ETIHAD AIRWAYS - Anyone flown them recently?

[kandiah k 0]

Has anyone flown Etihad Airways recently ? I am torn between QR, MH and EY for a trip to LHR. Unfortunately, EY is the only one that offers a night flight out of KUL and it fits my schedule and budget. QR on the other hand is cheaper by RM100 but has 4 hours of lay over westbound. MH, on the other hand offers a direct flight (day flight) and its RM100 more than EY and I would love to fly them before their B744's exit their fleet but I have mixed feelings altogether after reading numerous trip reports and being a MH supporter myself. As I have been on QR and MH to LHR and I loved both very much and may be one sided to QR's services and aircraft, I was wondering if anyone can give me an insight of EY's service onboard, IFE and also food wise. I have read trip reports but they were mostly negative. The good thing about it is it lands at Terminal 4 in LHR, away from the crazy Terminal 3 and the transit times are short and sweet. So I would appreciate any feedbacks from those who have been on EY recently. My planned trip uses a B77W from KUL and an A346 from AUH to LHR.

[Izanee 0]

my sis and cousin flew EY to LHR..the service was apparently good but AUH was a like a 'bus terminal'! pay a few more ringgit and use the airport lounge!

[H C Chai 4]

I haven't experienced them personally... but I have a couple of friends who flew them in 2010 on LHR-AUH-KUL & vv. They said the service was average at best.

 

You should also be aware that Etihad has retroffited their 77W to 3-4-3 in Economy.

Edited January 19, 2012 by H C Chai

[BC Tam 2]

You should also be aware that Etihad has retroffited their 77W to 3-4-3 in Economy.

"W" suffix cannot possibly by any stretch of the imagination can be translated into 'Wide' then !

[Geoff R. 0]

I flew LHR-KUL via Abu Dhabi last November on A330 and A340s.

 

Food in EY economy class is better than MH and the IFE is way ahead of MH's 747s. I flew MH LHR-KUL in December.

 

Apart from price the other things to consider are the stopover time and seating. Abu Dhabi airport is OK for a couple of hours stop over but can be very busy in the early hours. Leg room and seat comfort in economy class I would say is similar for MH and EY but the seating layout on EYs A330 and A340s is 2-4-2 which means when two travel you can get two seats together -window and aisle. On MH if the flight is full you have a window and a middle seat or an aisle and a middle seat.

 

Note that MH have used LHR T4 for some time now. So no difference between MH and EY at London - in both cases you can look forward to long immigration queues and a long wait for you bags.

 

Geoff

[Mike P 0]

I flew LHR-KUL via Abu Dhabi last November on A330 and A340s.

 

Food in EY economy class is better than MH and the IFE is way ahead of MH's 747s. I flew MH LHR-KUL in December.

 

Apart from price the other things to consider are the stopover time and seating. Abu Dhabi airport is OK for a couple of hours stop over but can be very busy in the early hours. Leg room and seat comfort in economy class I would say is similar for MH and EY but the seating layout on EYs A330 and A340s is 2-4-2 which means when two travel you can get two seats together -window and aisle. On MH if the flight is full you have a window and a middle seat or an aisle and a middle seat.

 

Note that MH have used LHR T4 for some time now. So no difference between MH and EY at London - in both cases you can look forward to long immigration queues and a long wait for you bags.

 

Geoff

 

Simply MH's aircraft is too old and lack of maintenance, so I won't doubt about this...

[kandiah k 0]

Thanks for the feedbacks I will have to decide real soon before the prices go up, again

[Lock SH 0]

If I were you, I will fly MH anytime, direct service is much better than with a stopover. With only RM100 different, I do not have to worry about getting off the airplane in AUH and scrambling to get onboard again for the second leg.

 

F & B and services onboard (software & hardware) are very subjective although I am more incline towards MH.

 

 

[kandiah k 0]

Yeah I am contemplating QR and MH now, although I have heard MH's services and product have taken a plunge....

[S V Choong 4]

What about EK, would you consider them too? Their service is pretty top notch.