Etihad Airways to the UAE: Etihad Airways First Class New York to Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways to the UAE: Etihad Airways First Class New York to Abu Dhabi

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One of my major frustrations about Terminal 4 at JFK is that all of the lounges are landside, meaning you have to clear security between the time you visit the lounge and when you board the plane. As a result I left the lounge about an hour before departure. The line at the security checkpoint was very long, and the first/business class line kept getting cut by crews, meaning it took even longer.

The TSA was doing their ridiculous questioning this evening, asking “where are you flying to tonight?” and “what’s your last name?” Fortunately they skipped asking me that.

Past security Terminal 4 is a complete dump, so I was almost happy that security took forever.


Terminal 4

I got to my departure gate, B29, shortly after boarding was called, and first snapped a quick picture of the Airbus 340-500 that would be taking me to Abu Dhabi. In the background was the Emirates Airbus 380, which would be departing around the same time to Dubai, less than 100 miles away.


Etihad A340-500

The boarding process could best be described as organized chaos. Everyone immediately lined up to board, though there was no pushing. Fortunately there was a fast track lane, so I was aboard in no time.


Boarding queue

At the gate my passport was checked and I wished an enjoyable flight.


Gate

Etihad 100
New York (JFK) – Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Monday, October 31
Depart: 10:45PM
Arrive: 7:45PM (+1 day)
Duration: 13hr
Aircraft: Airbus A340-500
Seat: 2A (First Class)

At the door I was greeted by the cabin manager, Suman, who had one of her colleagues escort me to my seat. My first shock was that every first class seat was taken. The flight was showing “F8” two hours before departure, meaning there were still eight first class seats for sale at the time (or more accurately, four were taken).

Let’s start with the high point of the flight — Etihad’s boarding music. It’s hands down the best boarding music ever. Heck, I’ve been playing it on repeat just about every day since I got back. Close your eyes for 15 minutes and listen to this music, and I can promise your mind will be clear as could be. You can listen to it here:

Another high point of the flight is the seat. Etihad has what is hands down one of the best first class suites out there. I loved everything from the colors, to the privacy, to the entertainment system. It’s classy without being glitzy (*cough* Emirates *cough*). First class has 12 fully enclosed suites with three rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.


Diamond First Class s uite


Diamond First Class suite


Diamond First Class cabin


Diamond First Class suite doors


Diamond First Class suite controls


Entertainment controls

The front compartment of the seat featured a bottle of VOSS water and some nuts, too.


VOSS water

At my seat already was a welcome card from the cabin manager with her business card, a Formula One promotional card, and a box of pralines.


Pralines and welcome card

Also in the side console of the seat was the menu, stationary, a pen, etc.


Stationary pack

Etihad doesn’t have overheard bins in first class to make the cabin feel more spacious, and my rollaboard didn’t quite fit under the seat, so I needed to store it in the closet.

Unfortunately once my bag was stored I wasn’t offered anything for about 20 minutes, which is a record for me in international first class. At that point, just shortly before departure, the food and beverage manager Carrie came by to introduce herself. She offered me a beverage, and I went with Mimosa. She also offered me headphones, a hotel towel, an amenity kit, and pajamas.


Pre-departure mimosa


Headphones


Amenity kit


Pajamas

Right around departure time the flight attendants came around with Arabic coffee and dates (I figured their business card with their phone number was plenty on the dates front! Don’t worry, I won’t quit my day job). 😉


Arabic coffee and dates

Shortly before departure time I made a quick visit to the restroom to change into pajamas. The restroom is really sleek in first class on this plane, though poorly placed. It’s over on the right side of the aircraft, so you have to walk all the way through the galley to access it, which is a bit awkward since Etihad flight attendants like “hiding.” It’s also worth noting that Etihad pajamas run HUGE. Get a size smaller than you think you need.


Lavatory

As departure time rolled around the captain came on the PA to welcome us aboard and advise us of our flight time of 12hr30min.


Airshow

We began our quick taxi to the runway and took off to the North after a long takeoff roll.


View shortly after takeoff

I decided to watch a movie, and found “Love, Wedding, Marriage,” starring Mandy Moore and Kellan Lutz.


Entertainment system

As we passed through about 10,000 feet the crew started their service. There were three flight attendants working first class — the cabin manager, who was Indian, the food and beverage manager, who was Australian, and the third flight attendant, who was Thai. Etihad sure has some diverse crews!

