Etihad Airways First Class A380 London to Abu Dhabi » Luxury Indian Traveler

Introduction

Etihad Airways has one of the most luxurious First Class offerings (called the “Apartment”) in the world on their A380 aircrafts. We got a chance to experience the flight recently and we had a great experience. Let’s get started!

Booking

The cash fare for a one way journey on this sector is a ridiculously expensive INR 300,000 (USD 4,000) per person. Luckily one of the sweetest spots to book this incredible First Class is via the American Airlines AAdvantage program. It cost us approximately INR 100,000 (USD 1,300) per person to book this using miles. Click here to find out more.

Flight Details

Route – London, UK (LHR) to Abu Dhabi, UAE (AUH)
Flight Number – EY 26
Aircraft Type – Airbus A380
Flight Time – 20:00 to 07:00 +1
Flight Duration – 7 Hours

The Airport

Etihad Airways operates out of Terminal 4 at the London Heathrow Airport. We dropped our rental car and came directly to the Airport at around 1:30 PM whereas our flight was at 8 PM. We were expecting Etihad to have an operational counter assuming a steady stream of flights to Abu Dhabi and expected to sit in the lounge for the entire duration. To our surprise there was no one at the counter and the previous flight to Abu Dhabi had just left. I guess staff must be taking a break in between and we had no way to get inside the lounge now.

Pre Departure Lounge

The good part about departing from Heathrow is that there are some arrival lounges in almost every terminal. We found a Plaza Premium Lounge in the mezzanine area of the Terminal and they accepted our Amex Platinum Charge card for free entry. They also had a shower area which was chargeable. The food in the lounge was good and we were a bit hungry as we had skipped lunch in the hope of eating something in a First Class lounge. Seating area was comfortable and we found many guests sleeping on the large sofas there. The staff was really nice and helpful

Check In

We reached the counter at around 3:50 PM. While the first class queue was empty, the Business Class and Economy Class queues were significant. This is despite Etihad having a fairly large check in zone. I was especially scared as we had booked this flight using American Airlines miles and the booking had my middle name missing. I had spoken to Etihad about it and they said the passport name needs to be an exact match and they cannot guarantee if they will allow us to board. On speaking to American, they said that they can view the middle name in the TSA’s secure flight details. I had requested them to add my middle name but they said that the ticket is already issued and if required, the American Airlines ground staff could help (Although they are located in a different terminal)

Luckily the middle name was not an issue at all and the boarding passes were issued quickly. They was a delay in our baggage as we had a layover of 20 hours in Abu Dhabi and had decided to stay in the city. A Short Stay visa of 48 hours is free of cost for Indians but can be booked only around a week before the actual arrival date.

The Lounge

Etihad Airways uses the House Lounge in Terminal 4 located near gate 10a and close to the Sky Team Lounge (A level below). Check in was smooth and the only disappointment we had was that there was no separate area for First Class Passengers. The Lounge has plenty of seating, a separate bar area and a nice dining area. Try and reach early as the lounge gets pretty crowded close to departure.

We headed off to the dining area as we had only a few light bites at the plaza premium lounge. The dining area is fairly large and there is plenty of staff there. They have a mixture of both a la carte and buffet menus.

It was good to see a decent mix of Vegetarian Options in the buffet menu as well.

The a la carte menu was more interesting and I had the soup of the day (Pumpkin Soup) and the Aubergine Bao Buns. While the soup was excellent, the buns with aubergine were a bit too experimental for my taste.

Overall quality of the food was good and it was great to see many vegan options as well which is a bit rare. Overall a nice place to spend a few hours.

Boarding

Our boarding was on time and the gate was bang opposite the lounge. The A380 has two levels with First and Business on the Upper Deck and Economy class on the lower deck. The First Class suites are enormous and the decor is simply stunning.

The Apartment

A staff member escorted us into our apartment. We had taken apartments 3A & 4A which have a partition which can be partially lowered. It is not exactly like the Singapore Suites where the partition can be fully lowered and you can see each other. An area of improvement as I had to move from the seat in order to interact with my spouse.

The seat is made of fine leather and was super comfortable. The seat is designed with convenience in mind. Everything is literally at your fingertips. You have a small In Flight Entertainment controller on one side along with seat controls. There is a basic set of frequently used features which is used to adjust the seats. For more advanced options you can simply open up the armrest. You can adjust things like cushion firmness, massage functions, lighting the bed etc. using this. The other side next to the window houses your dining tray.

In Flight Entertainment Touchscreen Controller

You have 3 windows to enjoy awesome views during take off and landing. Right opposite to your seat is a Flat TV Screen and a large sofa which converts into your bed. There is enough room for two passengers to dine together. You have an HDMI Port to connect to the TV and a USB Port for quick charging.

There is no overhead storage space but the cabin design more than makes up for it. There is plenty of storage space in neatly designed corners all around your apartment. Just below your sofa are 3 separate compartments where you can store your footwear and cabin baggage. I had a large cabin baggage and had to struggle a bit but was able to stow it below the sofa.

There is a small cabinet for storing personal items right next to your seat.

Probably the most unique item in the Apartment is the super large Vanity area. This is bigger than anything we’ve ever seen.

The amount of privacy on offer is incredible as the doors are almost 6 feet in height. It would be difficult for someone to sneak a glance unless they are very tall. While the internal partition does not go so high, it is far superior to most other first class products out there.

