Stellar: Etihad's Airbus A350 Business Class

How have you found the availability with AA miles? Always seems difficult even with trying to call the international AA help desk

Its amazing how Air Canada can manage to have virtually same seat and even same brand amenities, yet the overall experience is utter garbage when it comes to food and service.

I think that Etihad’s products, service etc are now on par with, or very close to Qatar’s. I’m happy that you were so delighted with your choice of airline, equipment and service. Will you do a comparison between the two airlines?

This looks great!! But it seems like you're missing the Starlux inaugural?!

How vastly does this differ from their 787 business experience? Flying JFK AUH in two weeks in J for the first time! thnx Lucky

@ Jason -- Hah, I hope to fly Starlux soon, but I'm not a fan of reviewing inagurual flights, as I don't think it gives you a sense of what the experience is usually like.

@ T- -- I will indeed, stay tuned! 🙂

@ dn10 -- I found the availability on Air Canada's website, and American's call center in the United States was able to book it without issue. I've found fewer issues with AA finding EY availability as of late, but maybe I've just been lucky.

@ JackR -- It should still be a nice experience. The 787 seats are very nice as well, though the A350s seats have doors and better tech. Still, I find the 787 seats to be private and comfortable.

The only other difference should be that the Armani / Casa amenities are only available on A350s and select 787 flights for the time being. I'm not sure if the New York flight is getting those amenities or not.

Do you also plan to fly EY F again?
A month ago I flew GVA-AUH-CDG and I have to say I was extremely impressed. Granted, it was my first time in First, but service was just sooo good. Drink selection is really high end (at least the Champagne), food was good, and the seats are also nice - even if not flying the A380.
I went to the back and had a chat with a flight attendent. When he found out I was flying First, he insisted to escort me back to the front 😀 They even let me pop the 300$ champagne bottle by myself (was the only pax in F).
Just read you review of LH F and was glad I chose EY instead, to burn through my Asiana miles. 40k per direction is quiet a steal IMHO.

Lucky, I've asked the question before. How are you always able to get pictures of empty aircraft? Even if you're the first to board, there are going to be people right behind you. It's amazing how you are able to get empty aircraft pictures - which is great. Do you ask for special permission to board first and snap some quick pics? Do you identify yourself as a travel blogger? I'm just curious. Cabin looks amazing!

Ha, Lucky gets lucky, figure that 🙂

He runs

I had originally commented on your ‘12 Features That Make Business Class Great… Or Not’ article, where you kind of secretly ‘revealed’ that you had flown Etihad recently. Reposting that comment here:

‘It seems like you’ve finally managed to review the Etihad A350-1000, based on the filename of one of your images. YAY!!! Wish you could review Vistara’s 787/A321neo and SQ’s 737 MAX as well!’

I am so happy that Etihad still has it in them to be one of the best business-class airlines in the world, despite QR stealing its thunder almost every moment, not to mention the outrageously extravagant Hamad airport. I only wish EY had more A350-1000s, because QR has so many of them. Also, and you know by now that this is a pet wish of mine, I would be glad if you could fly Vistara at least once before it is swallowed by Air India once and for all!

Haha - maybe so!! LOL.

Flew that same flight in Feb ord-auh. Was an very good experience. Service was a bit robotic but overall good. The FA for my seat for meal service wasn’t terribly friendly - noticeably so.

Food though was excellent - about as good as it gets in biz class. The -1000 was beautiful as you mentioned.

Flew EK J back home. Enjoyed that more personally just bc the a380 is such a fun way to fly. Food was not up to EY. But service was on my flight.

I flew with Etihad last month from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne Australia and will never, ever fly with them again.
Business class was terrible. Absolutely devastated for my wife who went out of her way to make this trip possible but to be let down by their service and the condition of the plane on a 14 hr flight.

I don’t find the super diamond seat to be all that special. Firstly, the seat walls are so low that privacy even with the door is minimal. The lack of overhead bins in the centre makes the cabin feel like a church and not at all cosy or intimate. In reality there isn’t much space for your feet in the super diamond seat, especially compared to other reverse herringbones (Cathay) and Qsuite. Lack of slippers is really just pathetic. One pillow and a blanket? Not luxurious. But the food looked good. Etihad is not Top 5 though. Period.

Flew this product from AUH to ORD back in January. The seat was great and the food was delicious, but man the bathroom situation was *terrible*. Both business class bathrooms were smelly and the floors were gross and wet. It sounds minor but it was a major turnoff for an otherwise great flight.

He either contacts airline PR to organize early boarding in advance, or he asks extremely nicely at the gate to go on early.

