Review Etihad Airways / Abu Dhabi - Colombo / Business Class
Paul‘s 229th Flight Report
Flight: EY394
Route: AUH - CMB
Aircraft: Airbus A320neo
Travel Class: Business Class
General Impression: 
Before the Flight:
Check-in Process: in Transit
Security Control:
Lounge:
Information:
Boarding @ Gate:
Staff @ these points:
Boarding in Cabin:
Welcome Drinks:
Punctuality: , 5 min early
, 5 min early
During the Flight :
Food presentation:
Food quality:
Drinks:
Service Procedure:
Amenity Kit: no amenity kit
Entertainment System:
Seat Quality:
Legroom:
Lavatories:
Cleanliness:
General Atmosphere:
Announcement Pilots:
Announcement Cabin:
Cabin Crew:
After the Flight :
De-Boarding:
Baggage Delivery:
—-
= bad, a lot of work needs to be done
= poor, you will be busy with corrections
= good & normal, nothing special
= high level, but the icing on the cake is missing
= topnotch, leave me here!
= Half a Point/sheep
—-
On the Ground:
Transiting at Abu Dhabi's new airport was a breeze.
There is no priority lane for business or first class passengers at security but I don't know how many security lanes the had open.
All lanes are equipped with the newest screening machines where you can leave everything in your bags.
Once through security we went to the new Etihad Airways Business Class Lounge in the new Terminal.
Wowww, what a lounge!!! I have not seen anything close in size and style! TK's lounge in Istanbul is a little room compared to Etihads Lounge in Abu Dhabi.
The lounge stretches itself over 4 floors including a rooftop! Bar. On the main floor there is the dining/restaurant area where you are served at the table and there is the spa area. One
floor up there is a resting area, a game room, family area and a bar area. Another floor higher there is the big bar area and another dining area and as said on the top there is a rooftop
bar.
The F&B selection was simply amazing. Unfortunately we didn't have enough transit time to check out everything and that basically says everything if you would like to have had more
transit time. Staff was amazing and very friendly and welcoming throughout the entire lounge.
A simple wowww experience and any lounge I have visited so far looks like micky mouse.
We were at our departure gate around 5 minutes after the indicated boarding time and boarding was already on full swing.
Priority boarding was done as we were one of the last ones to board on the priority side and economy was boarding on the other side. Announcements for boarding were clear and understandable.
Staff at the gate was friendly and interacted with the customers during the boarding process.
At the aircraft door we were greeted by the cabin manager who was checking the boarding passes.
The
other cabin crew member was in the cabin and super friendly and helpful during the boarding process.
The seats were already equipped with a very comfortable and fluffy pillow, a comfy blanket and a small bottle of water and the menu card.
I the seat pocket there was a noise cancelling head phone.
No amenity kit on this flight.
Once installed in the seat and seated, the crew came by and asked for a welcome drink. We were able to choose from fresh orange juice, champagne or lime/mint.
Once everyone was on board, the crew also passed with cold towels.
After the safety demonstration the crew passed by to take the orders for the meal service. They asked for the choice of starter as well as the hot meal for the main service.
Inflight:
The Etihad Airways business class on this Airbus A320neo is a real business class.
Our Aircraft had 8 in a. 2/2 abrest.
We had seats 2D & 2F.
The seats have a big recline and a movable footrest. For a short haul aircraft like this A320 they are super comfortable but definitely not made to sleep.
With only 4 hours and 5 minutes flight time, we could only get a little nap.
After take off, once the fasten seat belt sign was switched off, the cabin crew started very swiftly with their inflight service. The service was absolutely impeccable and completely by the books
and procedures.
One this flight we had an amazing cabin crew which also interacted with the passengers and they were far from robotic like on the previous flight. They were smiling and going the extra mile for
the customers.
The service started with an aperitive including some nuts right after take off before they started with the main service.
The tableware and glasses Etihad Airways uses are from Armani Casa. The design is amazing. They use the appropriate style of glasses for their drinks.
For the main service the crew passed and set up the tables with a very nice embraided table cloth and set up the first course. You were also able to choose the first course as they offered 2
different starters. I did choose the traditional mezze platter whilst my better half did choose the tikka platter.
The starter was served with some bread and butter.
The plates of the first course were cleared and the main course was served. Etihad Airways offers 3 different choices of main courses on this flight.
I did choose the Indian vegetarian option which we shared as we were staffed.
Also on this flight the catering was amazing. All the food was simply wow. Very tasty, the right amount of spiciness and just very delicious.
After the main, the crew then cleared everything and asked for desert. Also here Etihad has 3 different types of desert on such a short flight.
Along with the dessert, you were able to choose from a huge list of freshly made coffee and tea.
Quality wise the inflight meal was high end and for a four hour flight just wow.
After the main service, the cabin was cleared, and the lights were dimmed for some rest. With the short flight time there was only some time left for a nap.
There is no amenity kit on this flight.
Etihad Airways has a mix as inflight entertainment on board its Airbus A320 aircraft.
They call it the E-Box which is a stream on your own device system. All passengers can access it and that is the only option for economy class.
Passengers in Business Class also have a small monitor in the armrest which can be used with exactly the same content. The screens in business are touch screens and the system was super
reliable.
The inflight entertainment is offered in different languages and Etihad Airways has a good choice in movies, music as well as TV shows.
I could not find any WiFi connection on the E-Box system.
Toilets were super clean throughout the entire flight and the cabin crew checked them super regularly and stocked and cleaned them all the time.
Announcements from the flight deck and from the cabin crew were clear and understandable.
After the Flight:
Arrival in Colombo was at a gate position.
Immigration was no issue at all and no queue. Immigration was cleared in 30 seconds.
Baggage delivery worked well and first bags were delivered 20 minutes after arriving on the stand.
First bags delivered were priority.
Summary:
All in all, another great flight with Etihad Airways and especially considering being on a narrow body aircraft.
The inflight service was stunning and everything was delicious. The crew did an amazing job service and procedure wise and on this flight they also offered a personal service with a nice
touch and were interacting with passengers.
The hard product such as seat and amenities were very good, never the less the seats are not made to sleep.
We liked the inflight experience and the product Etihad Airways offers and we would recommend Etihad Airways based on this flight experience.
Notes:
- Paul the Sheep does not get any benefits from the Hotels/Airlines etc.
- Paul will always pay for the services in order to be able to rate freely and truly about the experiences.
-If you are interested in more details, please send me a private message and I will be happy to share