vcg111
Jun 4, 07, 10:11 am
I have just reviewed economy class on Bom-JFK. I returned back to Bombay on Business Class which they call Pearl Class.
As a biz class passenger you get a free limo pick up. For that you have to call Etihaad number in the US. This is a difficult task. Each time I would call them during office hours, I would get the answering machine which asked me to leave a message so they could call back. They never did call back. I had to call at least 4 times to get thru an Etihaad agent. If they are serious about the US market they better ensure someone gets the phone during work hours. Premium paying passengers do not like talking to an answering machine.
After many attemtps I did get thru and they booked my limo. I was leaving on Sunday morning but there was no way for me to reconfirm my limo as EY did not tell me who the local partner was. I was a bit concerned that the limo would not arrive on time. Luckily they have got this part right. I was staying at Edison, NJ and the limo arrived 10 minutes before 8 AM scheduled time. Ride was smooth and we got to JFK by 845 as there was hardly any traffic. EY gives you 100 mile radius free limo pick up.
As I entered JFK I considered myself lucky that I was flying business. The check in queue for economy passengers had at least 100 people in it and the line almost snaked all the way to the door. They had 3 agents helping eco class and so I assumed it would take almost 1 hour for someone to get thru the line. For me, check in was smooth but they did not give me the window seat I requested (which they had also confirmed when I booked my limo). As the flight was full there was no chance of getting another seat. The lounge was before security and is one of the generic outsourced lounge. Nothing compared to Emirates business lounge at JFK.
Etihaad has a great business class seat. A tip, try to get the window as it is almost like a private cabin. Every seat is an aisle. There are aisles on the window side which I think are the worst seats as you will have constant disturbance from crew or passengers walking around and there is no partition dividing you from the walking aisle. The aisle on the middle is better as it gives a lot more privacy but the problem is you are very close to the next passenger, almost sharing the same handrest. So try and get the window.
The seat is good and has a reclining position and also turns into a fully flat bed. The seat is wide enough so you can sleep on your side, altho I did feel it was not long. I am 5'7" and my legs were touching the end of the seat. I wonder what will happen to someone who is 6". The seat also has a massager. The inflight is the same in all classes and is decent. Its VOD with around 70 movies and 50 odd TV programs. Nothing compared to EK though. This is where the good part ends. The only good thing about Etihaad business class is the seat.
Service was below average and food was real bad. I am a vegetarian and always ask for Asian Veg Meal in every airline. In most airlines the food going out of NYC is better than coming in. But on EY the food was a complete disaster. The meal was rice and boiled spinach. This is unacceptable for any vegetarian passenger coming out of India. I would think by now they know how to figure this simple problem out as almost every other airlines gives decent food in business class.
When I asked the steward if he could give me something else vegetarian on the menu, he said "no". Shocking the crew did not want to help me. Finally I had to call the head purser who understood that it is not a great idea to keep a business class guest hungry for 14 hours, they got me something from first class. So the meal experience was bad but the unwilingness of one of the crew members to help was unacceptable. The bar had a very limited selection of beverages and they only had 1 red and 1 white wine. 2 in each are now par for the course. Champagne tasted like super market quality. They had no single malt whiskeys. I would have thought that someone would spend a bit more time looking into these minor things.
Finally I had a long chat with the head purser who told me that the management is in complete shambles. They have had 11 CEO's in the last 3.5 years and are unable to get the basics right. The staff are unable to get new uniform requests cleared for 6 months and other basic employee motivation issues. The purser had a list of 11 serious complaints for this flight itself. Examples: bottled water was over in business and first class within the first 2 hours of the flight; almost 30% of eco seats had problems with VOD and so system had to be rebooted at least twice; there was an obnoxious smell coming from one part of the aircraft; the business and first class meals were not the same as what was on the menu. All this within 25% of flight time and this was business class. According to the head, they have taken up this issue with EY management including the Asian veg meal quality umpteen number of times but with little result. No one either listens or cares to listen. Apparently this meal episode happens at least 2-3 times a week in business/first class. In eco its a daily event.
Halfway into the flight I wanted a snack but our area steward just would not give it to me, stating I had ordered for special meals and had to eat what was ordered for me. When it was time for breakfast the host woke me up. I said I wanted to eat later but he said I had to get it at that time, for some reason he wanted to be inflexible on the flight. Overall attitude of this particular staff member was indifferent at best and insulting at worst. I must mention here that our side of business class was unlucky as the hostess on the other side was very delightful, friendly and attentive.
Economy was pure chaos. I know because I had friends who were flying eco. Their child got air sick and the hostess refused to bring new air sickness bags till she "finished" service. The call button could be on for 10 minutes but no one would turn up. VOD was a mess, one of theirs did not work the entire flight. Crew had an indifferent attitude in both business and economy. The list goes on but you get the point.
Surprising Abu Dhabi-Bombay was a refreshing change. The crew was very friendly and were actually trying to please the "guest", as they call it. So it seems that EY service standards are a function of the staff and not training. Dangerouse for an airline which wants to grow.
All in all Etihaad is a glorified bus service. If you want to get from point A to B at the lowest price, it will do the job. Their business class seats are very good (better than old BA club world sleeper seat and also full bed as compared to lie flat on EK business) and currently they have a very aggressive air fare to USA. But if you can afford to spend a bit more then go EK or maybe even Qatar which is starting JFK from end June. I always get nervous about an airlines which has changed 11 CEO in 40 months. Who is running the show down on the ground???
