Interlude: 30 Hours In Abu Dhabi

I flew AUH-SFO in F a week ago and had the same menu and very pleasant crew. Despite of reading about the Jetihad food and service is lacking I suspect the upgrade in soft product has already happened before the scheduled hard product upgrade.

I've always wondered what the rich kids would be like on these kind of flights, surprisingly never run into any in First. Though I suppose I should be thankful, they sound terrible.

Great report Tiffany. I am glad I don't have to use TBIT. I havent been through that terminal in years and it sounds horrible which is funny considering how busy it is and I thought SEA was bad, it is trust me I live here. Ive read enough of Ben's reports to see that Etihad is no where near as good as Emirates. Sounds like you had fun and that hotel looks really nice the pic at night was excellent and I was surprised at how nice the grounds looked. Thanks for sharing and hope Thanksgiving worked out

*Grumbles* Wish I had 180k AA to blow non a one-day trip.

Now that that's out of my system, looks like you had an awesome time. Spoiled kids suck though

@ JW -- How was the hard product on Jetihad? I've made a point to avoid it recently.

@ Jay -- Terrible is a good description. I'd like to imagine that their parents would have been horrified if they'd been present, but...

@ Rand -- At least Sea-Tac is all connected airside! That's the main challenge with airports like LAX/SFO/JFK, in my opinion.

@ James K. -- Hah, well, if it makes you feel any better, I've spent an average of 250 nights a year on the road since 2010 to have the kind of mileage balances where that seems like a reasonable thing to do. So there are tradeoffs 🙂

Spoiled rich kids are still preferable to removes shoes/stinky feet guy, laughing out loud at IFE guy, and guy who gets up every 20 minutes to open overhead bins.

Very nice report. I was at LAX Friday night (arriving AA) and waiting for the hotel bus, and the exhaust fumes were real bad.

I find it more pleasant to walk on the upper deck between T4 and TBIT. If no baggage to claim, go up the escalator at gate 44 and walk through the terminal, past the Admiral's club and then take the escalator by TSA to the check-in level (not baggage). Then when you arrive at TBIT you are at the check-in/security check level.

If luggage to claim, then there is an escalator to the upper deck near baggage claim.

Of course, all this will be solved with the connector between T4 and TBIT opens late this year.

Tiffany this is your best trip report yet! The cast of characters in F seemed interesting, and I would have loved to be in that cabin so I could laugh to myself. I hope they did not mistreat the crew.

What to do in Abu Dhabi? Hope you went out of the hotel and walked and pressed some hands. How about street food?

@Tiffany, I had low expectation after reading many negative reviews on the Jetihad which may help on a very enjoyable flight. The seat is comfortable and with a thin padding on the flat bed I had no trouble sleeping for 9 hrs during the flight. IFE has plenty of movies I'd like to watch (Martian, Bridge of Spies). Overall it may not compare to the EY A380 apt or SG F suite. However I felt the experience is on par with JL F suite or maybe even Cathay F. I value the privacy provided by the closed door more than the Dom and caviar so people who seek these things may reach a different conclusion.

Tiffany, I noticed on the picture of the card in the hotel room that your last name is Funk. That's a very unusual name. I work with a guy whose last name is Funk here in Arizona. I never thought I would find another person with that last name.

@ Randy -- That's a really good point. I hadn't even thought about that until I was 95% of the way to TBIT and being asphyxiated by the fumes.

@ Brian G. -- Thanks! They certainly weren't very nice to the crew, sadly.

@ credit -- Not this time. I've spend tons of time in Abu Dhabi (probably about ten months worth if it's all added together), so I was happy just sitting on the beach this trip.

But I've written previously about some of my favorite tourist things in the Emirate, if that's helpful: https://onemileatatime.com/exploring-abu-dhabi/

Btw, you can also order things off the menu depending on what's available in the kitchen. Both me and my travel partner ordered something not on the menu and the chef prepared them to our liking.

@ Buddy M. -- Hah, I get that all the time! Apparently it's actually a very common surname in some parts of Germany (and thus in areas where Germans have immigrated). The first time my husband and Ben's dad met they had an hour conversation about the Wolgadeutsche and family history, so it's maybe not as unusual as I had previously thought.

What kind of person buys an international F (presumably revenue from the context) on the way to the airport? And how spoiled of a kid do you need to be to pay ~$4k to fly across the Atlantic. Like how rich do you need to be? Those are not rhetorical questions btw 😛

@ Abdelrahim Abdallah -- I presume revenue as well, and sorta got the impression that it was purchased for her, so maybe a corporate account with better pricing?

And I'm going with "pretty spoiled." The average revenue cost of a first class Etihad ticket from Los Angeles to Abu Dhabi seems to hover around ~$24k (or a "reasonable" $12k ex-AUH), so...

Nice trip report! I'll be connecting in Abu Dhabi next month for about 22 hours before taking the A380 flight out at about 3am.

Any suggestions as to what one can do in Abu Dhabi late at night before catching such a late flight?

