Update: Read my full Etihad Business Class A320 Abu Dhabi To Ahmedabad review.
Hello from Ahmedabad! After flying Etihad’s 787 first class from Washington to Abu Dhabi, then spending a few hours in a private room at Etihad’s first class lounge, it was time to connect to Ahmedabad on an Etihad A320.
While I’ll have a full review soon, I wanted to share my initial thoughts on this 2hr45min flight. Rather than the usual “10 pictures” format I’ll go with “five pictures,” since there’s not that much to say.
Etihad’s A320 business class cabin has a total of 16 seats, spread across four rows in a 2-2 configuration. Legroom is good, though unfortunately Etihad doesn’t have many narrowbody planes with flat beds (unlike Qatar Airways).
Each seat had a thick pillow and comfortable blanket.
In the armrest was a personal television, which had an extensive entertainment selection.
This flight was departing at 11PM and landing after 3AM (there’s a time change), so overall I was impressed by the meal service. Everything was served on one tray. I ordered the Indian vegetarian option, which was bhutta methi palak. There was a mezze starter, and then a mango coconut mousse cake for dessert.
I stayed awake the entire flight (I’m nocturnal this week), so had a cappuccino after the meal, which Etihad always does a good job with.
The crew was fine but unremarkable, though frankly I can’t blame them for not being enthused, since working an overnight direct turn to Ahmedabad probably isn’t the most glamorous trip.
The only other noteworthy thing about the flight was the other passengers. Oh my gosh. We were leaving from a remote stand, and after the bus door closed a guy realized he had forgotten something in the terminal. So he began banging on the window of the bus and causing a commotion. And then that caused an uprising among other people, who didn’t want to return to the terminal, who told him to be quiet.
“We are on the runway, we can’t go back. We will miss the flight. Be quiet. Stop!”
That only made him bang on the windows harder… I can’t wrap my head around why so many passengers decided to get involved here.
Then a bag fell on the head of the guy across from me. They had overstuffed the overhead bins because of the number of carry-ons, so when a lady seated in the bulkhead economy row opened the overhead bin, a bag fell on the head of the guy in the last row of business class. Fortunately it wasn’t a huge bag, and the guy didn’t seem to be hurt.
When the flight attendant saw this happen she ran over.
“Are you okay, sir?”
“I want compensation.”
Really, that’s the first thing he said?
“How about another ginger ale, sir?”
“Okay.”
Bottom line
Etihad’s A320 business class is quite nice, especially if you’re used to flying within the US. The meal was good and crew good enough. However, I do think Qatar Airways does a significantly better short-haul product on their A320s, regardless of whether you’re flying their A320s with flat beds, or their A320s with recliner seats, similar to what Etihad does.
If you’ve flown Etihad’s A320 business class, what was your experience like?
@Boco And 15/20 pictures if it is an enhancement, and quantity increase based on the quality of improvements.
I flew the Etihad A320 to/from abu Dhabi and Male and one way from Kathmandu to Abu Dhabi. All three flights were in business class. The seat and service for a narrowbody aircraft were outstanding. On the flight from Kathmandu I was the only passenger in business class. I was a little lonely up there all by myself. And that flight was weird because one hour after departing Kathmandu we stopped in Lucknow, India for...
I flew the Etihad A320 to/from abu Dhabi and Male and one way from Kathmandu to Abu Dhabi. All three flights were in business class. The seat and service for a narrowbody aircraft were outstanding. On the flight from Kathmandu I was the only passenger in business class. I was a little lonely up there all by myself. And that flight was weird because one hour after departing Kathmandu we stopped in Lucknow, India for fuel. No one could board or get off. In 2016 anyway, Etihad was not buying fuel in Nepal. The one problem I noted with the the Etihad A320 was that the boxes for the audio/video system took up much of the space under the seat.
https://salsaworldtraveler.com/2016/10/30/ethiad-a320-200-pearl-business-class-abu-dhabi-to-male-republic-of-maldives/
https://salsaworldtraveler.com/2016/05/27/ethiad-a320-business-class-kathmandu-to-abu-dhabi/
"How about another ginger ale, sir?" Made me laugh out loud. Looks like the passenger is a master negotiator. Probably been reading "The Art of the Deal"!
Typical rowdy Gujarati behaviour as regards compensation. Wait till you fly the Khakhra Express (AI AMD-LHR).
Welcome to Ahmedabad! That’s where my mom is from. And she would TOTALLY say the same thing about compensation.
By the way, the compensation story was what made it a favorite. TOO good.
Yet another denial of a merger between Emirates & Etihad...
https://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/no-merger-with-etihad-uk-remains-vital-market-emirates-1.2294453
I flew this Etihad business configuration and in all honesty, due to the great padding of this seat, I found it much more comfortable for sleeping and got 2 hours of sleep on a four hour flight compared to 2 hours on my connecting 13 hour flight on their A380.
"Rather than the usual “10 pictures” format I’ll go with “five pictures,” "
Looks like the soft product isn't the only thing being downgraded on Etihad these days...
With passengers like that, airlines can really make a case for removing IFE screens.
"unfortunately Etihad doesn’t have many narrowbody planes with flat beds" - I think you mean they don't have ANY narrowbody planes with flat beds.
Lol.... compensation so very gujju...I think this might be very different from your rest other Indian trips.
I just flew the A320 from Male to AUH last night
Seat was wide and soft but was very hard to get comfortable in any position except upright. I could not sleep at all
Loved the part of compensation.. so Indian and so very Gujarati
I can't help but feel you just don't like Etihad and find every reason to be unsatisfied with them (comparing them to Qatar in the meanwhile, too).
I flew Avianca business on an A320 recently and was really pleasantly surprised by the squashy comfort of the old seats. These Emirates seats remind me of those. Perhaps I've become too used to Delta domestic first on regional jets where the seats just seem thin, hard, narrower and with less leg room in comparison. Just goes to show that there are narrowbody business class recliner seats out there that are still half decent, unlike the new AA 737 max!
Favorite review lately
Etihad actually ran a lone A320 with Diamond lie flat seats. They got rid of that this March, though, since the plane itself was over 20 years old. Curious to know why they didn't retrofit the rest of the fleet with that, or at least deliver some new planes to match.
@ Boco – LOL
Looks a little more comfortable than the AA 73M lol
No mention of EK's product on these routes? All fully flat and they serve a full three-course meal (not on a single tray).
Are you cutting back to 5 pics to match Ethiad’s cutbacks?