Sad to hear. You flew two of Etihad's worst J products, this doesn't make it ok, but the seats on those two planes are a lot worse than the A380 and even the 777s for that matter.
What makes EY better than QR in my eyes, even if I get one of their bad planes?
- AUH is smaller and more efficient than DOH.
- AUH is close to Dubai, a world city, which Doha isn't yet.
- Chauffer service.
QR have some great seats and food, and to this end they are undoubtedly better than Etihad, I'm not so sure Turkish is as good as Etihad but you may have had a different experience to me.
As a point of comparison the EY 380 J seat is much more comfortable than the EK J seat to me. I also prefer the decor and the food.
Compare either to BA and BA's signature service and you will know what I'm talking about.
I've had my share of issues with Etihad, from surly service in F, to an unnanouced aircraft change (787 to 777 from SIN), to damaging my suitcase and not responding.... I still rank them higher than any other airline, I'm based in London so mostly fly the 380 and that's probably why. When I go onwards from Abu Dhabi on a 340/777 I inevitably wonder why I didn't choose another airline, then I look back to my 380 flight and feel ok about it.
So in a nutshell, when they're good there the best, when they're bad I think they're ok but in your experience very bad (perhaps amplified because you're tall and I'm not).