(My guess is the first)

Delta also does not have overhead bins above the middle seats in Delta One. I like the open feel and it amplifies how quiet the A350 is.
Not having overhead bins in any part of the cabin means there are no individual air vents in that area which I genuinely want but the A350 circulates air very well.
Etihad does have a solid product on the A35K

I like brown sheets and pillow cases, so I don't know it's dirty!

Had the pleasure of flying this exact route last month & agree with everything said. When I booked it I was a bit disappointed I hadn't been able to find QSuites availability but there was nothing lacking on this flight for me. Would be thrilled to book again

The new factor I consider is the Codeshare flights. I booked QR Q-suite, QR delivered soft and hard products and were excellent but the second leg of the route was with Codeshare airline, much room to improve and less desirable. I will book again QR Q-suite if no Codeshare.

I managed to get on a Lufthansa A350 first and had plenty of time to take pictures. Except that the flight attendant in the back galley was making a big scene out of it that he didn’t want to be in any pictures - even as he wasn’t. It was an unpleasant boarding experience.

Thanks for the review. How would you rate it travelling with a companion in the center seats?

I was considering booking Etihad on this route for an upcoming trip – what was so bad about it? Would be really good to know!

I personally hate aircrafts with the middle set of overhead bins removed (such as Finnair A350 and apparently this EY A350). While it may be enough to technically fit everyone's carry-on bags, it creates other problems:
1. It leads to awkwardness when center passengers are hovering over a window passenger's seat fetching and re-stowing their bag. If you're not careful, your stuff can fall on another person. It's far better to have the overhead bin be right where you seat is, as it would be in 95% of cases if center overhead bins are present.
2. While everyone's bags may ultimately fit, I've always had issues with the bin above me being full of other peoples' stuff, requiring me to put my bags one or more bins further away, further exacerbating issue (1) with people standing and hovering over seats that are not there on.
3. Because many J seats don't even have any room to put a backpack at the seat itself ("no storage for take off"), another annoyance for me, there's effectively more bags per person being put into the J bins than would be the case in other cabins where people can at least put some stuff under the seat. Because these sorts of things are also commonly accessed, it creates a situation where passengers are going up to load and unload bins *more often* also, further exacerbating issue (1).

Personally I don't think the pros outweigh the cons here. I despite it on every instance I've flown one, and actively avoid aircrafts like this.

Just did EY SYD-AUH earlier this month, and was also unimpressed. For such a long flight including much night-flying the lack of pjs and slippers was a real downer.
Food and drinks was pretty ordinary I thought, and the cabin service was perfunctory at best.
Totally unmemorable and will not go out of my way to fly them again.
FYI, QR beats EY hands down, at least on in/our of Australia.
Got a ADL-AUH-FCO rt booked on Qatar for later this year and really looking forward to that one!

Great to hear! Hope to see Etihad expand to more markets again (but let's keep it slow, steady, and sustainable this time, EY).

I like seeing Etihad regain as much of its former allure as possible while being a more sustainable airline. I hope they can expand again. Their A35K would look sexy at LAX.

@lucky - were flying this exact flight in 2 weeks. It’s my wife and I. Would you recommend taking the 2 middle seats or go window, one in front of another?

Same! the whole "more spacious" argument is bananas to me. taking away extra storage for luggage isnt good in any sense in my opinion

@ Chase -- If you want to talk and enjoy the flight together, I'd probably select seats together in the center. I usually select two window seats even when traveling with Ford, since I like to look out the window and also take pictures, so I find that's easier. Besides, we spend enough time together as is. But that's just me.

@ Jake -- The center seats are great if you're traveling with someone, I wouldn't hesitate to select them.

@ VT-CIE -- VERY impressed you noticed that based on the picture file name, heh...

Are you spending any time in Abu Dhabi? Is it worth making an effort to spend some time in the city?

I'm not sure what to make of this review. You said a lot about nothing. You basically did not review the plane or airline and rather complained about the not so perfect parts. However, the parts that you liked and disliked are very subjective and very picky such as about pajamas or about the amenity kit not being fully stocked, etc. You also have to admit that most of the Middle East carriers especially Ethad and Qatar, etc, are far superior to western carriers and even without your picky comments it was a lot better than economy. Even the economy is better than economy on western carriers. I think you should have a review system so we can rate your reviews.

It is absolutely worth it. There‘s tons of stuff to do. The Grand Mosque is spectacular, I also enjoyed the newly-ish opened Louvre Abu Dhabi. Presidential Palaca aka Qasr Al Watan is incredible (make sure to experience the light and sound show - one of a kind), while the Qasr Al Hosn gives a brief, but interesting background of how the city evolved. Yas Island for all the theme parks (world‘s fastes roller coaster, largest indoor theme park, largest aquarium opening 23rd May). Plenty of nice hotels and restaurants too! Prefer it over both, Dubai and Doha, beinh honest with you. Etihad also has stopover packages as far as I know, might be worth checking out.

