Abu Dhabi Lounge
Till last week, the rumored Etihad’s First Class lounge has yet to open at Terminal Three. The first class area is just a blocked off area from the business class area, as well as free access to haircuts and some spa treatment in the salon. The first class area eventually got really busy, but since I was still full from the flight, I did not take part in the food buffet.



First Class area



Main business class area








Salon


Buffet







EY 51 AUH-GVA Lv0905 Arr1405 Airbus A330-300E A6-AFE

Passport check for bus gate pier


Bus gate: 44
Boarding was really disorganized here, as it had started very early. The gate agent was really not well trained and she was not sure what she was doing. For some strange reasons, she did not direct premium passengers to the premium bus, and in the end, her supervisor had to run into the bus and asking for premium passengers. Thankfully the flight was not overly busy this afternoon.

After a relatively long bus ride to the cargo area, I spotted our A330, A6-AFE, at stand 201.
A beautiful bird:




Mini business class cabin behind first class


First Class cabin:



First class seat:


Personal closet


Literature


Side storage bin – power outlet, USB drive, and entertainment console


Beverage station- not chilled


Stool for baggage storage


Welcome tray
Mint lemonade



The purser welcomed me onboard and pre-takeoff beverage was offered again with dates. The chef came by with the menu and wine list, and first beverage order was taken too. First class ended up half full, and the service was fairly attentive, but was not as good as my previous segment on the A380. The chef was not as proactive as Chef Abhey on the earlier flight. Door was closed early at 8:57am and we pushed back at 9:06am.

The tarmac was very busy at Abu Dhabi.




Line of narrowbodies:


We took off from R/W13R at 9:25am for the six hours and forty-seven minutes flight to Geneva.


Our routing was fairly interesting, as we first climbed to 38,000feet, as we passed Omidyeh, Ramhormoz, and Mahabad, before climbing to 40,000feet. We then traveled towards Vans, Yukselen, Camas, Carsaniba, Samsun, Asagicayli, Belen, Balchik, Isperikh, Craoiva, Bijeljina, Banja Luba, Krsan, Pican, Venice-Chiampo, Seveso, and Somma Lombardon, before arriving at Geneva.

Bathroom – similar to A340-500s:





Beverage was served at 9:38am and it comes with trio snacks: mixed nuts, olives, and vegetable crisps.





There is something that I still don’t understand the service logics on these Abu Dhabi to Europe (and return) flights, and if you take a look at the menu, this menu is pretty extensive, but somehow the chefs don’t expect you to order two meals. It is a six hours daytime flight that crossed both breakfasts and lunch times. For the first hour, the chef did not even walk through the cabin once, and I finally had to use the call button, as I was getting pretty hungry. The chef seemed a bit displeased, but with only four first class passengers, I really wonder what you were doing in the galley. They almost want to wait long enough for you not to order the second pre-arrival meal. Honestly I should be the one making the decisions, not you. The chef should have taken the meal order either prior to departure or right after takeoff.

Here is the menu and wine list:
Wine List – First Cellar
Champagne Bollinger La Grande Annee 2005, France
Champagne Duval Leroy Rose, France, NV

White Wines
Chardonnay, Louis Latour, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Burgundy, France 2012
Nautilus Estates Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand 2013
Pinot Blanc, Classic, Dohlmuhle, Rheinhessen, Germany 2013

Red Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend, La Croix de Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, France 2011
Shiraz, Xandu, Margaret River, Australia 2011
Line 39, Pinot Noir, Central Coast, California 2013
Valpolicella, Fattori, Col De La Bastia, Veneto, Italy 2013
Chianti Riserva, Pietro Beconcini DOCG, Tuscany Italy 2009

Dessert Wine
Semillon Blend, Chateau Haut Theulet, Monbazillac France 2010

FC-BEV-1015

A La Carte
Spinach and Lentil Soup
Labneh, carrot and spinach
Roast Tomato and Basil Soup

Beef Bresaola
Rocket and antipasti

Mezze
Hot and cold Arabic appetizers

Biryani
Your choice of lamb, chicken, or fish garnished with fried onions, cashews and raisins

Trio of Fish with Lobster Sauce
Paupiette of plaice, barramundi, grilled prawns with lobster bisque

Pumpkin and feta Tagliatelle
Rocket pesto, sun-dried tomato and black garlic

Chef’s Special
Ask our chef about the “special of the day” or to create something especially for you

From the Grill
Signature Grills
Grass-fed Beef Tenderloin
U.S. Rib-eye steak
Lamb Shank
Chicken Supreme
Catch of the Day

