Etihad Airways A340 First Class Abu Dhabi To Los Angeles

No caviar service in F on Etihad?

@ jon -- Nope.

why are a340 being used less and less? is it because of fuel? or are they loud?

@ Lantean -- Because they're gas guzzlers. Not efficient at all. That's the downside to using four engines on a plane that's no bigger than a 777.

So what was in the goody bags they handed out?

Hard to see this route being profitable with a A-340. That is a long flight with an inefficient plane. Do you think they have pideas of switching to a 777 at some point or are they planning keeping this an A-340 flight?

Seems odd they ran out of everything, did the crew eat it?

@ Chris -- Not sure! I'm all for the crew eating well, though hopefully that's not the reason they ran out of food.

@ Dan -- When the route was announced they actually said it would be operated by a 777-200LR, though they're short on aircraft so for the first couple of months it's being operated by an A340. In a couple of months it will be a 777, though.

And you're absolutely correct, if there's one thing history has shown it's that there's no way to make money flying A340s on ultra longhaul routes (just look at Singapore and Thai). 777s are a different story, of course.

Thanks for the detailed review. It's abit unusual that Etihad ran out of menu meals, and what was left was pretty bland (compared to the original menu). Maybe the man who was 'making history' had most of it 😉 I love Etihad's service, most of the time it's very attentive without being obtrusive.

Lucky - my fiancée and I are traveling EY F on the first leg of our honeymoon in a few months; we both like the window but it sounds awkward sitting in 1A / 2A - what would you recommend? The middle section? Those don't look that much better for two together except that you can lean forward to see each other with the partition down.

Given your experience in the cabin, any insight would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Dan, they are switching to a 777 starting sometime in July.

The running out of options is definitely a consistent problem. Similarly annoying, if you choose not to eat the full meal at takeoff (if you want to sleep instead), not only are your options going to be limited later in the flight, but some of the basic stuff like the breadbasket seem to have disappeared by that point.

@ Tommy -- If you're traveling with someone and on your honeymoon I would take two center seats together. While they don't turn into one bed, as you can see here you can at least sit next to one another and easily have a conversation:

Enjoy the trip!

I flew EY F from AUH to JFK a couple of years ago, and had the same experience. They had no
"real" food left in the second half of the flight.

Would you recommend making an order in the beginning of all the foods you want so the chef will at least save those for you? 16 hours is indeed a long flight.

In addition, how many other people were in First Class (other than you, the Buzz Aldrin guy, and his gf/daughter)? Before this flight, what was the longest flight you've taken by a Middle Eastern carrier? I'll admit some of the best service I've had from any airline were from ultra longhaul flights.

@ Joey -- Yep, in retrospect I would have probably tried to order all my food at the beginning of the flight, though that kind of defeats the purpose of having what you want when you want.

The first class cabin was fully. Previously I've flown Etihad three times between the US and Abu Dhabi, so those were also longhaul flights.

Was first class full? Did you see a lot of food going out? Just curious what the circumstances were for them to run out of food. That's pretty unacceptable for first class, in my opinion. If they run out of 1 or 2 options, or a specific wine, I get it. But to have nothing left other than some random items with more than 4 hours left in flight is pretty bad.

@ C Diddy -- Cabin was full, and didn't seem like more food was being eaten than usual. Like I said, love Etihad, but running out of catering is par for the course with them in my experience.

So only a marginal amount of "Kiki"?

Thanks!! Love the ex-LAX reviews.

So for my next lax-mle trp, should I choose CX or Ey?

@ Beachfan -- That's a toughie! Virtually same distance flown. On Etihad your longhaul flight is longer so you spend less time in business class, though on Cathay the business class is fully flat.

Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other. How about one in each direction? Only consideration is that Cathay Pacific is marginally more expensive, since it requires two award tickets.

Lucky do you not think it is a bit of a cheek charging for wifi? Fair enough if you are flying in economy.

@ Pat -- Keep in mind that wifi is offered by a third party, so it's not the airline directly that's processing the transactions. Would it be nice if premium cabin passengers got complimentary wifi? Yes. On the other hand, $21.95 is a small price to pay to be productive on such a long flight.

For that matter, Turkish offers all passengers free wifi, and it's *so* slow as a result. I'd rather pay a bit for semi-fast wifi than get really slow wifi for free.

Just my two cents...

I've had a somewhat similar experience with EY in F regarding catering. They only carried a limited number of each entrees, so that if more people than expected (in my case two!) wanted a particular item, they'd run out quickly, and you have to make do with second choice.
And they'd also run out of a particular wine; seems it had all been drank on the inbound flight, and no plans had been made for stocks to be replenished for the outbound.

For what it's worth they've never run out of food on me, and I've flown them in F JFK-AUH, AUH-DUS, IAD-AUH (x2), AUH-IAD over the past 2 years.

Nah, you misunderstood the other guy. They were trying to make history by eating the entire supply of catering in F!

Lucky, have you *ever* begged not to be served a dozen glasses of champagne before takeoff?

@ Ryan -- Hah, I try to maintain a consistent buzz, so I try to stick to only a few glasses before takeoff.

