Review: Etihad Business Class 787 Washington To Abu Dhabi

Really helpful review, thanks.

It would be useful to know with these reviews roughly what proportion of that airline's fleet offers this product rather than something much inferior.

But... "Scottish Gin"? WTF? Presumably we'll be seeing "English whisky" next...

So which do you prefer, Emirates or Etihad A380 business?

You got economy class pictures! Thank you so much!

No free Wifi even for Business class flyers? Thats a bummer!

Not sure how you can even remotely compare this seat with the Emirates A380 seat.
The Etihad business studio seat on the 787 is 22 inches wide
The Emirates business class seat is 18.5 inches wide, for comparison the economy seat is 18 inches....

Which one would you choose then in business class - Emirates A380, Etihad A380/B787 or Qatar A350?

"[Economy] looked about as good as [it] gets on a 787".

Except that it's 3-3-3, which isn't as good as it gets.

I know you were comparing to the standard 787 products but the 'as good as it gets' 787 award has to go to JAL.

@ Paul -- Scottish gin can actually be wonderful! I am a very big fan of Edinburgh Gin; it's one of my favorites, and I've visited their small-batch distillery. Makes for a lovely G&T with a garnish of orange rind instead of lime, to better pair with the botanicals used in the gin.

Ben, now that you've flown the flagship business class products of each of the ME3, it would be really cool if you could do a comparison post about the three!

Ben, just out of interest, can I ask why you have a preference to always sit at the rear of the business class cabin? Would it not be a pain if you had crying babies directly behind you at the front of the economy cabin?

I'm a platinum member with Etihad and fly often in business class. Like the menu offerings in the first class lounge in Abu Dhabi, the food on board has really gone downhill of late. It is such a shame to see all these cost cutting measures hit their premium passengers. In Etihad's own lounges across their network, I believe there is no longer an a la carte menu, just a reduced and limited buffet. I will be burning my miles and trying different airlines as and when I can after ten plus years of loyalty to Etihad.

@vitaliU -for me the emirates A380 business class is the best. Emirates has the best entertainment system and also their catering is top higher than even CX, ET,BA,MH,

It really surprises me that wifi is not complimentary in Business or First. Just seems to be nickle and diming. I have noticed this to be fairly standard across the industry.

@ Steven - https://onemileatatime.com/business-class-seat-selection/

@PeteJ My guess is these wifi systems aren't truly "owned" by the airlines but are licensed like cell towers, so the company running the system takes a cut of cash revenue, and desires passengers to pay over the airline reimbursing (at likely a volume discount)

Well written report. How do you compare the business class on the 787s with the business class seats on the 77Ls, on Etihad?

Now that your profile is rising, I'm curious how often you get recognized by readers or viewers during travel.....Is that common? And do you welcome people saying hello at airports or in the sky or do you find that awkward?

Economy looks nice.

I just wanna leave a fixer comment for someone that can fix this on the site, but Dantworp's Condor trip report isn't categorized as a airline trip report. Ik its here on the site but it isnt there.

Is this the only 787 with true F?

I know KE has F on 787s, but it's the exact same seat as J. There might be slightly different soft F service, but it's still just J with nicer silverware and more expensive champagne.

So this is the first time I remember seeing F on a seatmap on any 787. There don't seem to be any pictures, though, as Lucky wasn't in the mini cabin.

@ Owen -- China Southern, British Airways, and Xiamen Air also have first class on their 787s.

@Owen

The EY 787 first cabin is actually pretty nice, though it has the backward/forward setup - e.g., 1A faces backwards, 2A faces forward, and the row 1 middles face forward, the row 2 middles face backward, and 1K faces backward, and 2K faces forward. There's plenty of space (about the same as EK first), but storage is lacking (I could fit my rollaboard suitcase under the ottoman, however the flight attendant had to take my carry-on for takeoff and landing).

@Paul Scottish gin makes perfect sense - you can use the same stills as Whisky, and Gin takes about 1/100th of the time to manufacture, so it has become a profitable past-time for any idle stills.

Lucky, I am genuinely confused by your use of hyperbole. You have described your main course dinner and your dessert as both being "phenomenal". In the paragraph after you have had your dinner you wrote: "In terms of the food itself, I thought it was solid and above average, though not memorable or amazing." The meaning of the word phenomenal is "remarkable or exceptional, yet you suggest it is not memorable? To have two phenomenal courses and then describe the meal as being not memorable is I would suggest oxymoronic!

Hi Lucky - Nice trip report. I am curious if you physically felt any different upon landing in Abu Dhabi. The 787 is supposed to make passengers feel more refreshed due to higher cabin pressures and rapidly circulating air.

My last EY flight - this route, actually - was a year ago and wifi was free in biz class. Wonder when this changed?

A little late on this.

