Review: Etihad Airways First Class Apartment A380 Abu Dhabi To London

I've also been on seat 4K!

What do you have to say about the seat? I found it to be bothersome that the seat barley reclined

Ben,

As always, an incredible and detailed well written trip report. This report has gotten me beyond excited for my first class apartment experience in June 8 from Abu dhabi to Sydney. I was able to score your same seat 4K for the flight and couldn't be more excited for this day to come. Etihad has definitely taken the industry by a storm with this incredible product

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am counting down for mine.

Ben, you left out some vital information. What's the maximum occupancy of the Etihad shower? I just figure it could cause some problems if two people in there had to return to their seats due to turbulence... 😉

Thanks for the great report, Lucky!!!

No doubt it looks like an awesome product... but I'm not sure it's revolutionary. Yes, it's big, but LH already had the dual bed-seat thing going, and walled suites have been all the rage for a while. But more importantly, other than the ME3, I can't see any other airlines copying this concept - just uses too much space!

The Residence is really not so impressive. But then again, the market for it exists, and is a also very large given how many people from the Gulf want to fly the highest class there is and don't give a damn about money. EY F Apartments are undoubtedly the best hard product there is, although some airlines do beat them in the soft product, in my opinion.

Great review as always!

Can you confirm what Hershel said? Does the EY seat really have that limited a recline?

Fantastic as always on your trip report Ben - you always seem to captivate the excitement that you and our fellow #planenerds must have felt on that maiden flight.

I'm booked from SYD-AUH-MUC - in July securing the 4k seat. I'm super excited to try both the First Apartment and the regular first suite.

It was great meeting you and your father at the Park Hyatt 2 months ago - You need to spend more time here in Australia and the South Pacific.

Can't take the image of you naked in a towel out of my head... HOOOOT! 🙂

I would do a shower training a week prior to my F flight, since i need more than 5 minutes in the shower!

As always, great review 🙂

that's quite disappointing the service was so bad... i often feel like with all these awesome hard products, they are all very very good... but it's the soft product that creates the experience.

Did they run out of any food items this time?

Ben,

Any news on when we might see this flying to JFK? I'm envisioning a JFK-AUH-MLE AAdvantage award in my future!

It's really quite sad that someone would need (or want, or like, or be excited by) this kind of space for a few hours. World gone wrong.

@Chuck flying the inaugural industry leading A380 would be pretty exciting... especially in Ben's line of work.

Can you provide details on how this flight was booked ? Miles,Which and how Many ? Cash ?

"The Etihad First Apartment is absolutely revolutionary"

Er, I don't think you quite grasp what the term revolutionary means...it's innovative, it's ahead of it's time, etc. But unless it sparks other airlines to begin offering the same, it can't be called revolutionary. And to be honest, I think the only airline that will begin offering something like this is probably Emirates. I mean, I can't imagine most of the other airlines that have the 380 in their fleet offering something similar.

Do all the other rows besides 3 and 4 have their seats away from the window?

The report I've been waiting for since months! So wanna try it!

I have some some spare AAdvantage miles, can I just purchase the missing till I have 40.000 and then fly 787 Suite from Bombay to AbuDhabi and then in the Apartment to London?
Is it as simple as this?

@Colin I was not speaking so much about Ben, since indeed it is his line of work, but about people who would want this for personal enjoyment.

However, it would be more worth the money if it came with a full-time maid provided by EY. She would have an economy-type seat, placed in a corner of the cabin. And it would be permissible to treat her, during the flight, exactly as maids are treated in the UAE. Fun! No more complaints about service!

@Jon @Lucky Am also on one of the first few day's SYD-AUH route in 4K and 4A.

Hoping Airbus stays on delivery schedule

Flying in 4A this June! Great to hear that it's the best row.

What an awesome product! I think the First Apartments top every other product out there! It's quite amazing that you can have a bed and a seat and still be able to walk inside your suite.

Great review! Thanks!

No pictures of the Residence's butler?

lucky, you're the king of this. i wasn't really blown away by the etihad a380 premium cabin until i read this detailed report. now i know with certainty where my AA miles are going next.

although i have to say, the poor service by the cabin crew is inexcusable. i am an extremely forgiving person, having worked in the service industry myself. but to have to ask three times for your meal in first class --on more than one occasion -- is simply beyond belief.

if a restaurant is open and taking paying customers, i think any review of its food and service is fair game. and in the same vein, if an airline is taking revenue and miles for pax in its premium cabin, that is active service and it should not suffer from growing pains. that's what training is for.

if i were etihad management, i'd be really embarrassed by this review.

Amazing report and the product looks very cool. I'm disappointed you didn't receive better service, especially you eating breakfast during the descent. That's not cool, but I guess the crew needs some time to iron the wrinkles out.

