Etihad Airways Business Class A320 Abu Dhabi to Mumbai
Introduction
Etihad Airways is the flag carrier of the UAE and the second largest airline in the UAE (After Emirates). The Airlines hub is located in the city of Abu Dhabi and we booked an award travel from London to Mumbai with an overnight stop in Abu Dhabi. We traveled from London to Abu Dhabi in First Class (Review coming soon) and Abu Dhabi to London in Business Class and the entire journey cost us 62,500 American Airlines Miles + 279 USD in taxes per person. It effectively cost us approximately INR 100,000 (~1400 USD) per person for the one way journey which is almost one third of the cash fare. (Click here to find out more)
Flight Details
- Route – Abu Dhabi, UAE (AUH) to Mumbai, India (BOM)
- Flight Number – EY212
- Aircraft Type – Airbus A320-200
- Flight Time – 03:35 to 08:15
- Flight Duration – 3 Hours 10 minutes
The Airport
All Etihad Flights operate from Terminal 3 whereas other airlines operate out of Terminal 1 & 2. Terminal 3 has separate gates for First & Business Class passengers. Everything is well marked out and drivers are well aware of the various drop off points. Just be sure to mention that you are traveling in Business or First so that you get dropped off at the correct location and don’t end up walking too much. If you are traveling on a paid cash fare, you don’t really need to worry as Etihad provides complimentary chauffeur service.
Check In
You can head over to the Guest Services counter or to the dedicated check in counters for Business Class Passengers. Check in was smooth and efficient. There is a Security Check right after and passing through was a breeze.
Airport Lounge
The Etihad First Class Lounge is located right after Security. Guests who traveled till Abu Dhabi in First but with onward connections in Business on flights with no first class cannot access this lounge. I wish they adopt the Swiss Airlines policy where you can access the first class lounge in such a scenario.
We arrived at the lounge after a short walk and it was super crowded. The Etihad Lounge tends to get packed till around 1 AM and the rush starts receding after that. We’ve slept overnight in the lounge on one of our earlier trips and we were the only passengers using the lounge till early morning.
The best part about the food here is the sheer amount of Vegetarian Options outside of India. Don’t forget to try the authentic Arabic Coffee with dates here. They have 3 large counters for food in addition to the Bar.
At around 1 AM the rush vanished and we were able to take a few good pictures. There is a wide variety of seating options to choose from. The Lounge also has a Business Centre with iMacs and enclosed cabins with TV and a lounge chair. They also have the Six Sense Spa in this lounge but no complimentary services for Business Class passengers. Shower facilities are also there in the lounge.
Boarding
We frequently travel via Abu Dhabi but this was the first time we had to board without an aerobridge. There was an exclusive Bus for Business Class Passengers which had comfortable seats. It was a short drive to the Aircraft and Business Class passengers get priority boarding.
Seating
It is always a disappointment when you travel in Business Class and don’t get lie flat seats. Luckily it was a short 3 hours flight but its always better if you can get some shut eye especially when you need to go to work after landing.
There was plenty of leg space. There are 3 small storage pockets in front of you and everything else needs to go up in the storage area. Each seat has a USB Charging port and a power socket. The seats also have an in built massage function.
Food & Drink
We were offered a choice of welcome drinks. Their signature drink is the Lime Mint Cooler but we’ve had so many of them over the last year that we just had water. The menu was quite extensive for such a short flight. The best parts about a flight/to from India is that there is always a vegetarian main course option.
I had pre booked a Vegetarian Meal and my spouse went with the Onion Kulcha. The food was fresh (especially the bakery items) and was tasty. The Vegetarian Meal I had was Sweet Potatoes with 3 Beans.
In Flight Entertainment
Business Class Passengers have access to a small touchscreen which is located inside the armrest. The inflight product of Etihad is known as E-Box and has a decent variety of entertainment options.
If I had to make one complaint about Etihad, it is that they need to improve their headphone quality. To be honest it is on par with competition but once you’ve flown Singapore Airlines you can easily identify the difference in Audio quality.
Passengers in Economy Class can also access E-Box content using their portable Wi-Fi devices. You can either download the E-Box Stream app or use your browser once the service is operational.
The Staff
The staff was wonderful and courteous. They were extremely attentive to all our requirements and overall we had a good flight.
Conclusion
Business Class Passengers traveling out of Abu Dhabi can do so in style. Etihad has created a good product which makes traveling a comfortable experience. While I was disappointed that we did not have a lie flat seat, overall it was a good flight which ended on a happy note.
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