We experience the Etihad Airways Business Class experience, flying to Etihad’s home in Abu Dhabi. With comfort exuding throughout, Etihad’s award winning Business Class sophistication showcases the best of Arabian hospitality.
Pre-Flight
In Abu Dhabi, if you are flying Etihad Airways Business Class, you have access to the Business Class Lounge in Terminal 3. The spacious lounge allows for peace, quiet and comfort while waiting for your flight with individual TV pods, relaxation area, on demand food and drinks and much more. There is also the option to upgrade to a private area within the lounge with a TV pod as well as dining for up to four people.
Comfort in the cabin
The sleek brown and gold detailing welcomes you warmly along with a personal welcome from your cabin crew. The configuration of the seats and the accompanying lights will depend on what aircraft you’re in and this time, we were on a 787-9. You can set the lighting and create a relaxing atmosphere complete with an in chair massage function too. Our gorgeous Acqua Di Parma wash bags are packed with gorgeous bits including hand cream, some fragrance, an eye mask, toothbrush and more.
Each seat comes with a large pillow and a comfortable duvet waiting on the ottoman. All seats have the ability to fully recline into a flat bed mode along with compartments to store your personal belongings and an entertainment screen.
Entertainment
E-BOX provided plenty of entertainment throughout the flight with over a thousand hours of on-demand inflight entertainment including the latest films, TV shows, music and games. The headphones are noise cancelling too making the experience more cinematic. The Wi-Fi was also impressively consistent and strong. You can also pause Wi-Fi and restart at any time during the flight so that you can take a little nap and then get back to your messages.
Dinner is served
The menu boasts a wide variety of foods, from fillet steak to Etihad’s signature starter, the Arabic Mezze. We start with a single malt whisky with some warmed mixed nuts before our order was taken for dinner with each course paired with a different wine if you so wish. The fillet steak was cooked medium and accompanied by a robust red.
What impressed us the most were fresh, seasonal ingredients and inspired by the destination. Etihad are working with both UAE and regional farms nearer destinations to create dishes using locally grown produce that taste fresher because they are fresher.
Between meals, you can order from the snack menu which can include burgers, baklava, sandwiches and crisps. The Etihad Steak Sandwich is a crowd favourite.
The crew
The crew are friendly and professional, equipped with knowledge of a variety of languages. Their attentiveness made us feel very cared for throughout the flight. Since COVID-19, there have been Wellness Ambassadors implemented too, which are the points of contact for people who have any questions and concerns with cleanliness and other wellness queries.
Family Time
Etihad is partnering with Warner Brothers World Abu Dhabi to launch an experience that puts families first and focuses on kids’ experiences flying with Etihad. This encourages families to fly luxuriously with Etihad while making sure the little ones have a memorable experience as well. At Abu Dhabi airport, there is now a designated check-in area for families for a smoother process, and the crew is trained to meet individual families’ needs.
The kits given to children by Etihad depend on their age. For infants up to 2 years old, parents will be given a soft fleece blanket decorated with the faces of iconic characters like Tweety and Bugs Bunny. Young flyers aged 3 to 8 years old will be given a drawstring bag featuring an activity book, crayons, memory card game and a passport holder. Tweens from 9 to 13 will get to take home a backpack and board game that promotes the immersive indoor theme park at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
All of these items are designed so that kids can take them home and have lasting, positive memories when flying. Young passengers will also be given their meals first on themed dining equipment decorated with bright colours. The menu consists of childhood favourites like pasta with meatballs, pancakes and waffles. To fit in with Etihad’s sustainability mission, the food and the kits given are designed with reusability in mind.
In a nutshell
The experience of travelling in this level of luxury and comfort meant we were refreshed and raring to go on arrival in Abu Dhabi. Etihad is an airline we would choose over and over with a fleet of 125 aircrafts and an international network of over 120 destinations.
To discover more and book, visit: etihad.com
All imagery courtesy of Etihad Airways.
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