Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Etihad Airways | Etihad Guest
Reload this Page >

When will Etihad start to refurbish their fleet? (seats)

When will Etihad start to refurbish their fleet? (seats)

Old Aug 20, 2013, 6:42 am
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 2
When will Etihad start to refurbish their fleet? (seats)

Hello,

I've recently been traveling with Etihad Airways on four flights in business class and I have to say: I'm disappointed to no limit.

June, 2013

Flight #1
On the first flight, the aircraft was an Airbus A340-500. And surprise. It had the old business class. And obviously the old economy class. I had no idea that it even existed. It was my first flight with Etihad Airways and on their website they only show the new, refurbished Seats.
I thought it might just be on one plane. But then I boarded
Flight #2
An Airbus A330-200. And again. It had the old business class.
Flight #3
was on a Boeing 777-300ER replacing an A330-200. So I thought I might finally get to see the new business class now. But no. Still the old class.
And on
Flight #4
I already had no hopes left. And I was right. The Airbus A340-600 was equiped with the old seats aswell.


So when do they actually plan to update their seats? They only show a new class that they advertise and they only advertise that class. But 4 out of 4 different planes I was travelling in a really outdated class. If I'd had known about that earlier, I wouldn't have booked that flight.

So, when will they finally update them? Are their any informations available on how many aircrafts have been updated?
Hanin is offline  
Old Aug 21, 2013, 12:57 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 341
Could you please state the routes ?

There's a possibility it's leased or operated by a partner airline and not an EY metal
MAZ199 is offline  
Old Aug 21, 2013, 1:08 pm
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 2
It was definitely their aircraft. It looked exactly like their old business class.

A friend of mine recently had a flight with them from Frankfurt to Sydney, via Abu Dhabi and he said that he was sitting in the old business class on both Abu Dhabi - Sydney and Sydney - Abu Dhabi flights on their Airbus A340-600.

Either we were really unlucky or they really haven't refurbished a really big part of their fleet within the last 4 years. Anyone has some more information about that?
Hanin is offline  
Old Aug 24, 2013, 9:23 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Programs: Etihad Gold, Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 21
When will Etihad start to refurbish their fleet? (seats)

Hanin, please clarify the exact routes you had the problem, not your friend, mainly so can avoid them. Thanks.
Jclarke923 is offline  
Old Aug 24, 2013, 10:08 am
  #5  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: KYE
Posts: 4,156
My friend and his family flew MEL-AUH on 10 August (A6-EHL) and got the old seats in J too.
He was very disappointed too.
edy4eva is offline  
Old Aug 24, 2013, 10:11 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: KYE
Posts: 4,156
Originally Posted by Hanin
It was definitely their aircraft. It looked exactly like their old business class.

A friend of mine recently had a flight with them from Frankfurt to Sydney, via Abu Dhabi and he said that he was sitting in the old business class on both Abu Dhabi - Sydney and Sydney - Abu Dhabi flights on their Airbus A340-600.

Either we were really unlucky or they really haven't refurbished a really big part of their fleet within the last 4 years. Anyone has some more information about that?
It would help if you give your travel dates and flight numbers. We could then pinpoint the registration of planes that have the old seats.
edy4eva is offline  
Old Aug 24, 2013, 3:57 pm
  #7  
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Programs: Hilton Diamond
Posts: 176
It would be nice if people could report the tail numbers of there 2 class 777 and report if it is the new business class or not. I have updated what we know so far. I'll edit as information comes in.

A6-ETA (J28,Y384):Old Business Class
A6-ETB (J28,Y384):Old Business Class
A6-ETC (J28,Y384): Old Business Class
A6-ETD (J28,Y384): Old Business Class
A6-ETE (J28,Y384): Old Business Class (Refreshed)
A6-ETF (J28,Y384): Old Business Class (Refreshed)
A6-ETG (J28,Y384): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETH (J28,Y384): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETI (J28,Y384): New Business Class
A6-ETJ (J28,Y384): New Business Class
A6-ETK (F8,J40,Y280): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETL (F8,J40,Y280): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETM (F8,J40,Y280): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETN (F8,J40,Y280): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETO (F8,J40,Y280): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETP (J40,Y340): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETQ (J40,Y340): New Business Class/Wifi
A6-ETR (F8,J40,Y280): New Business Class/Wifi

Last edited by singal3; Nov 25, 2015 at 10:51 pm
singal3 is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2013, 7:12 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 5
Airbus A330-200
Old Seats:
A6-EYD, A6-EYF, A6-EYG, A6-EYH, A6-EYI, A6-EYJ, A6-EYL, A6-EYO, A6-EYQ.
New Seats:
A6-EYE, A6-EYK, A6-EYM, A6-EYN, A6-EYR, A6-EYP, A6-EYS

Airbus A330-300
Old Seats:
None
New Seats:
A6-AFA, A6-AFB, A6-AFC, A6-AFD, A6-AFE, A6-AFF