The dinner menu read as follows:

And the wine list read as follows:

At this point the food and beverage manager took my dinner order. I ordered a Diet Coke to drink, and went with the soup as the starter and chicken kebab as the main course. I had asked the food and beverage manager for a suggestion on the appetizers, and the best she could offer up was that “the soup is hot and the mezze is cold, that’s what I like to tell people.” I’m not sure why they bother having a food and beverage manager, since I’m pretty sure a Mesa flight attendant serving a snack basket in regional jet first class could be as helpful.

Beyond that, is this seriously the menu for the main meal in international first class on a 12+ hour flight? Only two choices of starters and two choices of entrees? This is hands down the most underwhelming international first class menu of any airline I’ve ever flown. Ever.

Service started with a rather large ramekin of nuts, which kept me entertained for about 10 minutes.


Nuts

About 10 minutes later I was offered some sort of chicken skewer starter, though there was still no sign of my Diet Coke. I would have asked the flight attendants, but they almost never appeared.


Chicken skewer

It wasn’t until about 45 minutes into the flight that I got served my drink, along with the meal. They served the meal on a tray, which is a first for me in international longhaul first class. Part of the enjoyment of international first class over business class is that the meal service is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, and it really isn’t when they bring everything out at once and don’t check on you for 30 minutes. It’s also worth noting that there was no bread.


Dinner starter

Then for the main course the chicken kebab was okay at best, and even that is pushing it. It would have been been underwhelming for a business class meal, let alone first class.


Main course

For dessert I had the bread and butter pudding, which was spectacular. Probably one of the best desserts I’ve ever had on an airplane.


Bread and butter pudding

After dinner service was complete I was offered a hot towel and glass of water.


Hot towel and water

On the whole, Etihad has a lot of work to do with their first class service based on this flight, and many of the issues are an easy fix. For example, the food and beverage manager seems to want to interact whenever anything relates to the meal service. That means you basically have one flight attendant taking care of 12 passengers, while the others just roam awkwardly. One time when I asked one of the other flight attendants for something, she said she would let the food and beverage manager know of the request.

Based on this flight the food and beverage manager adds zero value to the “experience,” so why not cut the position and instead make the service more efficient? You can’t provide a personalized level of service if one flight attendant is looking after 12 passengers. Instead why not put one flight attendant in each aisle so that the service is more personalized, efficient, and accurate, since on several occasions I asked for a refill, only to have to follow up several times.

Beyond that, c’mon Etihad, the meal service is pathetic for international first class. The flight might leave fairly late at night, though it’s a 12+ hour flight, so at least giving passengers the option of having a “real” five course meal doesn’t seem unreasonable.

I had a bit of a cold during the flight, so actually fell asleep before my tray was cleared or seat was reclined. I woke up just over London as the sun was coming up, and asked the flight attendants to please provide turndown service for my seat.


Seat in bed position


Seat in bed position

Etihad’s first class seats are incredibly comfortable and there’s something comforting about having a door on your suite, so I slept till we were about two hours out of Abu Dhabi. Hey, you can’t beat eight hours of sleep on a plane (well, I once did 12, though who’s counting anyway?).


Approaching Abu Dhabi

At that point breakfast was served. While the meal makes sense in terms of my body’s clock, it is always a bit weird to have breakfast, only to arrive somewhere during dinnertime. The breakfast menu read as follows:


Breakfast menu

To start I had an energiser drink and muesli.


Breakfast

Then for the main course I had cinnamon pancakes, which were rather underwhelming, in terms of both quantity and quality.


Cinnamon pancakes

About 30 minutes before landing we began our descent into Abu Dhabi, and the captain turned on the seatbelt sign.


On approach

After a smooth touchdown, quick taxi, and 10 minutes worth of jet bridge malfunctions, I was finally in the UAE.


Terminal

There were no lines at immigration, though I was amazed at the fact that most of the immigration officers were yapping away on their cell phones while working. And it’s actually a general trend I noticed in the UAE, that workers talked on their cell phones while on duty, regardless of their job.


Baggage claim

Once in the arrivals hall I followed the signs towards Etihad chauffeur, since I had set up a complimentary car transfer to the Park Hyatt Dubai, where I would be staying.


Arrivals hall

At the desk I gave them my boarding pass and was given a slip with my destination on it, to give to the driver.


Etihad chauffeur desk

While there’s a waiting room, my car was available immediately.


Etihad chauffeur waiting room

Etihad uses mostly Audis for their chauffeur service, and about 75 minutes later we pulled into the Park Hyatt Dubai.


