Hi All
I have just flown Etihads for the first time, I thought i was having a dream when i entered the lounge at Heathrow, I had peolpe waiting on me, offering drink, food and free massage, The lounge had B&O TV and Apple PC's, It was the difference between night and day when you compare Emirates Lounges, But you dont get from London to heathrow sitting in the lounge

I was on the A340 from Heathrow to A/B, The interior looked dirty and the TV in front of me had not been cleaned for ages plus while waiting for the plane to fill up, i could not use the E-Box, It was only showing the Company video. I have to say that the Hand set looked very cheap, unlike Emirates, couldn't even watch the channels to see the Cameras until we were into the Flight.

Drink service was very different, Wine came in big bottles and poured into a plastic cup and handed to you, asked for a Rum and coke, it was a no!!!

Later they came around doing a drinks service, Asked for a glass of wine, Sorry sir only tea coffee or water.

food service was Different, little salad and the desert arrived about an hour later with the coffee.

Their was not enough pitch and my legs was hurting me due to no where to stretch my legs and it was a art in itself to try and eat the meal without knocking into the man siting next to me.

got to A/D and went to the lounge, I knew that i had to go to the lounge in terminal 1 (on gold but flying coral) but it wasn't even a Etihads lounge, It was a cheap and nasty Lounge but little choice of food and drink, Not sure if it had a shower or not and for gold status, you would think they would want to offer more.

On the 777/300, the TV packed in 20 minutes into the flight, i pressed the call button and even though the FA was walking passed me, they didn't even bother asking me what i wanted, i had to call one over, the same later on when i wanted a drink of juice, i pressed the button 1 hour before landing and i am now in a hotel in BKK and still no one came to me.

overall, Emirates beats Etihads on planes, interior, food and drink, customer care on the flight, leg room.

I guess at the end of the day, you get what you pay for, Value for money, Well i felt that i was on the flight for a life time, hard to sleep and Entertainment not to Emirates Standards. maybe emirates have spoiled us with their fleet of aircraft and yes maybe their standards have dropped but its far better what i experienced with Etihads.

I have to do the return leg in 2 weeks time, Something that i am not looking forward to.

Malc

To be fair to both airlines, service issues are crew dependent. I've had EK flights in J where no one cares about the call button. I haven't flown EY in a very long time because the first and last time, the IFE didn't work for the entire 14 hour flight.

I don't know about your comment re seat width - EK isn't exactly known for having the widest seats.

As for the lounge - I remember the J lounge in AUH (before T3 opened) which was pitiful. However, the current lounge situation is due to overcrowding of the T3 lounge - otherwise members were previously allowed to use the T3 J lounge.

I am surprised that I kept reading this. This really doesn't happen to me. Ok I often ring it and no one comes (but come on, the light above me is on!) but then I press it again until someone comes. And I never press more than twice. I mean, it is a business cabin with only a few rows and at least 4 FAs.

Have you flown the A380 in J? IME the call button is more effective at providing melodic / audio entertainment from the "bing!" than actually getting an FA's attention.

so true

Yes, I forgot to write that I am typically not flying on A380 but on everything else (777 in J). I can typically get the attention of FAs, I mean they walk around right?

This depends on the crew and depends on where you're sitting. It's difficult to get their attention if you're in row 6. It's also difficult to get their attention if it's a completely full flight and they're overworked. But yes, turning it on and off would eventually get their attention.

Why would you be expecting them to come to your hotel room?

I've found emirates crew to be. Extremely responsive to the call button in J I never used it on the A380 though

Etihad launches chauffeur service for Coral Economy guests living in Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, will provide a complimentary chauffeured car service to friends or family travelling together in Coral Economy from the UAE until the end of November.

The service, which will deposit guests at Abu Dhabi airport and collect them upon return, is available to people living in Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah who collectively spend on tickets to or from London, Manchester, Melbourne, Toronto, Sydney, Milan, Casablanca, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Tokyo, Seoul, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Geneva or Brussels.

Each chauffeur driven car can take a maximum of four passengers and will pick up from, or drop off to, one point only.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer, said, "We are always looking for new ways to reward the loyalty of our guests in our home market, the UAE. We have recently seen increased demand out of Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain, and we feel that by extending our chauffeur service to Coral Economy guests in these places, we will be able to ensure they enjoy award-winning Etihad hospitality from the moment they leave their front door. What finer way can there be to arrive at the airport for the start of a holiday or a business trip than in a chauffered limousine."

Etihad serves 72 cities in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, with a fleet of 61 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

http://www.ameinfo.com/275237.html

Sorry, don't know Etihad very well. What's the condition to get the car when traveling in Economy? You need to be Gold? Didn't understand it.

Thx for the update though!

Collective spend for the group of AED 8,000 or more. Status does not matter.

Pretty smart move, considering that is what a single J ticket would cost (on average).

Etihad used to offer chauffeur drive in UAE for Gold members in Y earlier but got rid of that perk pretty quick.

Indeed, easily achievable with 2 or 3 tickets in Y. It is however a short term offer.

Am I blind? Where in the press article is the threshold of AED 8,000 stated?