Flew this plane in F SIN-AUH and found it excellent. And in F there are actually individual air nozzles, although in kind of an odd spot (to the left almost at head level on the seat).
We had an incredible crew too which really helped. We connected to AUH-JFK on A380 and were not nearly as impressed, partially because the crew was mediocre at best, but really I think that other than the novelty of F apartments and shower, I think I actually prefer the 787-9 F suite. (I think it has the longest bed I have ever seen, I am 6'4" and had no need to bend my legs, which isn't true on most seats including F apartments).
One other note, the F menu is nearly identical with the exception of a few additions (Steak Frites, Royal Salute 21yr instead of Chivas 18yr) - I believe the rest of wine and beverage list are identical. It does seem like the F plating is done a little better, and EY's china and stemware really impresses.

Good review .. was wondering how did you manage to smuggle your laptop on board past security ? The date of your flight is after the electronic onboard ban had taken place.

@ Sam -- The electronics ban only applies on flights to the US, and not flights from the US. So this flight wasn't impacted by that.

Hendricks is Scottish gin.

Great report. The seats do look very good, while allowing for reasonable density.

Hi Ben,

Etihad just changed the inflight internet service from the costing model you described to a model where you can purchase a pass up to 180 stunning megabytes for something around 20 US$ (at least that´s what I experienced on both legs from MUC via AUH to BNE). So that´s a massive step back especially for business travellers since the synchronisation of an Outlook mailbox can easily burn the full volume and then you need to purchase another 180mb.

...seriously, why such a giant step backwards? I understand that cost-cutting is a hot topic for Etihad right now but reconfiguring the internet access equipment back to standards which might have been up-to-date 10 years ago isn´t really customer appealing from my point of view.

Hi Ben,

I am flying London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi to Narita, Japan at the end of this month.

I have business class for all flights there and back but was thinking of putting in a bid for the upgrade from Abu Dhabi to Narita (11 hours). The trip to/from Abu Dhabi is A380 and then Abu Dhabi to/from Narita is 787-9.

I know that it is 50/50 with a bid for the upgrades but is First class on the 787-9 that much better than the business class offering? Would it be a better "experience" to go for the upgrade bid on the A380 instead? (I know that the suite on the A380 is much bigger but it is only a 7.5 hour flight).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.

Cheers.

When 787 or 380 to Toronto?

Worthless stupid review- not a word on the most important factor- length of the bed

I think you may have been a bit unlucky with the food, as Etihad was rated by Skytrax as having the 3rd best onboard food of any business class, ahead of Austrian (these are the 2017 skytrax awards, btw). Anyway, great review, glad you enjoyed the flight!

I would agree with this review. The business class cabin is well designed and comfortable. I agree that the bedding is basic; I dislike the synthetic pillow case and would prefer a cotton case. I arrived on the Abu Dhabi to Washington flight just yesterday and found the food service poor. We departed at 10:50 AM, we served a beverage followed by lunch around 12:30. There was only one meal served in the entire thirteen plus hour flight. About 8 hours later I asked if we were gettting another meal. The atttendant indicated that only one meal is served. I ordered a cheese plate ( it is much smaller than I experienced before) and later ordered a cup of coffee. The flight attendants rarely came through the cabin; I had to go to the galley to get some water. The flights were very nice, just not visible. I was told that Etihad is concerned about food waste and there were cutting back the amount if food served. I believe that the cut back in food and beverage service is a result of budget cuts, as the airline faces financial challenges. This is a false economy I believe. I was very hungry upon arrival at my destination!

Ben nice review as always.
I should add ONE for you, Ben. Etihad should provide MATTRESS like JAL. That will be awesome.

Excellent reviews. I have been a travel consultant for the past 30 years and recently retired.
i have flown Etihad business class 3 times and will again be flying with them again end of May 2018.
Disappointing they have cut down on the Limo complimentary for business class passengers
except for in Abu Dhabi but not on Z class Fares which my ticket is in May.
Generally I have always been satisfied with Etihad but my continual gripe is why is the cabin temperature is so warm ( difficult for sleeping ) and as you say no air vents in business class( not sure re economy class )
cheers

Had a very bad experience in Etihad business class on my recent trip from Milan. Business class seats were overbooked and I was downgraded to economy. Staff refused to book me into a different airline and the alternative was to go on the same flight the next day! They offered a refund but did not make it easy for me as I have to contact my travel agent upon my return who will then have to contact Etihad’s global travel centre! Overbooked seats aside, the crew were chatting loudly throughout the flight and I could even hear them from my seat. The selection of movies were much less compared to other airlines, and I was not impressed with the condition of the cabin. I’m never flying with Etihad again!

As Vand said- they use the same kit for whisky as gin. Basically a lot of hedge fund/ new start up cash went into new distilleries or old ones that were Previously mothballed . It takes 5 years minimum to get malt and most these days enter at 12. What to make in meantime for cash flow whilst that smashing malt matures and the angels take their share-Gin. That’s the reason for the sudden flood on the market. Plus botanicals are different in Scotland- varied and range from subtle to powerful.

Aloo gobi masala is a Pakistani dish. most "Indian" dishes are originally Pakistani.

My main issue with the Etihad 787 business seat is that the seat is simply too low. Also it isn't the most ergonomically comfortable design as to match the curve of the cubicle it is rounded off ridiculously in one side. This also affects the comfort in the lie flat position as there is no support on the side in the middle because of this weird curvature in the cushion shape.

Also most Pakistanis are originally Indian...