As a biz class passenger you get a free limo pick up. For that you have to call Etihaad number in the US. This is a difficult task. Each time I would call them during office hours, I would get the answering machine which asked me to leave a message so they could call back. They never did call back. I had to call at least 4 times to get thru an Etihaad agent. If they are serious about the US market they better ensure someone gets the phone during work hours. Premium paying passengers do not like talking to an answering machine.
After many attemtps I did get thru and they booked my limo. I was leaving on Sunday morning but there was no way for me to reconfirm my limo as EY did not tell me who the local partner was. I was a bit concerned that the limo would not arrive on time. Luckily they have got this part right. I was staying at Edison, NJ and the limo arrived 10 minutes before 8 AM scheduled time. Ride was smooth and we got to JFK by 845 as there was hardly any traffic. EY gives you 100 mile radius free limo pick up.
As I entered JFK I considered myself lucky that I was flying business. The check in queue for economy passengers had at least 100 people in it and the line almost snaked all the way to the door. They had 3 agents helping eco class and so I assumed it would take almost 1 hour for someone to get thru the line. For me, check in was smooth but they did not give me the window seat I requested (which they had also confirmed when I booked my limo). As the flight was full there was no chance of getting another seat. The lounge was before security and is one of the generic outsourced lounge. Nothing compared to Emirates business lounge at JFK.
Etihaad has a great business class seat. A tip, try to get the window as it is almost like a private cabin. Every seat is an aisle. There are aisles on the window side which I think are the worst seats as you will have constant disturbance from crew or passengers walking around and there is no partition dividing you from the walking aisle. The aisle on the middle is better as it gives a lot more privacy but the problem is you are very close to the next passenger, almost sharing the same handrest. So try and get the window.
The seat is good and has a reclining position and also turns into a fully flat bed. The seat is wide enough so you can sleep on your side, altho I did feel it was not long. I am 5'7" and my legs were touching the end of the seat. I wonder what will happen to someone who is 6". The seat also has a massager. The inflight is the same in all classes and is decent. Its VOD with around 70 movies and 50 odd TV programs. Nothing compared to EK though. This is where the good part ends. The only good thing about Etihaad business class is the seat.
Service was below average and food was real bad. I am a vegetarian and always ask for Asian Veg Meal in every airline. In most airlines the food going out of NYC is better than coming in. But on EY the food was a complete disaster. The meal was rice and boiled spinach. This is unacceptable for any vegetarian passenger coming out of India. I would think by now they know how to figure this simple problem out as almost every other airlines gives decent food in business class.
When I asked the steward if he could give me something else vegetarian on the menu, he said "no". Shocking the crew did not want to help me. Finally I had to call the head purser who understood that it is not a great idea to keep a business class guest hungry for 14 hours, they got me something from first class. So the meal experience was bad but the unwilingness of one of the crew members to help was unacceptable. The bar had a very limited selection of beverages and they only had 1 red and 1 white wine. 2 in each are now par for the course. Champagne tasted like super market quality. They had no single malt whiskeys. I would have thought that someone would spend a bit more time looking into these minor things.
Finally I had a long chat with the head purser who told me that the management is in complete shambles. They have had 11 CEO's in the last 3.5 years and are unable to get the basics right. The staff are unable to get new uniform requests cleared for 6 months and other basic employee motivation issues. The purser had a list of 11 serious complaints for this flight itself. Examples: bottled water was over in business and first class within the first 2 hours of the flight; almost 30% of eco seats had problems with VOD and so system had to be rebooted at least twice; there was an obnoxious smell coming from one part of the aircraft; the business and first class meals were not the same as what was on the menu. All this within 25% of flight time and this was business class. According to the head, they have taken up this issue with EY management including the Asian veg meal quality umpteen number of times but with little result. No one either listens or cares to listen. Apparently this meal episode happens at least 2-3 times a week in business/first class. In eco its a daily event.
Halfway into the flight I wanted a snack but our area steward just would not give it to me, stating I had ordered for special meals and had to eat what was ordered for me. When it was time for breakfast the host woke me up. I said I wanted to eat later but he said I had to get it at that time, for some reason he wanted to be inflexible on the flight. Overall attitude of this particular staff member was indifferent at best and insulting at worst. I must mention here that our side of business class was unlucky as the hostess on the other side was very delightful, friendly and attentive.
Economy was pure chaos. I know because I had friends who were flying eco. Their child got air sick and the hostess refused to bring new air sickness bags till she "finished" service. The call button could be on for 10 minutes but no one would turn up. VOD was a mess, one of theirs did not work the entire flight. Crew had an indifferent attitude in both business and economy. The list goes on but you get the point.
Surprising Abu Dhabi-Bombay was a refreshing change. The crew was very friendly and were actually trying to please the "guest", as they call it. So it seems that EY service standards are a function of the staff and not training. Dangerouse for an airline which wants to grow.
All in all Etihaad is a glorified bus service. If you want to get from point A to B at the lowest price, it will do the job. Their business class seats are very good (better than old BA club world sleeper seat and also full bed as compared to lie flat on EK business) and currently they have a very aggressive air fare to USA. But if you can afford to spend a bit more then go EK or maybe even Qatar which is starting JFK from end June. I always get nervous about an airlines which has changed 11 CEO in 40 months. Who is running the show down on the ground???