To kick off our trip to Dubai and Florence, we flew Etihad’s Airbus A350 business class from Chicago to Abu Dhabi. I was very much looking forward to this flight, as the A350 is Etihad’s new flagship aircraft, and on top of that, Etihad has refreshed its soft product with new Armani / Casa amenities.
Continue reading: Review: Etihad Business Class A350 (ORD-AUH)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Thanks for the great review, really enjoyable read!
Question for Ben, what do you do about Passport, with the many many international flights, do you ever run out of room on your passport, causing you to have to renew early?
@ Passport Question -- Thanks! To be honest, it's not an issue I've had lately. I have both a US and German passport, so I don't get stamped when entering the United States or European Union. On top of that, many other countries use e-gates nowadays, so I still have quite a few empty passport pages.
Well, I see a new nut ramekin! My favorite souvenirs are the nut ramekins from each on my Etihad trips! This experience is good to know
Btw have you been able to visit the Louvre in Abu Dhabi? It’s Marvelous. Toby at Ford’s service got me a great deal at the nearby Park Hyatt looking forward to your RTW reports
Great review, Ben! I have always flown by Qsuites when I travel Mideast or Asia, but never by Etihad. Maybe I should give it a try.
Here's a question: Between Qsuites and Etihad Business, which one did you like the most?
Just an FYI for those who are curious about the map or airshow, it's the Panasonic ARC system used by SQ (on select a/c), Finnair, Vistara and I'm sure there are others out there. The comparable system would be Flightpath3D that's used by KLM/AF, BA, CX, LH, Virgin, and plenty of others.
Curious: how did the crew address/resolve the issue with the passenger blaring videos without earphones?
Wow I am thoroughly impressed as well, this product will push Qatar for their money!
It's amazing how AC has the same seat but managed to fumble it and get the budget constantly deflating version.
1:22 ratio for J lavs isn’t that bad, LX A330 J has 2 lavs for 45 pax, and I have only ever had a problem with queues on overnight flights right after the dinner service.
Delta and United both have a single lav for their 24-seat domestic First cabins on the 753s! Albeit those aren't run on anything much over 4 hours, but I certainly would get up to use the lav in that timeframe.
Hey Bob, you’re comparing a version of the seat that’s 10 years old to the current version. AC’s introducing a new seat on its new A321s and will retrofit the rest of its wide body fleet. Blame the designers/manufacturer of the seat for the deflation issues but I’ve flown those seats dozens of times without experiencing this. AC has three J washrooms for for 28 or 20 passengers (depending if 789 or 788) and gives out slippers.
AC has 3 for either 28 or 20 passengers in J on its 787s or for 38 on the 777s. Even if you throw in 14/21 in PE who might sneak through the curtain.
I would not call a woman who misbehaves like that a lady… Out of curiosity, did you intervene in any way? I usually ask the cabin crew to tell such inconsiderate pax to use their headphones. Sometimes, they are a bit reluctant but my "would you like me to do it" makes them intervene.
I really love the proprietary biz seats that Etihad has been using up to now. These new seats are common to several airlines. How do they compare in actuality?
They've had years to fix this. Yet they keep running deflated seats.
Trash airline
Great review and seems like an awesome flight. Everything looks great... but why no slippers?!?! It seems like such a cheap, simple thing, yet an amenity I really value on flights. I'd also appreciate pyjamas, but understand this isn't offered by many airlines these days and is a higher cost.
Sadly while the onboard experience is excellent, this cannot be said for the quality of a connecting trip on Etihad.
Mine included a 4.5 hour connection in AUH, which apparently is pretty normal, scheduled right in the middle of my circadian night. Deplaning and boarding was totally third worldish, as I was
slowely bussed to a remote stand both times. This is something that I since learned appears to be pretty normal. The lounge was awful and overrun with people, and I was stuck there for almost 4 hours.
Until they fix the hub problems with a new airport, and adjust the schedules, this airline is firmly on my do not fly list. It's a productivity killer once you arrive, life's too short, and money better spent elsewhere (Emirates A380, Qatar QSuites, Singapore Airlines). Pretty sad as their onboard service shines, but not enough to make up for all the other failings.
Good timing. I'm on EY150 at the end of June, ORD-AUH-ICN. Looking forward to the A350.