Sides
Steamed Garden Vegetables
Vegetable Saloona
Creamy Mashed Potato
Roasted Baby Potatoes
Steamed White Rice
Oven-Baked French Fries

Sauce
Veal Jus
Béarnaise Sauce
Tomato Concassé
Café De Paris Butter

All Day Dine
Breakfast Bakery Basket
Croissants and a selection of breads

A Range of Breakfast Cereals
With full-cream or low-fat milk

Sandwiches
Made to Order

The Etihad Steak Sandwich
Rocket leaves, turkey rashers, red onion compote, melted cheese, mayonnaise and grain mustard

Fresh Organic Eggs Cooked to Order
Breakfast sausage, hash brown, tomato and sautéed mushrooms

Afternoon Tea
An assortment of scones, sweets and finger sandwiches

Cheese
A Selection of International Cheeses

Fresh Fruit Platter

A selection of ice creams

Potato Crisps in a Variety of Flavors
Freshly Baked Cookies and Madeleine
Swedish Crisp Breads
Baklava

Dessert
A selection of ice creams

Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ancho chili sauce and kumquat compote

Raspberry Mousse
Fudge Brownie with raspberry caviar

Dessert Taster
Three mini desserts to tempt you: hazelnut cake, ginger yogurt mousse and apricot bar

400_AUH-EUR-F4-MM-ZL-0915

Table was finally set at 10:49am and today’s amuse bouche was a vegetable terrine with some kind of sauce. None of the F/As or chef cared to explain the content this morning.




The next course is the Beef Bresola appetizer, which is good.



Followed by a soup course and I always love the Lentil Soup prepared by the Abu Dhabi kitchen.



Intermezzo – Red Orange sorbet


For entrée, I decided to try the trio of seafood, which looked good on paper, but ended up falling a bit short, as it was under-seasoned and lacked sauce. They could be more generous with the lobster sauce.




For desert, I chose the taster…


Hazelnut cake


Ginger Yogurt Mousse


Apricot bar – too dense and not good at all – I could not even finish it.


For the rest of the flight, I watched a few classic sitcoms, surfed the net on my phone, and just relaxed a bit on the nice suite. No crew offered to make up bed for passengers, but if you rang the call button, they would come to attend your needs.

Around two hours prior to arrival, I decided to order the afternoon tea set, as it might be a while before I got dinner.
Of course the clumsy chef missed out on the sandwiches component but at least I got the scone. Of course they forgot to give me the jam.



Really nice sweets though




Tea of course


Descent began at 1:33pm Geneva local time, which was two hours behind from Abu Dhabi.




We landed on R/W23 at 2:12pm and parked at gate 15 four minutes later.

Emirates’ Boeing 777 A6-EGY next door


Despite having a jetway, we had to walk down the stairs to a bus, and this time, nobody said anything when I took pictures of the plane.





First and business class had a separate bus, and immigration was empty, as we entered. The most amazing part was that priority bags were already on the belt within 15 minutes of our arrival. Technically you did not need to wait at all.

In conclusion, Etihad really has the best first class cabin in the world, and the A380 “Apartment” is innovative and well thought out. I don’t know how Emirates can even top this product. I just don’t see other Asian, American and European airlines willing to invest in such a product and/or find enough people to pay for it. If I really have that kind of cash to spend, Etihad A380 First class will be my preferred cabin. However, Etihad still has some work to do to achieve that consistency in terms of its cabin service. Currently some of the non-A380 flight attendants are not quite up to that standard that EY tried to promote, and unless EY has a huge A380 fleet like EK, most F passengers will fly on both A380 and non-A380 flight, and this inconsistency will not work on EY’s favor. SQ is successful because it is able to maintain standard among its F/As. Furthermore, the ground service at AUH really needs some major improvement and not having a dedicated first class lounge in its home base is just unacceptable. In terms of food, they are very good, but as I say, the chef needs to be more proactive in offering food, not the opposite. For those AUH to Europe flight, please always expect passengers to order at least a meal and a snack. The chef should always take the meal orders as early as possible, so passengers can choose their meal hours. The chef should remind passengers when is the good time to order the pre-arrival snack or meal. If you are going to do an a la carte service, you need to commit to it. Of course, these are just small details in a very big picture. Overall, Etihad undeniably offers an innovative first class product on the A380s, and I just can’t say enough good things about it. I really was thankful to Tom and Chef Abhey, along with the Chinese speaking F/A for a wonderful flight in the “Apartments.” I hope you will enjoy this series of trip report!

Thank you Etihad!


Carfield