Questions and Answers

Hi Lucky, for all of the hit-or-miss experiences you have had on Etihad, I wanted to share one more data point of a recent A380 flight LHR-AUH. It. Was. Life. Changing. I am not sure if Etihad staffs their more experienced/top talent crew on the A380, but every member of the crew could not have been friendlier, warmer and more helpful. A few examples:

-My wife and I were traveling on our (11 month belated) honeymoon and mentioned this to the F&B manager Eren as we were boarding. He would have been working the Residence had there been anyone in it (which he mentioned had only sold 6 tickets to date….but I digress). Within minutes, several other members of staff came by with amenity kits, champagne, the usual kit and every single one congratulated us on our honeymoon and seem genuinely excited about our upcoming itinerary (DXB,MLE,AUH).

-In talking us through the menu, Eren asked about wine choices. We hesitated for a second, so he asked our preferences and then organized a blind wine flight with each of our courses. It felt like he was a sommelier at a 5* restaurant.

-Gupreet the onboard chef threw the menu out the window and just asked our food preferences. She made me the chicken Biryani which is the best thing I have eaten in years. Truly. Before landing, while my wife was (giggling) in the shower, Gupreet snuck by to ask how she could surprise my wife with a off-menu dessert.

-The dessert (above) was a chocolate cake that was absolutely delicious. What topped it off was that that they wrote on the plate ‘Happy Honeymoon’ in chocolate, but that was too plain for Eren. He muddled mint leaves with melted chocolate, strained the leaves through a piping bag and then wrote on the plate in chocolate. So unnecessary and yet so amazingly delicious!

We are not the most seasoned premium cabin travelers, but even compared to the reviews I have read of SQ,CX,QF,EK,NH,etc. this blew me away. Miles better than my CX F, BA F, AA F experiences.

Peter

@ Peter — So thrilled to hear! Sounds like an awesome flight. Hope I have a crew that great on my next A380 flight. With a great crew, the Etihad A380 is just about unbeatable.

Are there any Etihad 5th freedom flights to check out? I don’t foresee myself going to Abu Dhabi anytime soon, but they’re a transfer partner on my credit card, so an aspirational award is theoretically possible. I’m sure I’ll take the Singapore flight from JFK to Frankfurt at some point to experience Suites Class, but the apartments on Etihad look incredible.

Is it just me or is Etihad on a bit of a winning streak at the moment!? I don’t know about the rest of the world but in Australia they’re currently running a whole pile of print and TV ads featuring Nicole Kidman. Combine that with an alliance with Virgin Australia and I suspect that in a couple of years they might even be rivaling Emirates for dominance!

[QUOTE=”Peter, post: 3724″]Hi Lucky, for all of the hit-or-miss experiences you have had on Etihad, I wanted to share one more data point of a recent A380 flight LHR-AUH. It. Was. Life. Changing. I am not sure if Etihad staffs their more experienced/top talent crew on the A380, but every member of the crew could not have been friendlier, warmer and more helpful. A few examples:

-My wife and I were traveling on our (11 month belated) honeymoon and mentioned this to the F&B manager Eren as we were boarding. He would have been working the Residence had there been anyone in it (which he mentioned had only sold 6 tickets to date….but I digress). Within minutes, several other members of staff came by with amenity kits, champagne, the usual kit and every single one congratulated us on our honeymoon and seem genuinely excited about our upcoming itinerary (DXB,MLE,AUH).

-In talking us through the menu, Eren asked about wine choices. We hesitated for a second, so he asked our preferences and then organized a blind wine flight with each of our courses. It felt like he was a sommelier at a 5* restaurant.

-Gupreet the onboard chef threw the menu out the window and just asked our food preferences. She made me the chicken Biryani which is the best thing I have eaten in years. Truly. Before landing, while my wife was (giggling) in the shower, Gupreet snuck by to ask how she could surprise my wife with a off-menu dessert.

-The dessert (above) was a chocolate cake that was absolutely delicious. What topped it off was that that they wrote on the plate ‘Happy Honeymoon’ in chocolate, but that was too plain for Eren. He muddled mint leaves with melted chocolate, strained the leaves through a piping bag and then wrote on the plate in chocolate. So unnecessary and yet so amazingly delicious!

We are not the most seasoned premium cabin travelers, but even compared to the reviews I have read of SQ,CX,QF,EK,NH,etc. this blew me away. Miles better than my CX F, BA F, AA F experiences.

Peter[/QUOTE]

[USER=146]@Peter[/USER]

Congrats on your belated honeymoon and life changing experience in Etihad F! Was it a First Apartment? It’s my goal now to fly in one of that A380.
Can you please let me know your route? I am trying to fly Etihad F in A380 but not sure where they fly those A380 out from or to SFO. I am looking for one way award redemption with connection in AUH. Can be Asia, Europe, or Australia.

[QUOTE=”SFOflyer, post: 4170, member: 36″][USER=146]@Peter[/USER]

Congrats on your belated honeymoon and life changing experience in Etihad F! Was it a First Apartment? It’s my goal now to fly in one of that A380.
Can you please let me know your route? I am trying to fly Etihad F in A380 but not sure where they fly those A380 out from or to SFO. I am looking for one way award redemption with connection in AUH. Can be Asia, Europe, or Australia.[/QUOTE]

Etihad currently flies the A380 only to LHR.
SYD is scheduled to start on June 1, 2015 and JFK is to start on December 1, 2015. These are the only routes for the foreseeable future to be operated by A380.