I flew this exact route a little over a year prior, so I was really curious to see how this flight compared. Let me start by saying that one of my favorite aspects of flying with Etihad is their boarding music, which is extremely soothing, so feel free to listen to it while reading the…
Continue reading: Bling it on: Etihad Airways First Class Abu Dhabi to New York JFK
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Qur'an 43:13-14, commonly referred to as "The Supplication for Travel":
Glory to Him Who has subjected these to our (use), for we could never have accomplished this (by ourselves). And to our Lord, surely, must we turn back.
fantastic trip report! I'm excited to use my Global Entry on my next trip.....
You're getting to be very good at setting up your photo shoots so that they are both interesting and informative. While you took the time to unpack and lay out the PJ set so that we could really see what they look like, other bloggers will take a cell phone snap of them still in their plastic wrap. BTW-very enjoyable report, too.
Ben - I am stupefied by this post. Not just the amount of work to put it up, the fact that this is a "norm" for you, but the most unreal shocking park of the post that you travel with a BA set of jemmies to put on because you did not like the quality of this set of 1st class sleep wear. Oh my. I so need to step up my game! Oh my my! - Rene
@lucky great report !
just a side note:found it funny that every time you mentioned someone's name it was exactly the opposite gender that I thought he/she 's going to be...:)
I'm not a big foodie, but those dishes look delicious, especially those desserts! Too bad I have no reason to go to Abu Dhabi. And I think I will avoid JFK as much as possible. Transferred through there on the way to Asia a little while back and it is just such a hellish airport.
Another impressive post Lucky! Wish I could fly one of those first class sometime soon. Do you know there is any airline I can use to redeem their miles to get a first class ticket in Etihad？ Thank you
@ nabeelj -- Thanks for the translation.
@ arthur -- Hah, it's something I get a thrill out of to this day.
@ JetAway -- Thanks! It can be tough with light conditions sometimes without using flash, but I do my best. 🙂
@ Ken Y. -- No clue who that is, sorry!
@ Delta Points -- Haha, thanks.
@ omp -- You're not the only one. I was thinking the same thing during the trip.
@ RakSiam -- Every reason in the world to avoid JFK.
@ shears -- Thanks! The best to use would be American or ANA miles, both of which partner with Etihad.
I know you like to rave about LH's first class but Etihad F seems much better to me.
Could "Noah" have been "Noor," or did you see her name tag and get the spelling from that?
When you say line at customs, what do you mean? Were you declaring goods or was there a line just to hand the slip of paper to the guy who then lets you out of baggage claim and through the no goods to declare line. I have never seen that line deeper than a few people and the process is always super quick as all he seems to do is glance at the slip of paper.
Lucky, now that you're flown the 3 main Middle East carriers, I'm curious how you would rate them in the following catagories:
Food
Hard Product
Service
The novelty factor of the shower aside, if you had to chose between the 3 of the, which would you recommend the most overall?
Ben--my guess is the hijabi girl you mentioned was a member of the royal family coming to the states for school or something. Great trip report!
LOL at the minibar. In other news, I flew my first international biz flight this week. Not as fancy pants as you but definitely an enjoyable experience. And reviewing was harder than I would have thought. Kudos to you for making the reading so enjoyable!
Great trip report. The food looks fantastic. They though need some help on their whiskey list... Jack Daniels???? Glenlivet 12 in First? I shudder to think what they are serving to the poor business class passengers.
Great Report Lucky. EY doesn't have first class product from my city to AUH. Do you think it make sense for me to purchase another RT ticket from my city to the city where EY has first class? The RT fare would be around USD 200. In your opinion, is the discrepancy between J and F of EY worth the hassle and the cost?
@ choi -- I redeemed 90,000 American miles for the one-way. If you look at the introduction post I explain the process:
https://onemileatatime.com/bling-it-on-introduction/
@ AdamH -- Right, the line to hand the agent your paper. 90% of the time the line is less than a minute, and in my experience for whatever reason 10% of the time it takes forever. This was the latter case.
@ Heather -- Congrats, next you'll have to try first class! 😀
@ Alan -- I do think first class is worth the premium over business class. Keep in mind that in many cases you can include that positioning segment on an award ticket.
@ wwk5d -- That's a great question, and I had actually planned on doing a comparison of the big three Middle Eastern carriers next week after I fly Emirates again, as I'll be able to sample their Dubai ground services (which I've yet to do, so I don't think I can give a fair review).
That being said, purely in terms of the onboard product here are my thoughts.
Hard product in first class:
I'd say Etihad and Emirates are neck-to-neck, with a slight advantage for Emirates. I prefer how Etihad first class is a bit more naturally colored, while I love the shower and "bling" factor of Emirates first.
Food in first class:
I'd have to say Etihad, then Emirates, then Qatar. The onboard chef concept really seems to work, though for routes where they don't have that I'd give Emirates the lead.
Service in first class:
All three carriers are hit or miss and I don't think there's a clear winner on this front.
Like I said, more detailed review after I flew Emirates again soon!
Ben, any chance you know what the little red berries in the "Warm Winter Apple Pudding" are? They were served to us on LH in November but none of the FA's knew what they were.
Thanks.
Ben,
I have flown these 3 carriers but in J, only did Etihad in F. I have had different experience in term of chef and food. Other things seem to be the same as yours. I know you and I or other people may have different taste in food but what I experienced was something more universal. It showed that the chef on board could be hit and miss as well:
On my flight I ordered the steak with asparagus and sides. I felt good and we can pick the meat and order it however we want but my steak wasn't medium as request. It was well done and dry. Again the breakfast I had egg sunny side up and it was well done, not fresh, and felt like it was precooked. It was among my worst F food I experienced and I said to myself: what's the point of having a chef when the earlier flight on CX did better steak (I flew YVR-JFK-AUH-BOM-CCU on CX F, EY F/J, 9W J) I remember the chef on Austrian air for J pax and the experience was super!
@ Despina -- Interesting. Asked my friend who had it, and he has no clue either. Odd!
@ concorde02 -- Interesting, thanks for the report. Sounds disappointing.
Seeing the interior of that Etihad plane was such a relief after the décor in Emirates first! I haven’t flown either carrier, but for migraine avoidance reasons alone I would be veering towards Etihad from the get go!
Great blog post, as are all of your TRs – keep up the good work and inspiring us all!
Thanks for such a detailed report. We fly JFK/AUH Etihad F in June. They're switching to a new 777 sometime this spring so, if it's not too much to ask, could you fly that and give me a report? 😉
@ randapex -- LOL, that might be pushing it! Fortunately it's more or less the same product, so doubt there's much value a new review would add.
Hey Lucky,
Do you know in which Asian destinations Etihad has first class service? I was able to figure out ICN and PVG, any others?
Great, thanks a lot! If you had to pick to stay 24hrs in PVG/ICN what would you prefer?
@ Acs -- I would do Shanghai. I think it's a more interesting city, and it's also more easily accessible from the airport than Seoul.
Got it. I'm traveling with someone else who's pretty set on picking Seoul, but I'm also leaning Shanghai. Any tips on what to do there?
(Sorry don't mean to be asking you too many questions, really appreciate your help though)
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Wow. So incredible, much better than the States. well, most things are much better outside the states. We're lucky if we get a tiny bag of peanuts and/or a hard rubber like sandwich in "first" flatch.