Thanks for a thorough report of a very tempting product. Like others have mentioned, I hope you can comment about the amount of recline on the seat. Is it better or worse than the seat that Singapore uses?

Great review, with detailed, pertinent info. You kind of implied it, but are there two or more first class bathrooms, since the one pictured has a shower? What type of champagne did you go with, and how was it? In the past, you've had some great interaction with onboard chefs. Did you have any dealings this time? How much of the service problems are likely just growing pains?

I'd expect no less with all the free money they get.

@elteetrav The seat is very comfortable, but due to the fact that it barely reclines, I'd definitely rate it lower than Singapore.

in matter of fact, if I need to fly on that route again, I'd go for the 787 or the 777 over the A380, when flying long haul, I'd prefer relaxing in a reclined position when.

I'd even rate the LH 744 F seat ahead of EY A380 Apartment for that matter.

Regarding the shower, Emirates did a much better Job, on emirates the lavatory is just as big as the one in my home, there is plenty of room to move around and get a dressed Etc.... In EY Apartment, I had a hard time getting undressed without bumping into the walls.

@Christian There are two bathrooms in the apartments, but only one has a shower

What are the shower quotas for the residence? Are they longer than in First? Do you get two? If traveling alone, do you get to use both of them?

Thank you for a fantastic review.

Perhaps Etihad ran out of food/breakfast, but due to the crew being aware of your gripe with them on this issue on previous flights, they scrambled around the business and economy class cabin to find enough food to put together your breakfast 😉

I flew EY F apartment 2 weeks ago. I like 4A better than 4K for the sole reason that the badge color looks better with the whole setting than brown.

Regarding your slow breakfast service. I had similar experience... but for the supper service. I was not very lucky cuz there was a family of 8 along with 3 Apartment passengers on my flight (full house F Apartment & Residence). Family of 8 is composed of 5 children.. from baby to late teen. However, they were well behaved and everyone went to bed and quiet. The other passenger and I were the only 2 who ate. It took almost 3 hours into the flight to finish the 3 course meal!. Not that many pax were eating, I didn't know what was holding them. If they were not familiarized with the aircraft is one thing... but they did not come to check on me in between and take my plates or fill the water.. I had to hit the call button for them to fill the water several times. After the meal I walked to the lounge and passed through the galley and saw them gathered around eating and talking .... that explained why my meal service was not attentive! I may have a bad luck on the crew.. but... .averagely, Asian carriers service is better.

After spending time in the lounge chatting with some J pax, the butler walked pass. One of the J pax called her into chatting with us. Before that moment, she walked pass by me many times but never acknowledge my present.... ok it is not her job to take care of F passenger who are not with the Residence, but a smile or "hello" wouldn't hurt. Then I asked if I could snap a photo of the residence after the flight when everybody deplaned, she said it is not allowed anymore and cited that so many people walked it and they had to change the carpet already (after 5 weeks). So I asked if it is ok to just take the photo from outside through the door and not step my feet in (after the flight), she still said no. Weird. Kinda the same as your comment about not allowing to go down to the lower deck. Either it is EY own rules or the FA made up their own rules similarly to US-carriers (from the unfriendly-unaccommodating mindset), it is weird!

Hard product was great... too bad that the new First Class Lounge isn't open yet.

Not that I say all the ME3 FAs are bad and not as good as Asian or a few European carriers, but these FA/butler had been trained extensively, why can't they have the basic mindset of good service. I don't think I am high-maintenance cuz I think a service on CX J BKK-HKG flight was more attentive than my EY Apartment experience.

Does the Residence bed have a seat belt? What is that passenger suppose to do during turbulence?

Excellent report and the cabin certainly looks impressive. But that is truly shocking service. Perhaps the minibar is fitted because it takes 10 minutes to get a glass of water from the flight attendants!

Is the entertainment selection different on the A380? We usually find Etihad's has a lot of content that isn't likely to be of interest to a western audience.

@concorde02 - 'they had to change the carpet already', that is hilarious.

I don't understand the purpose of the lobby too. The seating looks cramped, and it looks like it's stuck in the middle of 2 doors between the first and business class cabins! Without a permanent bar do you still have a flight attendant to check if someone seated there needs something to drink?

@ Marco -- Nope, typically we had to go to the galley if we wanted drinks while seated there.

@ Miles Down Under -- Best I could tell it was the same.

@ Katie -- Yep, I believe it does.

@ Antonio -- Hah, I doubt they're gonna tell someone that paid $25,000 for their ticket that they can't have a second shower.

@ Christian -- There are two bathrooms, and only one of them has a shower. I had the Gosset champagne, which was lovely. The onboard chef seemed a bit cold -- can't say we had the warmest interaction. But he was nice enough. I'm hoping the off service on this flight was just due to growing pains.

@ elteetrav -- The recline is decent, I'd say roughly comparable to the recline on Singapore.