Our Experience

We were graciously welcomed into our shared apartments by the staff who prompty lowered the partition after confirming with us. We were given a short tour of the facilities in the apartment. Although the First Class cabin was full, the Residence was empty and its staff was also helping around. We were offered a hot tower and a choice of welcome drinks. I had their signature Arabic Coffee and dates along with some tea.

I was also presented with a pass for surfing the internet. The Wi-Fi speed was good and worked well throughout the flight. The staff also asked us for our dress size and presented us with Pyjamas and Slippers. The pyjamas were made of cotton but really did not feel as luxurious as the ones in Swiss First Class While still comfortable, they are a bit heavy and tend to cling to your body.

The pyjamas are from the brand “A Friend of Mine”. While I am in no way trying to say these are bad, but first class products need to be compared against their peers for a fair evaluation.

I then headed over to the washroom for a change of clothes. There are 2 washrooms for First Class Guests with one of them equipped with a shower. While there is something unique about having a shower in the air, both of us ended up not trying out this experience. Maybe something for next time! The washrooms were super clean and well maintained throughout the flight.

I noticed that the staff had also kept the amenity kits from “Aqua di Parma” in our apartments. While the kit looks good from outside it was a bit underwhelming for first class with only 3 items (A Large Body Lotion, perfume and Lip Balm) along with a dental kit, eye masks and socks.

Just after takeoff the staff came back for a second order of drinks and I had water with some warm dry fruits and wasabi nuts.

Soon after, the chef came and greeted us. He presented us with their dine anytime menus for food and drinks. As Vegetarians, we always pre book our meals. I had chosen a Vegetarian Meal and my better half chose an Asian Vegetarian Meal. It was good to see some vegetarian options in their extensive menu.

My only disappointment with the food menu was that there should have been a vegetarian option in the signature grills and sandwiches. Their drinks menu was also extensive but the only thing i can vouch for is the suleimani tea.

The distance from London to Abu Dhabi is around 6000 km and the flight duration is about 7 hours. There was a dinner service and an early breakfast on this flight.

The Chef gave us an overview of what we will be served during the flight and asked us if we would like to have anything from the menu. We made our choices and he was off to serve other passengers on this packed flight. I started the in flight entertainment system e-box which had plenty of options for everyone. The variety on offer was impressive. There were noise cancelling headphones on this flight but the Singapore Airlines Bose Headphones are the standard to compare with. Their Business class headphones easily outshine even this first class amenity.

Dinner Service

We decided to have dinner around an hour after takeoff. For Starters I had the Tomato & Basil soup. The soup was fresh and tasty. Great way to start the meal.

Service was prompt and the staff was continuously monitoring everyone. We decided to go for our main courses after that. The Vegetarian meal was Gnocchi which was average. The Asian Vegetarian meal had Rice, Lentils, Parantha and 2 veggies. To be honest we’ve had better food than this in Etihad Business Class. But i guess we lose our right to complain when we pre book the meals. I did enjoy the food but maybe expectations were a bit too high after tasting great meals in Etihad Business.

After the main course we were presented with a small ice cream sorbet to cleanse our palate.

I then had dessert along with Sulaimani Tea. The tea and dessert both were excellent and were a great finale to this meal. I found the starter and desserts to be the best among the dinner meal service.

I finished off the dessert with some fine chocolates which were good. Overall a nice meal which would have been excellent if not for the main course.

I finished this off with some spring water. There are plenty of drinks in your private apartment.

Sleep Time

We then requested the staff to make our beds to catch some shuteye. It takes around 2-3 minutes to set the bed but the staff is very efficient. You have a mattress on top of the sofa, a comforter on top and a small blanket if required. This bed is mammoth in comparison to other first class offerings.

The great part about the design is that all controls are at your finger prints to control lighting, blinds and even the TV. It slides out so that you can watch TV even when lying down and there is a headphone jack nearby.

I spent some time watching movies before i decided to have some sleep. The staff also asked us if we would like to be woken up for breakfast and I decided to have something before landing.

This was one of the best naps we’ve had on a plane ever. Etihad has done an amazing job here and gets top marks for sleep quality. I had to struggle a lot to convince myself to get out of bed. My other half just slept and skipped breakfast altogether.

Morning Breakfast

I had an amazing nap and woke up a bit late for breakfast. The staff was still gracious and attended to my every need. Breakfast started off with some fresh bakery. I asked for mushrooms which was not exactly in the menu but a side to the omlette but the chef obliged. And I finished off with some fresh fruits. The breakfast was really nice.

Arrival

We arrived a bit early in Abu Dhabi. Since we had left late in the night and our gate did not have a proper view of the plane, I was not able to see the London Themed A380 livery until we were outside. Couldn’t get a great shot of the plane.

We then quickly cleared immigration and security, collected our bags and headed for the arrival lounge. One of the downsides of booking an award ticket is that you don’t get the complimentary chauffeur service. There are plenty of signs for the arrival lounges so you won’t really miss it. Its just after the baggage collection area

The arrivals lounge is located just before the exit and is not really large. But they do have a small drinks and snack counter, internet centre, shower facilities and a small rest area.

Overall Impression

My minor complaints apart, this was an incredible experience. I would definitely not hesitate again to spend 62,500 American Airline Miles + Taxes for a first class journey in Etihad’s A380 Apartment. The staff were simply incredible throughout the journey. The manager of the residence aka 3 Room private apartment was also an Indian and he talked about Etihad hiring only from the hospitality industry for the First and above cabins. It definitely shows and we loved our entire journey. This is one of our best first class experiences and i doubt our upcoming first class journeys (in 2021 sadly due to covid) will be able to match this. What do you think ?