Dogmatick

I find that the best way to enjoy EY J is to drink heavily on the ground and not stop in the air. G&T on takeoff please then we'll discuss food

Takes the edge off and good god I don't care for the amenity kit at this point though I loved the days they came in leather satchels as they fit perfectly into the panniers on my motorcycle to make organisation really easy. The F ones could have been custom made !

The majority of the problems in their seats are the blasted massage nodules, they destroy the foam in the seat and leave really hard points. I'm 195cm or 6'5" in old money with size 17 UK 18 US or 52 EU feet so I have to bend at the knees in J. The original seats had too small a footwell for me which irritated but having flown BA a bit am happy with EY.

Yes the Premium Lounge is rubbish and too small and was not built to still be in use today, the midfield terminal was meant to open. Now it isn't and so the service can only deteriorate. I wouldn't choose EY if I wasn't a Platinum when better options exist.

EY F compared to BA F on a 380 is worlds apart, especially as the BA product is too heavy to go upstairs (someone is hopefully out of a job for this) but BA's F is like Qatar's new J.

I'm flying 380 F to LHR on Star Wars day and am really looking forward to it on EY and hoping to run into some friendly crew from trips past

ironmanjt

I've had multiple EY chauffeur no-shows at my hotel, to the point I find this service absolutely worthless. For me, EY is clearly the worst of the ME3 (frequently running out of meals as well) but for the OP to call it the worst business class ever, well, United or American anyone?

akalra1187

After reporting chauffer no shows, I've received significant compensation. More than a taxi would cost. Does this still make Wtihad bad?

Speedbird676

Fully aware there are two variants, but all A330s have the newer version. I've never found anybody who find the older version better, hence was questioning the point that the A330 seats are even worse than the B777.

Speedbird676

Correct.

kmzandrew

Maybe it's because I've always had status, but UA and AA have really solid business class options, especially to Europe (no reason to fly them to asia when I can fly JAL, ANA or Cathay). I guess you have to chose the plane as AA did have some crappy seats on some routes last I checked (to spain I believe), but I've always gotten a fully flat bed on both airlines, and it's much better than what you'd get from either BA or LH in business. It's also much, much better than the seat I had on EY.

Furthermore, I've never had any issues with UA or AA when it comes to customer service. Again, this may be due to status, but whenever I've had an issue or problem come up with UA or AA they've always done whatever they can to remedy it. Mishandled bag that's delayed... no problem, they've given me a suitcase to use until mine arrives... damaged bag, replaced the same day...flight cancelled due to a storm, put on the next available flight on a better routing and bumped to F.

When I'm comparing business class products I'd say AA is my benchmark for a good product with most asian carriers ranking solidly above them, and most european carriers below them with, but my recent experience with EY probably ranks even below AA's premium economy due to their terrible service and the fact that there's really no way for me to sleep in their seats anyway. Looking back, I haven't been in premium economy in a few years now, but AA used to be very good about not "upgrading" pax to it and most times I flew it I'd have the row to myself which makes it a much better option to the EY business class I experienced. Maybe their product on the A380 is better, but at this point I'd probably fly Norwegian Airlines business class before I try EY again. The only intercontinental flight that I've had in C that was even close to as bad as my EY C flight was an open skies flight I was on something like a decade ago.

TPJ

Is this thread a joke?

EY with the worst C-class product?

They may not be world's best product, but it is still a fairly solid experience.

Dogmatick

OP had a really bad experience and has carefully listed them out here. Were it my only experience of EY I'd probably agree

I too have had many Chauffeurs not turn up but have to date not once been paid back for taxis despite many many promises to do so including taking my account details etc

Never experienced yet the running out of food and do wish that they would take orders as per status like for example United.

But then United is all about status, I was downgraded from F on a flight last year when they upgraded economy passengers who were big spenders. Even though I had a confirmed F ticket and I was made to feel grateful that I was even allowed on the plane in Y and only then if I agreed to a voluntary downgrade and a $200 voucher

Wouldn't ever fly an american carrier again if there was an alternative, whoever that alternative was. Customers are worthless in their eyes unless they are regularly spending big bucks. I suppose I should be happy I wasn't taken to a toilet to have the .... kicked out of me...