@ Craig -- Thanks! Assuming you're going to have a hotel for at least part of that, I'd get some sleep, then spend the early evening at one of the restaurants in the area (I like those at the Souk Qaryat Al Beri for the waterside dining and sunset views of the mosque), then head over to the Mosque, which is open until 10PM most nights.

If you want to stay out even later, then just switch the order. There are lots of restaurants and bars open quite late in Abu Dhabi.

Hi Tiffany! I have an upcoming trip in Feb to Maldives via Abu Dhabi originating from LAX (Etihad). I used AA miles/reward. I live in San Diego and would love to add on the SAN-LAX flight. There was no award availability when I booked the itinerary last year. After reading your trip report, I now see award availability! Will there be a fee assessed to change the originating city to add onto my existing itinerary? I do not have any elite status with AA.

@ Kathy -- Unfortunately if you don't have elite status the fee would be $150. At that price, you're probably better off just buying the flight, as tickets are often ~$60.

Wait - AA has made VERY public their plans for LAX - they are building an airside connector between T4 and the TBIT. If you look outside, you'll see that construction on this is QUITE advanced. Once complete, AA has announced that they'll have preferential wide body use to about 4 gates in TBIT and they will reconfigure their gates in T4. As somebody who seems to travel a lot and seems aware of AA it surprises me you're unaware of this, or at least profess not to be in this report.

As for Jetihad, the service onboard is now fully EY (menus, bedding, flight attendants). The first class is nice but just older and cloth instead of leather seats. The exact same IFE as on normal Etihad. Business Class has the herringbone seats. Economy is economy. That said, EY has announced they'll be completely phasing out Jetihad (SFO sometime in April, JFK by early summer), and replacing those planes with full EY airplanes. So, it'll be gone soon.

Lots of great things to do in Abu Dhabi. I lived there for over a year and miss it. My favorite things are the beaches on Saadiyat - simply beautiful and world class. But Friday brunches are an amazing experience as well - a must do for any visitor. And visiting the mosque is incredible. Highly recommend.

@JW: Not to worry…Etihad to replace jetihad metal in the Spring of 2016 on SFO - AUH !
http://travelskills.com/2016/01/06/etihad-upgrades-aircraft-on-san-francisco-jfk-routes/

Nice change of pace review. Nothing wrong with Ben's, but a different perspective is always welcome. Particularly if it's well done, like this one.

Great review Tiffany!

Hilarious description of your co-passengers but where were the "instagram kids" and the influential gentlemen from? Did they look Abu Dhabi natives?

Hi Tiffany - you write that you took the EY provided chauffeur service on arrival, which I have also used while on a paid ticket. But I thought they had stopped doing that with redemptions; I guess I'm wrong? I know this was EY but I'll be flying EK into DBX in F on an Alaska redemption in April (connecting to MCT after a one day stop) and just figured I couldn't use the chauffeur service. Do you know what the state of that with EK is? I'm arriving in F and then continuing in F a day later.

Great report. The RKOI reference was pretty perfect. I've run into a few of them along the way and I just roll my eyes 🙂

@ Stuart -- Etihad still allows chauffeur bookings on award tickets, it's technically Emirates that doesn't.

That being said, I've had good luck in going to the arrivals desk for Emirates in Dubai and showing my boarding pass. I've never been denied car service, though it of course depends on the agent you get. It only works on trips from the airport though.

@Tiffany great to know. Sidebar: we're coming back on Qatar, in F (regional F there's no J) connecting to the new A350 in Doha to Philadelphia. We arrive in F and leave in J (there's no F on their A350 as I'm sure you know). Are we going to be able to access the F lounge in Doha? It's a BA redemption.

Happy Sunday!

You sure the people in 1A and 1D wasn't lucky and ford?

Another fine effort, Tiffany.

As a SAN native, I too have always loved the SAN-LAX flights. Back in the day, it was easy to take AA or WA (Western Airlines, the oooooonnnllllyyyy way to fly!) DC-10s for the short hop. And WA even managed their signature champagne service in F.

Even more fun was flying Golden West or Imperial (RIP x2) CLD-LAX or SNA. You could almost reach out and touch the reactor containment domes at San Onofre!

Happy 2016

That wine you got in the hotel is terrible, about £5 a bottle in most UK supermarkets

@ Stuart -- I don't think so, actually. I believe you only get access to the F lounge on connecting itineraries if the F flight was more than five hours long. But the business class lounge is lovely, and I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Thanks. I will be in Abu Dhabi soon for one day. You pervious trip report will be helpful.

What do you think about doha? My routing is such that I have about 24 hour layover. But I can get it shortened to 9 hour. I have al mourjan lounge access. I am debating which layover to pick.

"Not to interrupt the narrative"

Too late...

@Tiffany thanks for your replies. I appreciate them very much.

Great review Tiffany, and wholeheartedly agree that Emirates just are more together than Etihad (their experience in running an airline comes through - things are just more pat).

Still, Etihad are decent enough, most of the time (better than US carriers certainly).

That Blueberry crepe on the menu sounds lovely (never had that turn up before, alas).

Caribbean Sunrise is my fav Etihad First drink - so refreshing.

Keep up the awesome posts here on OMAAT.

This was so much fun to read. Good job Tiffany!