Airbus A340-500 *
Old Seats:
A6-EHA, A6-EHB, A6-EHC, A6-EHD
New Seats:
None

Airbus A340-600
Old Seats:
A6-EHI, A6-EHJ, A6-EHL
New Seats:
A6-EHE, A6-EHF, A6-EHH, A6-EHK

Boeing 777-300ER
Old Seats:
A6-ETA, A6-ETB, A6-ETC, A6-ETD, A6-ETE
New Seats:
A6-ETF, A6-ETG, A6-ETH, A6-ETI, A6-ETJ, A6-ETK, A6-ETL, A6-ETM, A6-ETN, A6-ETO, A6-ETP

* The Airbus A340-500 is likely to remain with the old interior design until it'll probably be removed from the fleet within the next few months. (Please note they still have the new Diamond First Class on all 4 aircraft of the fleet.)

All 3-class aircraft are equipped with the new first class suites.

This data is not official. This data could be wrong or outdated.

If you have different experiences feel free to comment below.

Updates:
A6-EHH from old to new.
A6-EHF from old to new.

Last edited by polalysi; Aug 26, 2013 at 6:00 am Reason: Update
polalysi is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2013, 7:27 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: KYE
Posts: 4,156
I recall flying A6-EHH November last year and clearly remember it had new J seats (I was in First but as I was waiting to deplane from L2 I tried out one of the vacant seats).
edy4eva is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2013, 9:25 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Programs: Hilton Diamond
Posts: 176
Wow, so half the aircraft (24/49) still have the old business class product despite the new business class being introduced 4 years ago.

There website should definitely have a disclaimer and include the old business class. It doesn't seem to me that after 4 years they are actively refurbishing any new cabins.
singal3 is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2013, 9:34 am
  #11  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 5
Originally Posted by singal3
Wow, so half the aircraft (24/49) still have the old business class product despite the new business class being introduced 4 years ago.

There website should definitely have a disclaimer and include the old business class. It doesn't seem to me that after 4 years they are actively refurbishing any new cabins.
As I said before, the list posted above is probably not up to date. So it is possible that some aircraft already got refurbished and quite a few more will be by the end of the year. I try to update as soon as I get further informations.

But I agree with you. If you are new to Etihad and you just see the product they advertise on their website, you might get "shocked" when boarding a plane that still has the old cabine design.

--
Updated A6-EHH from old to new.
polalysi is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2013, 1:52 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SAN
Programs: Lots of faux metal
Posts: 6,388
Originally Posted by polalysi
Airbus A330-200
Old Seats:
A6-EYD, A6-EYF, A6-EYG, A6-EYH, A6-EYI, A6-EYJ, A6-EYL, A6-EYO, A6-EYQ.
New Seats:
A6-EYE, A6-EYK, A6-EYM, A6-EYN, A6-EYR, A6-EYP, A6-EYS

Airbus A330-300
Old Seats:
None
New Seats:
A6-AFA, A6-AFB, A6-AFC, A6-AFD, A6-AFE, A6-AFF

Airbus A340-500 *
Old Seats:
A6-EHA, A6-EHB, A6-EHC, A6-EHD
New Seats:
None

Airbus A340-600
Old Seats:
A6-EHF, A6-EHI, A6-EHJ, A6-EHL
New Seats:
A6-EHE, A6-EHH, A6-EHK

Boeing 777-300ER
Old Seats:
A6-ETA, A6-ETB, A6-ETC, A6-ETD, A6-ETE
New Seats:
A6-ETF, A6-ETG, A6-ETH, A6-ETI, A6-ETJ, A6-ETK, A6-ETL, A6-ETM, A6-ETN, A6-ETO, A6-ETP

* The Airbus A340-500 is likely to remain with the old interior design until it'll probably be removed from the fleet within the next few months. (Please note they still have the new Diamond First Class on all 4 aircraft of the fleet.)

All 3-class aircraft are equipped with the new first class suites.

This data is not official. This data could be wrong or outdated.

If you have different experiences feel free to comment below.
For the 345, there is a report in another thread that the 345 on IAD-AUH had new J.

EDIT: actually looks like it was a 346. Nevermind.

Last edited by skunker; Aug 25, 2013 at 2:03 pm
skunker is offline  
Old Aug 25, 2013, 10:29 pm
  #13  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: KYE
Posts: 4,156
I also flew A6-EHF late last year and it too had new J seats.
edy4eva is offline  
Old Aug 26, 2013, 5:59 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 5
Originally Posted by edy4eva
I also flew A6-EHF late last year and it too had new J seats.
I recall flying with A6-EHF in early 2012 with the old seats. So I guess it has been refurbished shortly after that.

Updated.
polalysi is offline  
Old Sep 1, 2013, 3:41 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Programs: Etihad Gold, Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 21
converting reg. numbers to flight number

Maybe a naive question here but how do I convert the registration number to flight numbers? or vice versa.

In other words, if flying on EY041, how do I know the registration number of that plane?
Jclarke923 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.