Audi interior

On the whole, my flight on Etihad was disappointing given my high expectations. Their hard product (seat and entertainment) was phenomenal, while their soft product (service and food) was underwhelming. A lot of the issues are easy fixes, and I was hoping they were specific to this flight. Stay tuned for the return!

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  1. Jerome Lax Guest

    Who cares that your dinner was served on a tray, and that you had to wait a few minutes to get a drink?
    Millions of people are starving around the world, and you are well fed and pampered. Get some perspective.

  2. dana Member

    My wife and I did the JFK Abu Dhabi 1st class on our way to the maldives. AWESOME!
    The free car to Dubai was GENIUS!
    I get my fix reading your trip reports, I don't even need to go myself anymore.

  3. Mike Member

    The boarding music is quite pleasant but when you fly them regularly it really gets on your nerves.

  4. Sara Guest

    I heard the boarding music, it was mind blowing. Thanks for posting. I am planning to download the same and save it into my desktop. Thanks again.

  5. Spotty Guest

    I am about to board this tomorrow. I appreciate your post and am looking forward to the F cabin. I would be very surprised if this tops CX's F cabin.

  6. Ryan Guest

    I wonder if the food options on the "Kitchen Anytime" menu would have been better than the dinner and breakfast main courses. I agree with you regarding breakfast being served prior to an evening arrival. I probaby would have gone for the sandwich or the pie prior to arrival and the other as my dinner main course.

  7. Omar Guest

    Great trip report so far, though I did not travel First, I did travel Business on their 77W and thought the seat was absolutely amazing. However I too found the food rather lackluster compared to Business of QR and EK.

  8. thyeri Guest

    As other said before, it is amazing to read the trip report with the music in the background :)

  9. Mike Guest

    Have you seen how nice the crew rest area on the Etihad 777 is? http://www.airliners.net/photo/Etihad-Airways/Boeing-777-3FX-ER/1008034/

  10. lucky OMAAT

    @ Tiffany -- Coming in the next post. It was "interesting" alright.

    @ Phil -- Hah, I know, it's certainly all relative. I'm not much of a tech guy, though I'll see what I can do on the photo front, because you're right, larger versions of the pictures would be nice.

    @ JRL -- I do occasionally push it, though I was more interested in how long it would actually take before they served me without my prompting.

  11. Will Guest

    I dunno about the look of the dinner starter, a log in a green puddle. I'd think United could come up with something more appetizing :\

  12. JRL Member

    20 minutes for a pre departure beverage in int'l F is unacceptable.

    I know I have an itchy trigger finger, but don't you EVER use the call button?

    JRL

  13. Mike Guest

    Wow...that menu is incredibly sparse. Pass. Thanks for reporting on your flight - so they rest of us know...to cross them off our list.

  14. The Weekly Flyer New Member

    The music was a great sound track for the trip report. It almost felt like I was there.

  15. Simon Guest

    That dark bathroom looks gross. Love the bathroom on the Emirates A380. Better all around.

  16. Steelsnow Guest

    Nice touch of putting the music clip at the top of the post.... Made reading through a nice relaxing experience!

  17. Phil Guest

    p.s. would be really nice if when you clink on the pictures you linked in a larger version?

  18. Phil Guest

    It's kind of funny to read... you know we are all spoiled when you can fly in an enclosed suite with a bed and still describe it as disappointing!!!

  19. Dan Guest

    You know, it's funny. From my days as a former NRSA, where service was non-existent, I used to be a hard product guy all the way. Give me the best, and who cares about the rest.

    But now, I'm starting to find that once the hard product is "good enough" that service really does matter.

  20. Iolaire McFadden Guest

    This is a well-timed trip report for me. I'm weighing my AA option back from BKK and was thinking about Etihad. Given your review and the fact that CX/etc. via the Pacific would be less miles I'll pass. thank you

  21. Tiffany Guest

    It's also worth noting that that is NOT a Diet Coke!

    I'm excited to hear what you thought of the UAE - I found the overall experience a bit "underwhelming", but maybe my expectations were too high.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Jerome Lax Guest

Who cares that your dinner was served on a tray, and that you had to wait a few minutes to get a drink? Millions of people are starving around the world, and you are well fed and pampered. Get some perspective.

0
dana Member

My wife and I did the JFK Abu Dhabi 1st class on our way to the maldives. AWESOME! The free car to Dubai was GENIUS! I get my fix reading your trip reports, I don't even need to go myself anymore.

0
Mike Member

The boarding music is quite pleasant but when you fly them regularly it really gets on your nerves.

0
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