@ Dave -- There's a picture here:
https://onemileatatime.com/etihad-a380-first-class-apartment/

@ Jan Werner -- Yep! Pending award availability it's that simple.

@ wwk5d -- Here's the seatmap, which shows where all the seats are in relation to the windows:
http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Etihad_Airways/Etihad_Airways_Airbus_A380.php

@ Redi -- It was a paid ticket originating out of Colombo, Sri Lanka:
https://onemileatatime.com/cheap-first-class-fares-colombo-sri-lanka/

@ COlin -- Haven't heard anything further. Originally it was supposed to be by the end of this year, though I've heard it might be delayed a bit. I'll post as soon as I hear anything for sure.

@ ILDC -- Nope, plenty of food!

@ Matty -- Was great meeting you as well. Enjoy the trip! 🙂

@ ILDC -- The recline is indeed somewhat limited, but I found it extremely comfortable.

@ takke -- LOL!

@ Hershel -- I thought it was fine given that you can put your feet on the "bench," so I found it quite nice for lounging. But yeah, it would be nice if it reclined more.

@lucky The recliner is similar to Singapore? C'Mon, #Nostalgic

@ Hershel -- Hmmm, is my memory bad? I remember the recline on Singapore being not-so-good.

Hmmm.... I don't recall having an issue with reclining on SQ, I've done SQ R in November and EY Apartment 2 Weeks ago. But maybe I'm Wrong

Hi Ben,

Just a couple of details I am keen to know that weren't mentioned here.

1/ Is the amenity kit the same hand crafted traditional non-branded disappointment that was offered previously ie. last year ? Or did they offer something different/better to commemorate the 388. ie. I don't think QR offered Armani kits prior to the launch of their 388 etc.

2/ I know you have said before that you rely mainly on your own devices for entertainment, but, to the best of your knowledge, has their been any improvements/enhancements to the content of their entertainment system ? Even though you rate it on par with EK, I find it massively inferior to EK/QF/QR etc.

I am flying EY Apartments LHR-AUH-SYD in August so am keen to know the above.

Cheers

Nizar

@ Nizar -- It's the same amenity kit they had before -- nothing special for the A380. I believe the entertainment was very similar to what's offered on other aircraft, if not the same.

Hi Ben

Is this allowed as part of an Australia-UK redemption (80k in F)? I could see Qantas options changing in Dubai but didn't know if this was also an option for the same miles? If so does it need to be booked over the phone rather than online?

Thanks 🙂
(Avios veteran but newbie to AA miles redemption!)

Ben,
This was an exceptional report. I was 1/3 of the way through it and then realized that you'd not even left the gate as yet :-).
They need better carpet; I guess they used a cheaper kind as they did not except so much foot traffic since it only holds 1 maybe two people per flight; wrong! I hope they get a more durable carpet for the next planes to arrive.

So if you have to change anything, what would you change?

Great review! This is your SME and definitely keep to this stuff! Not other jibberish nonsesne posts.

Got a trip coming up on this same route! Also on 4K. Very useful information. Will keep posted as to how the dining service go. I imagine your breakfast order issue was just an isolated issue on that flight alone.

EY hard product in this plane is the only one good thing with this airline. Other things like service onboard and service in the airports are really bad. I think SQ and CX are better than EY and for a long distance. Crew in ME3 only work for money, they doesn´t like it work in its airlines.

So basically avoid seats in rows 1, 2, and 5...

Curious to see how that TV swivels while a person in lounging in bed...

Thanks for a great report. I have a trip planned in 4A later in the year. It looks like the barriers are a bit lower between 3 and 4 than say 5. I want to maximise privacy, as i will have my 18 month son with me. Did you notice the lower barrier (if it was lower) and would you recommend say row 5 to isolate myself from the rest of the passengers, or do you think it will make little difference?

Thanks

Hi Ben
Did you measure the size of the bed? Is it comparable to twin bed?

Awesome. Happy you included so many pictures.

BTW... How do they manage to grass-feed a tenderloin? 😉

Hi Ben, When I look at the AA award chart, it looks as though there are no award flights from London to Abu-Dhabi, but from Abu Dhabi to London, a first class award would be 40K miles. Am I reading the chart correctly? Thanks!

There is a small trick in how they maximized the space (if this was not already mentioned). On EK you have two aisles....lots of dead space. Take out one aisle...that square footage can be used for 1-2 seats 😉

@ Cynthia -- Yep, you sure are!

@ Rob -- I didn't measure, but did seem slightly larger than a twin bed.

@ MattUK -- They seemed to be the same height between all First Apartments. I think row four is a great option.

@ wwk5d -- It swivels really well, goes down to near where your waste is. Very nicely angled.

@ Kerwin -- Hah, that's a toughie, because I did live it. I guess the one thing I'd change is the bar. If they had an Emirates or Qatar style bar, this would be awesomer by an ever larger margin.

