH-MUC on 330 in F. After spending a couple of hours in the lounge at AUH I went to board and got the fabled op-up-at-the-gate from J to F. My first time in F and it was a pleasure. However not sure it would be worth paying a super premium over J. Being fairly tall I appreciated the comfort of the bed and the privacy, was able to get some much-needed sleep. The flight was packed and I think probably at least 3 of us got op-ups, may have been more.
4. ZRH-AUH on 789 in J. Thoroughly enjoyed the flight and although seating space is similar to that on the 777, you can tell the newness of everything around. Particularly loved the large windows and everything that opens and shuts. The in-flight nanny got a fair workout from a large family traveling together in J - the mother took full advantage!
5. AUH-MEL on 380 in J. The loads were very light on this flight in all classes. I was in the second half of the J cabin and there were only a couple of other people in there. Funny to see lots of people requesting to change seats - the backwards facing ones proving not very popular. Very similar in finish to the dreamliner but the added benefit of having the storage bins just made things even better. Couldn't fault it and not sure how you'd improve on it. The bar looked fantastic too but I didn't use it.
Combined with the excellent chauffeur service at either end and the whole Etihad experience was slick, smooth and professional. Big thumbs up from me.
(apologies about the orientation of some of the pictures, if anyone is able to rotate them it would be appreciated)