BA might be generally rubbish in most people's eyes but the crew are often diamonds. My last intercon flight with them was ex IAD on their 380 for which I positioned to take to compare with EY's product. Chatted to the crew during a ground delay and was sat with the pilots in the cockpit, went under floor in to the crew quarters and generally got to see the entire aircraft wherever I wanted, an amazing thing to do and unless you've done it you really don't feel just how big a 380 is !

akalra1187

That was my initial thought.

Don't bother trying to explain why though. Seems like you will be called out for saying it's an airport problem or that American carriers are better or best yet will turn it into a conversation about the "third world".

This guy doesn't like Etihad. Let it be, more for us.

ADubUAE

I just flew on a flight from SFO to AUH on J and it wasn't a great experience. I'd probably attribute it to this particular crew not giving a crap more so than anything else. I fly with Etihad often and it's normally pretty good service.

They let passengers move freely between J and Y throughout the flight. They were using the restrooms in J. They also used the overhead space in J too. This was a pretty empty flight (40% empty?). I think it was due to a family or two not wanting to (or couldn't) upgrade everyone to business. A couple also swapped seats during the flight.

The food was not very good either. And once arriving at the gate, Y passengers rushed through J cabin. No cabin crew to control traffic.

I emailed Etihad with some feedback and constructive criticism. Not sure if they would care or not.

thbe

I've written that on Tuesday and it's not true any more since my last flight on EY on Friday. Things moving fast these days.

Of course it is not correct to call EY's C the worst international C. It is not. And it is a bit ridiculous if that was stated by someone, who seems to know US-American carriers well as the airline business in the US is just a service desert. And at least EY cares about the physical integrity of their passengers, while i. e. UA try to kill theirs.

But from my point of view it is ok to overstate something, if there's something really wrong. And with all the cost cuttings EY is going to the dogs.

When I changed to EY for most of my flights to Asia, that decision was really a no brainer. Limousine service for C passengers, frequent operational upgrades, one of the best onboard products for single travelers, tons of miles, good lounges at AUH and the destinations, high value of miles, low fares and special sales almost all the time. OK, EY was never good at handling irops/service issues or organizing an airport. But that was ok.

Since that time almost all or better to say exactly all of these advantages are gone. Now they even save on amenity kits. And it also seems to me like EY lays their experienced staff off and replaces them with newbies (or doesn't replace them at all). There is also no snack menu in the morning anymore in the First class lounge. Now you only get breakfast in the morning, bye bye to the beef sliders.

I think, the EY party is over. After wasting Billions of petrol dollars on developing it's business very fast, EY will be downsized into nothingness. The actions by the US and Europe to protect their own airlines - already in existence and coming - will speed that up.

Dogmatick

It all depends, I think, on who takes over and their clout with the purse strings.

It makes no sense to get rid of the people spending big dollars on the airline to facilitate keeping Y full when you make pennies per passenger. The vanity of buying lots of big aircraft isn't helping

Oman air has, in my opinion, cleverly bought loads of Dreamliners. Mid sized to fulfil their ambitions without being too shouty or claiming the best of this or that. These will be easier to fill and a service that starts as a J/Y mix is easily switched to a F/J/ smaller Y when the bucks roll in

Having had such a fanfare EY need to either resurrect the F lounge or close it as it is an embarrassment of what it was only minutes ago

Transpacificflyer

Whoa. Wasn't this an IATA governed international itinerary? As such, didn't the baggage rule for the Most Significant / Prevailing Carrier Etihad, apply? That's how I see it. Etihad requires electronics to be checked on flights to the USA. First carrier set the rules.

When Etihad introduced service to HKT in 2013 it had traffic of about 750,000 to BKK. I believe its total numbers are closer to 1 million now.
Phuket derives a large amount of traffic from the Gulf region. Excluding the arrivals at BKK; QR and EK each of 4 flights a day (2 in and 2 out) B777 flying in and flying out. EY has a daily flight. Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai have been in the top 10 visitor sources for several years. It is nowhere close to being a rural area and is a major tourism destination for the Gulf region.

Due to the daily flight at HKT, you can be assured that Etihad like the other Gulf carriers has a direct presence at the airport. Grunt workers may be local, but supervision is Etihad.

The problem wasn't the local staff. It was an Etihad issue.

Carry on.

Mickidon

On this point of service, yes. Compensation for something that should be
done well at the onset is a band aid. Get it right.

Pendrive

As a gold card holder on both airlines I would say TK is way ahead of EY...