Our experience on Etihad’s a350 from JFK to Abu Dhabi was the opposite of yours. They use an awful Air India lounge at JFK for business class passengers, the service onboard was haphazard at best and we found the old seats on their 787 business class much more comfortable. I’m not sure what would account for our subaverage experience and your “top notch” experience, but we will certainly not be eager to fly Etihad again. During this same trip we enjoyed business class on Singapore, Emirates, Etihad, and Thai Airlines. Etihad was the most disappointing of the bunch. Maybe it was a one off, but judging by the similarly poor service on the Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi to Singapore on their 787, I’d guess not.
The Etihad Airbus A350-1000 is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. I really wish they would send it to Toronto.
I think the vegetarian dishes referred to as Asian meal should actually be termed "Indian Vegetarian meals" :). Paratha and Jeera Pulao are dead giveaways which part of the world that originates from (wink) .It's a shame you missed out on that Steak sandwich.
Etihad has always been special to me. Flown with Emirates as well but Etihad just has something different about them.
Yes. But thats like calling a penne a la vodka dinner an 'European Dinner'. Its true, but doesn't tell you much.
The suites look great and the service sounded good, but the menu is just a bit underwhelming. I expect a full two courses breakfast service.
I presume you can order at least three meals during these 12 hours flights, but the selection is significantly weaker than Emirates and Qatar!
Thanks again for posting these reviews!
No pajamas for an almost 12 hour flight. That’s not acceptable. Even United has pajamas(you will have to ask for them). Wine list looks very cost cutting. I’ll stay on Qatar. Better Champagne, wines, and pajamas. Doha airport is so much better than Abu Dhabi.
Ha. I know one of the guys in the safety video. He was one of my colleagues when I worked there and I’d now getting rather senior in management.
Yes, but there are also Chinese Vegetarian (which can sometimes exclude root vegetables like onions and usually non-spicy) and Japanese Vegetarian (usually connected with Buddhism temples and therefore rarely found in mainstream restaurants / airline catering). SQ which caters to many India and China cities allows passengers to specify Indian Vegetarian, Jain Vegetarian and Oriental Vegetarian.
by your logic a middle eastern breakfast would be considered 'asian' as well. eye roll
Looks good, no doubt, but it's not even in the same league as QSuites. It's similar to the 1-2-1 configuration on the 359, which is nice, but the only thing Etihad does better is technology and refills on welcome bevs. Qatar looks to have a better menu, better champagne, pajamas, better lounge (in ORD and DOH).
Shut the %#@* up Big Al..............Daniel is absolutely correct! That bitch should be whacked in the head and taught a lesson, use your headphone or back to cattle class!!
Ben's article on the loss of manors regarding using a speaker phone in public places was a great one and you need to read it a couple times! I love how the German gentleman handled the inconsiderate A-Hole in the Etihad lounge, classic!!! I've used it twice already once on board and once in a lounge, both times people were embarrassed & speechless.......
@Ben, I’m curious how far ahead you book the flights for your trips. I know you very often book rather last-minute. We all know about Lufthansa, but is availability on Etihad and Emirates better close in? Thank you for your informative and entertaining posts!
@Ben, another question is how early you book hotels when you don't have flights until shortly before your trip? Are your hotel plans also kind of last minute? I've been booking award trips 10-12 months ahead for years, and the idea of booking days rather than months ahead is both fascinating and scary to me!
Remarkable review Ben. As a first timer to one of your posts, I'm struck by the quality and sheer volume of the images you use in this review. I would argue that the images alone tell the story pretty much - the reader (at least I can say for myself) comes away from this piece as though they were on the flight with you. I particularly like the shots you took enroute to and as you were approaching Abu Dhabi. If I may ask, what camera/device did you use to take these images?
Superb review; definitive. I am flying an EY A350 in business class from ORD to UAE and back this October. Your review definitely helped clarify the options. Thank you.
Etihad business is such a hit or miss... as much as hard product is good on new planes (unlike on B777s!!) and Armani Casa uplifts it, the crew can be awful, or simply rude and lazy to assist. But the worst is the customer support - I learned hard way that if things go wrong (irresponsive screen on long-haul in a full business cabin, broken luggage on delivery...), dealing with support is a nightmare per se. Like talking to a bot who keeps on sending compesation requests breaching the law (flight from EU) and repeating same template over and over again, no matter what my replies are (it happens to me to know my rights). They drove me really crazy and now I happily stick to Gulf Air or Qatar whenever I can, don't even wanna see their logo. Just warning those who perhaps weigh their options.