That toilet situation is dire. On a night flight your not getting to sleep anytime soon. Let's be generous and say 5 minutes per person to change out of their clothes and into PJ's. Typically ladies will take longer if they have makeup to remove and/or put their hair up/ style it as they normally do for sleeping ( NOT all and I'm not being negative before any over sensitive petals get all hurty-feels). 2 bathrooms. That's 210 mins/ 3.5hrs for the entire cabin. Divided by 2. Your looking at 1hr 45 mins.

If you want to go the pedant route then yes you won't always have the entire cabin change their clothing on every flight but those timings didn't factor in any time for people using the bathroom for it's intended purpose or cleaning by staff between uses.

Add that whole process again in the morning at your destination. Factor in dining and you've got a good half hour sleep time in a full cabin! Yes that's worst case of course but 2 bathrooms. I'd have to consider committing that cardinal sin of going back to coach and doing the walk of shame back to the pointy end in my sleepwear.

There is a review system in place. If you like the content you come back for more . If you don't then you don't. It's a marvelous system. Tried and tested. Never fails.

Whilst I understand what you're saying this is a FF Blog. Nobody really needs to have the, patently obvious, fact that the seats , service & overall ambience in the J cabin is superior to that of the Y product. That's just one of those common sense generally accepted things that doesn't require someone to fly in business to know its a better experience than in coach.

Likewise, and as you yourself pointed out, the Middle East Big 3 have better products across the board ( on the whole) and this fact is known & generally accepted to most. If you were totally new to flying & were looking to find out "are the middle East carriers products better than US carriers?" then I'd imagine most would Google that rather than go looking through FF Blogs to try find the answer hidden in an article. Also it's a review of this specific flight. The "who does it best" debate isn't, imho, something that would even make sense or 'fit' in a review about flight XYZ123 on an AB700300 in J.

You're right it being subjective regarding some of the things mentioned but, and this is just my POV, I WANT to know if the amenity kit on a $5k fare is missing stuff. Coz if I see it here and then read it again elsewhere then that tells me there's a QC & Standards issue problem at a carrier known for its attention to detail. If I'm paying a high amount then do I maybe want to fly Qatar instead as I want the service and standards that are expected as per the carriers own standard. Totally agree that info may be useless to others. They may not care or even have the same thought process about it. But conversely for me that's something of use.

Hi Jen's,

Idk how new or experienced you are with flying but it will ALWAYS show you if your flight is a codeshare/ multi carrier. Tell you who they are, the aircraft* and segment(s) flown. On QR own site you can see different logos for each flight if it's a codeshare. Just click in and it'll give you more details.

Course if you know all that. Disregard. I know what you're saying though. I'm a BA elite & a fan of their Club Suites but if I'm flying QR then I want my Q Suite all the way and will change flight if need be

Is there a list where we can see what routes will get the A350s?

iamhere, you might want to re-read the beginning of paragraph 3: "While I'll have a full trip report soon..."

So by your calculations, if they DOUBLED the number of lavs, the wait time would be 52.5+ mins. Is that acceptable to you?

Maybe you’d like to add more lavs? Let’s aim for a 5-minute wait at peak times. 42 pax at 5 mins/pax is 210 mins. Divide 210 by 5 is 42. So, by your calculations, if there were FORTY TWO lavs in J, each J pax would have only a 5-minute wait.

But wait, if we had 42 lavs, that would mean each pax had their own lav, so there wouldn’t be a wait time at all. Perhaps there’s something seriously wrong with your calculations?

You are right. Secretary booked it and saw the logo of the non- QR. That means next business trips will be with EK or EY. QR reduced 2/3 of their flights to that destination.

Can we talk about the reverse herringbone elephant in the room? The variant of seats that Cathay has, with additional padded surface areas, much more, deeper, storage and the fold away display, is miles better for sleeping (and views) than the fixed display version featured here (and at BA, AC, and oh so many others). I find my legs are always hitting up against the table in this version, but not so with CX, where the table slides off to the side and your legs are entirely unconstrained. I'm surprised, given your stance on TKs old product (which I agree with, it is great for sleeping), that you have yet to talk about this key difference between the multiple iterations of reverse herringbone, especially since the more popular version is the worse one. I've flown AC many times and almost always failed to sleep well because of this, not so on CX.

Hi Ben, Thank you for choosing to fly Etihad Airways! It's been a while not seeing review of yours about EY flight.

The 1 million dollar question. Do they have individual air vents???

A German in uniform wasn’t nice to you? Shocker!