@ Alan -- You need to book it as two awards, unfortunately. You can't book it online. Etihad awards have to be booked by phone with American.

Ah, thanks Ben - suspected that might have been the case! QF F is bookable online for 80k one-way, which is quite appealing. QR also available and more direct routing (MEL-DOH-EDI) but with Avios that's pretty expensive and I don't their their MEL-DOH product is that good.

@ Alan -- Yep, that's one exception, since it's marketed as a "direct" flight, so you can transit through Dubai.

Ben, I really enjoy your blog and in particular enjoy the reviews, but my inner grammer nerd wouldn't let me be silent on one small point. Something cannot be "more unique". It is either unique, or it's not. The word cannot be modified. 😉

[…] Check out a detailed review of a flight in the new Etihad first class apartments from Sam Chui and this very photo-heavy one from One Mile at a Time. […]

Hi Lucky,

I have 150k miles on my AA account and I am thinking now what I can do with it. What is your reccomendation how to use these miles for get the best value (experience) for it? My departure city is Prague. Where is possible to find additional taxes for award EY flights?

Thanks

Michal

@ Michal -- I might try to fly Etihad A380 first class, as you can route Prague to London to Abu Dhabi and onwards. I'd say that's a great option.

@lucky - When two First Class Apartment are converted to a double bed, is it true that there is still a big divider between the two bed/seats? For Singapore Airlines Suites, you actually get a full double bed, with virtually no divider in between.

BTW, how far ahead should you look for award space in the apartments between LHR and AUH?

I enjoyed this review, I am flying from Sydney to London return in three weeks in the first apartment and can't wait. My final destination is actually Ireland, but I am not missing a chance to try Etihad, while also getting points for my Virgin Velocity within Australia. Seats are 4k and 4a, sooo excited!

Hi Lucky,

I booked this same flight so that i could experience the A380 with my mom, but it looks like they changed the plane! They are now flying their A340 on this route - in early December! As you can guess, I'm extremely disappointed and am considering my options hence this message to you 🙂 Do you think its even worth us flying first on the A340? I'm considering whether i should change the tickets to fly business instead to save the miles for another time when i can fly the A380 as the one flight which they are still flying the 380 is sold out (for award tickets).

Would be great to get your thoughts on this.

Thanks.
Cynthia.

I was in the Etihad lounge in Abu Dhabi last weekend and I was told that the new First class lounge will open in February.. The cause for the delay was the floor. It was unstable so the whole thing had to be redone..

🙂

Hello Ben, Wonderful trip report as always. Along the lines of what MattUK asked, do you know if Etihad will allow two adults and one infant in The Residence? I emailed Etihad but did not get a reply. Thanks.

I flew LHR-AUH on the First Apartment in June. Considering your flight was in Feb and mine in June, there seems to be a difference in at least the champagne! They had Bollinger La Grand Annee 2005 and Duval Leroy Rose on my flight... http://bit.ly/1HCaqcS !!!

Hi lucky,
1) How much is the total fees + taxes (estimate) for this AA award redemption AUH-LHR ?
2) And to avoid using LHR for return, can i book let's say Lisbon - LHR - AUH ?
Many thanks

We flew Etihads A380 1st Class apartments 2 weeks back to the UK from Sydney, and whilst the apartment is a great space, the soft service is incredibly poor, food was below average for economy never mind first class, food over cooked and bland, the movie selection is very limited and by the time we returned we had seen everything worth watching so were bored. The nanny service is a gimick as they service as a hostess in economy and when not serving there they can then help as a nanny which we found to be rarely, finally and as inexcusable as poor food and entertainment there is no 1st class lounge, instead you have a sectioned of area of the business lounge with no amenities...very poor, my advice book business with Ethiad you get the same as first, or book 1st with singapore suites, they are the leader currently in service, food and entertainment in my view.

Fantastic review- I was holding onto every word! I'm so excited about my flight... but I am a bit confused by The Residence versus the Apartment?? I wasn't sure. I laughed at your shower discussion and didn't stop laughing at your other blog you wrote about it to. I'm actually worried that after my flight I won't want to do anything else but fly first class Emirates. Ever.
PS. You literally overuse the word literally but literally.... I literally laughed out loud throughout all of your blogs. Sorry... you need to be told that as a blog writer because otherwise, you're literally damn good at it 🙂

Hi Ben, I've been saving Etihad miles for a long while now and am nearly at the point where I can redeem for a one way from Abu Dhabi to London, which I'm very excited about. Is there a particular flight out of the 3 daily ones that you'd recommend? I heard that Etihad have cut pyjamas from flights departing before 8pm. Are there any differences in food/service etc depending on time of departure like you've mentioned with other airlines? Just keen to make the most of my experience given this opportunity doesn't come round often! Thanks.