As far as I am aware not many civilian flights have over the Ural mountains towards the North Pole. For that reason alone I should take this journey. Not fond of LAX, they should move to SFO 🙂

@ Levy Flight -- Rumor has it that SFO is next! 🙂

My partner just flew F CDG-AUH and I flew JFK-AUH three months ago in F. Neither of us had problems with food running out.

I do love the pajamas they have. Bedding was very good too.

One of the funnier things I saw on my flight was the female flight attendants almost ran through the cabin when providing any kind of service. Something that was a "first" for me.

That "film clapper" is a good indicator for my 10,000 ft + 10 inches funding idea...

Running out of food in F is pretty much inexcusable imho.

"...service on Middle Eastern airlines (and this applies across the board) is just different than on the top Asian airlines...When I fly Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines first class...They’re so attentive...I’ve just never received that level of attentive service on a Middle Eastern carrier."

Ben, based on the following quote it sounds like you got all the attention you needed. Hands on? Oh my!

"The purser, Andrew, was incredibly hands-on, friendly, and attentive."

Besides SQ's A380, which other carrier and aircraft has the two center F seats that turn into one single bed?

@Ken Y. -- None.

Was this the person across the aisle? http://instagram.com/p/ovP1VtQESP/

Did they change the amenity kit? I thought it was the cuff link box.

Nice review Lucky. Too bad about US Pre-clearance though, as it certainly detracts from a nice product.

BTW why do we always have to have some wanker comment here about his gay fantasies?
@ DaveX - It's getting old buddy. Grow up. You're an idiot!

Great reviews, lucky. I'm flying my first EY flight in October, and reading your reports gets me excited.

Did the amenity kit change? I thought EY handed out the cuff link boxes. Also, would it be a big deal if I asked for a woman's kit to bring home for the wife?

My spouse is travelling in F and me in C for an upcoming flight. Is it possible to:

1. Enter the FC lounge with him?
2. Dine with him on the plane?

FYI it's his birthday so the upgrade is totally worth it.

@ Amol (@PointsToPointB) --

Ha, what a find. Dollars to donuts that's her and this is them:

http://instagram.com/p/osC1k5wEUv/

@ Ken Y. -- Singapore is the only one as of now.

@ Kevin Yen -- Yep, they sure did. You can certainly ask for a women's kit. If they have enough I'm sure they'd give one to you.

Enjoy your trip!

@ Amol -- Hahahahahhaha! Brilliant work!

So do we know who HE is?

@ Gee -- First class passengers are allowed one guest in the lounge, so that's fine. That being said, aboard you can usually only visit a "lower" cabin, so he could come to business class, but you couldn't come to first class. Maybe the crew will make an exception, but that's the rule.

Just out of curiosity, did you get a special invitation to this inaugural flight or just got lucky? Great review!

@ Lydia -- I redeemed 90,000 AAdvantage miles for the ticket. I booked the day that the schedule opened for the new service.

Lucky - really appreciate the reply! We'll work on getting the two centers together. Thanks again!

Lucky -- any knowledge of what the premium airlines such as Etihad, Singapore, Cathay etc. offer for vegetarians in their first class cabin? None of them seem to offer a veggie option on the menu. Would a "special meal" request get anything other than the business or even economy special meal option?

@ Paul -- Yes, a special meal request for a vegetarian meal should be fairly good, and better than what you'd get in business or economy. For what it's worth I'm generally a fan of ordering Indian vegetarian food, as I find it's usually well executed and tasty. I've found other vegetarians meals to be pretty bland at altitude.

Lucky -- Thanks, that's good to know. I'm hoping to get an SQ suites redemption in the summer, so I might try the Indian vegetarian option.

BTW, avid reader for a while now, but first comment I think -- keep up the good work!

@ Paul -- Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!

He's Don Camp. Remember, they're making history:

https://www.facebook.com/charlenerennit/posts/10152472200507840

https://www.facebook.com/doncampphoto

@ Bjørn -- Hahaha!

We flew Etihad biz class ORD-BLR a couple years ago (stopover in Abu Dhabi) and loved it and had no issues with food. I put my parents on the same flight (but to BOM instead) and my father was very annoyed that they ran out of food because he's diabetic. They want to go back to India this year and I'm in two minds about whether to book them on Etihad again because of the food issue.

Great review Lucky, I thoroughly enjoy your reports. However, I am disappointed with the whole 'running out of food' situation on their 'premium' product. Since you've witnessed it in different flights, do you feel it may just be an airline 'policy'? Or you just had bad luck? Which I really doubt, since it seems there's a pattern here.

I think Etihad PR's response to food shortages would be that they are demonstrating strong commitment to health & well-being of their most-valued passengers by limiting their caloric intake 😛

@Amol

Wow, that's one of the douchiest pictures ever. I mean, hey, good for her, but some people take social media pics way too seriously. The second picture was a much better one.

Running out of food class is very embarrassing if it's just a regular flight. On an inaugural flight? Ouch. If ANA can afford to have extra catering for it's FC passengers, then I'm sure Etihad could as well. God only know what the poor slobs in economy ended up having to deal with...

"And you’re not limited to what’s on the menu. If you want something else they can most likely custom make it for you as well."

Lucky, how far does that go, exactly? I mean, could they whip up a fresh pasta dish that isn't on the menu, or...I mean, if they barely have enough catering for all the passengers, I can't see them having extra food for that as well.