Attention Economy Class Pax!!!!
#17
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Programs: EY Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 426
exactly, the system is widely used in USA for domestic flights and the wifi allows streaming of media from their IFE but if you want internet access you pay. you dint need to buy wifi to stream the onboard IFE.
#18
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Etihad Platinum
Posts: 21
Have experienced the new economy meal, my humble opinion.
No salad, (half the time the salad was not very good anyway)
No desert, (see above)
Seems to have better quality on the food than before.
More food than before.
Smaller tray. better for having drinks on side instead of trying to balance on the tray.
No metal cutlery, Not that good.
All in All the food is better.
Selling the "luxury" extras, seems to be that nobody wanted. so as far as I could see no sales.
But I didn't see the whole plane.
No salad, (half the time the salad was not very good anyway)
No desert, (see above)
Seems to have better quality on the food than before.
More food than before.
Smaller tray. better for having drinks on side instead of trying to balance on the tray.
No metal cutlery, Not that good.
All in All the food is better.
Selling the "luxury" extras, seems to be that nobody wanted. so as far as I could see no sales.
But I didn't see the whole plane.
#19
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Abu Dhabi
Programs: EY Platinum
Posts: 1,609
Weird, that's a very different experience from mine. I got the "old" food on my way out and the "new" food on the way back.
For the "old" food, I got:
On the way back, I got:
For the "old" food, I got:
- Hot dish, bread, salad, orange juice (or water, can't remember) , butter, desert, all delivered on a tray
On the way back, I got:
- A small tray with a hot dish and desert and that was it. The size of the hot dish was no different to previously.
#20
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Yorkshire & Bangsaen
Programs: HH Diamond, EY Gold, AY Silver, MR Plat
Posts: 526
They aren't going to advertise the fact they are using more plastic.
I flew EY15 three days ago and can confirm that meals in economy are now served with very cheap plastic cutlery. Clearly they couldn't care less about using less plastic.
I flew EY15 three days ago and can confirm that meals in economy are now served with very cheap plastic cutlery. Clearly they couldn't care less about using less plastic.
#21
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
I wasn't saying they're not, but there didn't seem to be anything supporting the fact either. Some plastics are better than others, in that they're recycled and recyclable. Of course something like bamboo cutlery would still be better (isn't that what Air Seychelles did?
#23
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Abu Dhabi
Programs: IHG Platinum Ambassador, Etihad Silver
Posts: 132
This new food is going to be an absolute nightmare for those of us with kids. I rely on things like the bread rolls to fill them up when they won't eat the other stuff. Ditto with regards to losing the seatback video screens - I have no intention of buying iPads for each of my kids. The seatback screens are extremely useful for keeping them calm and occupied, especially through dinner service when nobody can get up.
#24
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
I wasn't saying they're not, but there didn't seem to be anything supporting the fact either. Some plastics are better than others, in that they're recycled and recyclable. Of course something like bamboo cutlery would still be better (isn't that what Air Seychelles did?
Plastics are usually not recycled nowadays. There are very few countries that recycle plastics, and often they just go in the incinerator. China has stopped taking most plastics for recycling, unless they are very not contaminated. Which are pretty much not the cutlery you are talking about here.
Whether or not bamboo cutlery is better is complicated as well. It is like the age-old question paper versus plastic (bags). Is the bamboo being harvested sustainably?
Now I don't know the plastic utensils on Etihad, but I would presume they aren't re-washable. There are some that are.
#25
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Abu Dhabi
Programs: EY Platinum
Posts: 1,609
This new food is going to be an absolute nightmare for those of us with kids. I rely on things like the bread rolls to fill them up when they won't eat the other stuff. Ditto with regards to losing the seatback video screens - I have no intention of buying iPads for each of my kids. The seatback screens are extremely useful for keeping them calm and occupied, especially through dinner service when nobody can get up.
#26
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Yorkshire & Bangsaen
Programs: HH Diamond, EY Gold, AY Silver, MR Plat
Posts: 526
Personally, I have don't mind all these cuts if the prices reflect a sub standard offering. But, EY seem to think they can reduce the service whilst increasing prices. I wonder what business school these people went to.
#27
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TSV, Australia
Posts: 2,401
I flew EY long haul in economy for the first time two weeks ago. The meals were the smallest, most measly things I have ever seen on a supposedly full service airline.
Last edited by camsean; May 7, 2019 at 10:05 am Reason: spelling
#28
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: ey gold tg gold accor gold
Posts: 376
thank goodness I can still use the lounge beforehand . Better pack some high strength sleeping pills in future
#29
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
I can't seem to find any info to confirm this but my colleague flew with the new meal service a couple days ago (ULH into AUH) and reports that coffee was chargeable after the meal service. Can that be right or is it only specialty coffee that's being charged for?
#30
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: EY Silver
Posts: 22
I just experienced the new food menu on HKG-AUH. I would say that while the quality has increased, the size of it is ridiculously small and absolutely inadequate. And the new separate 'dessert service' consists of tea or coffee and a small chocolate bar, absolutely ridiculous. The snacks (bag of crackers and water) service at the beginning of flights has now also been cancelled and is used towards the end of the flight to replace the previously far more substantial hot snack service. All in all it's quite insulting to paying passengers. If I wouldn't be able to use the lounges before and after my flight, I would have starved. All in all, it's absolutely dismal. If I wouldn't have Gold status, I would never ever fly Etihad in Economy again after this and I even now start to consider alternatives.