Review Etihad Airways / Zurich-Abu Dhabi / Business Class
Paul‘s 228th Flight Report
Flight: EY144
Route: ZRH - AUH
Aircraft: Airbus A350-1000
Travel Class: Business Class
General Impression: 
Before the Flight :
Check-in Process:
Security Control:
Lounge:
Information:
Boarding @ Gate:
Staff @ these points:
Boarding in Cabin:
Welcome Drinks:
Punctuality: , 6 min delay
, 6 min delay
During the Flight :
Food presentation:
Food quality:
Drinks:
Service Procedure:
Amenity Kit:
Entertainment System:
Seat Quality:
Legroom:
Lavatories:
Cleanliness:
General Atmosphere:
Announcement Pilots:
Announcement Cabin:
Cabin Crew:
After the Flight :
De-Boarding:
Baggage Delivery: in transit
—-
= 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
—-
After two years we habe decided to retry Etihad Airways.
On the Ground:
Check-in of Etihad Airways in Zurich is in Terminal 2, row 3.
We.arrived around 2 hours and 15 minutes prior departure at the airport.
All counters were open and they had 2 business class counters, 4 bag drops for Economy and 4 counters for economy.
Staff was super friendly and efficient. She did some small talk during the check in process.
Once done she explained which lounge we were entitled to use as well as the boarding gate and time.
Security as always was no problem at Zurich Airport and the waiting time was around 2-3 minutes.
There is now a second automated check of boarding passes prior to enter the priority lane at security and like this only entitled passengers can enter the priority lane.
Staff at security was friendly and helpful.
Once through security we headed to emigration and also here no queue. The automated gates were closed but definitely enough counters open.
After having done all the formalities we headed to our departure Terminal E and to the Lounge.
Etihad Airways funny wise has contracted the Swiss business class lounge as their lounge in Zurich. As far as I know, it is the only non Star Alliance airline which is allowed in the Swiss
lounge.
So we went to the Swiss Business Class Lounge in Terminal E.
Staff at reception was very friendly and helpful. The lounge itself is very modern and has the typical Swiss style. They do have a lot of seating space and we had no problem to find two seats
for us.
The F&B product was very good. A nice buffet with cold and hot items as well as a full bar. They have a live cooking station where you can order your eggs any style in the morning. Food
was very delicious and fresh and the staff also here was very friendly and welcoming.
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 oft the last ones to board on the priority side before economy boarding started. Announcements for boarding were clear and understandable.
Staff at the gate was super friendly and interacted with the customers during the boarding process.
Etihad Airways uses the double bridge where business class customers board through door L1 and economy customers through door L2.
At the aircraft door we were greeted by the cabin manager who was checking the boarding passes.
The
other cabin crew members were 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 seat mattress / cover. In the compartments next to the seat there were some noise cancelling head
phones and the menu card was in the literature rack.
On the surface next to the seat there was the amenity kit from aqua di Parma.
Once installed in the seat and seated, the crew came by 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 hot 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 A350-1000 is the newest business class product Etihad Airways offers on their flights. Each seat is a little suite which can be closed by a
sliding door.
Our Aircraft had 42 seats in one big business class cabin between door 1 and 2.
Etihad Airways does not offer a Premium Economy, they only had two classes on this plane.
Business Class has a 4 seats abrest in a 1-2-1 configuration.
We choose two seats in the middle of the aircraft so each of us had direct aisle access and we were able to talk to each other.
The seats are fully lie flat and very comfortable. You got a lot of private space also thanks to the sliding door.
With only 5 hours and 35 minutes flight time, I only had a little nap. The bed was comfortable and I had enough space with my shoulders to sleep on my back.
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.
They started with an aperitive service 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. The champagne was offered in a classic champagne flute glass and the wine in real wine glasses. Soup was
offered in a bowl and evedy dish came in the right tableware.
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 3
different starters. I did choose the traditional mezze platter wjik my better half did choose the soup.
The starter was served with some bread and a very fresh salad.
The plates of the first course were cleared and the main course was served. Etihad Airways offers four different choices of main courses.
I did choose the fish whilst my other half went for the arancini.
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 cheese or desert.
The cheese was super delicious and in combination with the cheese some port wine was offered. The plates were cleared again after the cheese and then the crew served the dessert.
You were able to choose from four!!! different deserts. .
Along with the dessert, you were able to choose from a huge list of freshly made coffee and tea.
Quality wise I would rank this inflight meal on the high end. The food was super delicious, well presented and the portions were on the right side for airplane meals. The cabin crew did an
amazing job in service procedures wise but...
Yes there is unfortunately a but. The cabin crew works like robots. Not a single word was exchanged with customers besides the regular service. They do the service right on procedure but the is
no single touch and no real interaction with customers.
You yourself could be a doll or not talking at all and they still would do what they were trained to do. I really missed the interaction or personal touch.
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 real second service on this flight but you would be able to order some all time snacks including the famous Etihad Airways Steak sandwiches.
The amenity is from Aqua di Parma and the kit is okay for a 5,5 hours flight and offers a toothbrush, earplugs, eye mask some lip balm and body lotion.
The inflight entertainment is good and the screens have a good size and resolution for business class. The screens are touch screens, but it takes a little while until they respond, but 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. A nice feature is that you are able to start a film a the same time as your neighbour so can watch it simultaneously.
This Etihad Airways Airbus A350-1000 also offers WiFi on board.
Prices are great for. WiFi. The package for our entire flight only cost 9.99 US$. For Etihad Guest members the texting only option is free of charge.
Toilets were super clean throughout the entire flight and the cabin crew checked them super regularly and stocked and cleaned them all the time. I found the toilets very nice and bigger in size compared to other airlines. Etihad Airways has its own design and fabrics in the lavatories.
Announcements from the flight deck and from the cabin crew were clear and understandable. Unfortunately both were way to fast.
After the Flight:
Arrival in Abu Dhabi was at a gate position. We have never experienced the new terminal.
As we are continuing to Colombo in two hours, we do not have to pick up our bags and we stay in transit.
Stay tuned for our next flight review for our flight from Abu Dhabi to Colombo on board an Etihad Airways Airbus A320.
Summary:
All in all, a fantastic flight with Etihad Airways.
The inflight service was stunning and everything was delicious. The crew did an amazing job service and procedure wise but absolutely failed in a personal touch. They did their service like
robots.
The hard product such as seat and amenities were very good.
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