Etihad vs Emirates Economy Class
May 17, 2019, 11:35 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 1
Etihad vs Emirates Economy Class
Hello everyone,
I'm flying to Prague in the Autumn. Its almost a 7 hour flight so no way I'm using FlyDubai (although they do have a direct flight, interestingly enough). Emirates only allows 30 kgs of baggage standard, while Etihad has 40. Emirates flies direct while Etihad has a stopover in Germany. Lufthansa has shite baggage allowance, I don't trust Aeroflot too much. Both have stopovers in their respective countries. Lastly, Qatar is a made-up country so it finally comes down to the All-Emirati Airline Derby. The Battle of the two Es, and I'll need some of the more traveling-seasoned gents and ladies on this sub to help with the decision
To make this a bit more structured, I'd like you to compare these specific things: The staff, seat comfort, leg space, in fight entertainment, and anything else you think applies.
Thank you!
I'm flying to Prague in the Autumn. Its almost a 7 hour flight so no way I'm using FlyDubai (although they do have a direct flight, interestingly enough). Emirates only allows 30 kgs of baggage standard, while Etihad has 40. Emirates flies direct while Etihad has a stopover in Germany. Lufthansa has shite baggage allowance, I don't trust Aeroflot too much. Both have stopovers in their respective countries. Lastly, Qatar is a made-up country so it finally comes down to the All-Emirati Airline Derby. The Battle of the two Es, and I'll need some of the more traveling-seasoned gents and ladies on this sub to help with the decision
To make this a bit more structured, I'd like you to compare these specific things: The staff, seat comfort, leg space, in fight entertainment, and anything else you think applies.
Thank you!
)
May 18, 2019, 4:51 am
#5
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Yorkshire & Bangsaen
Programs: HH Diamond, EY Gold, AY Silver, MR Plat
Posts: 526
Surely one, if not the deciding factor for an economy flight of six and a half hours is the price. Personally, I wouldn't choose a flight with a connection, but if the price is way better than direct then this would be an option. As for the rest of the stuff, its just window dressing unless you need lots of luggage.
May 18, 2019, 9:12 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: EK Gold, A3 *G, AB Gold, Jetblue Mosaic
Posts: 1,386
Things to note for me would be that EK direct is not daily while EY would be daily with a stop. Also, EY uses their A330 in 2-4-2 or 787 3-3-3, while EK would be an A380 with 3-4-3 standard except that you could book seats on the upper deck on a 2 class A380 which is 2-4-2 with the nice lavs. Also, they seem to use mostly newer A380s with the latest IFE (EK has the best IFE hands down IMO). Both charge for seat selection depending on lower fares although on EK you could check in 48h prior and pick a seat for free while EY is only 24h prior.
May 19, 2019, 2:06 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: South Korea
Posts: 1,168
I am poor and fly both on economy fairly frequently.
What I can say is that when it comes to the quality of the actual flights themselves (disregarding all other factors like connections, price, being bussed as opposed to having direct gate connection etc), EK is notably superior to EY.
This has become much more potent recently with the latest 'enhancements' applied to EY particularly with its dining. The "free" food gone from bad to even worse with applied pressure to go for the 'enhanced' meal and beverages which you have to pay for.
The service is also better at EK than EY (although neither are 'good' per se as we are talking about economy class here). In EY's endeavor to cut costs it is no secret that it works its cabin crew much harder & longer than EK, leading to higher turnover rates and less trained (or friendly) associates. Premier cabins may be a different story though.
hope this helps.
What I can say is that when it comes to the quality of the actual flights themselves (disregarding all other factors like connections, price, being bussed as opposed to having direct gate connection etc), EK is notably superior to EY.
This has become much more potent recently with the latest 'enhancements' applied to EY particularly with its dining. The "free" food gone from bad to even worse with applied pressure to go for the 'enhanced' meal and beverages which you have to pay for.
The service is also better at EK than EY (although neither are 'good' per se as we are talking about economy class here). In EY's endeavor to cut costs it is no secret that it works its cabin crew much harder & longer than EK, leading to higher turnover rates and less trained (or friendly) associates. Premier cabins may be a different story though.
hope this helps.
May 19, 2019, 4:44 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: UK
Programs: Etihad Gold, Qatar Gold, flying Blue, Falcon, Lufthansa, Eva
Posts: 1,428
from having been a loyal Etihad business class user I stopped using them as they degraded the service in business, Emirates have not converted me yet to loyal but certainly would use them in preference to Etihad
May 19, 2019, 6:06 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
If the fares are the same then EK is the no-brainer here. SimplyAviation (a popular TripReport resource) reviewing EY from LAX > SIN (via AUH) and found the catering to be quite lack lustre. Here's what a meal in economy looked like during the trip:
I have had far better meals (at least in terms of quantity) on UA in Basic Economy long haul than this. In addition, they've appeared to have moved to a buy on board menu for most items you would normally get these days including deserts and snacks. He also mentioned during the report that they may be short staffing their cabin crew. In particular, he mentioned that they only had one flight attendant per aisle serving meals (normally there are two) which significantly slowed down the on-board catering (first meal was served in 2 hours which while not the slowest seems a bit outside the ME3 standards).
You have not reported where you are travelling from which would also dictate what airline options are available to you.
Here's the video TripReport:
Safe Travels,
James
I have had far better meals (at least in terms of quantity) on UA in Basic Economy long haul than this. In addition, they've appeared to have moved to a buy on board menu for most items you would normally get these days including deserts and snacks. He also mentioned during the report that they may be short staffing their cabin crew. In particular, he mentioned that they only had one flight attendant per aisle serving meals (normally there are two) which significantly slowed down the on-board catering (first meal was served in 2 hours which while not the slowest seems a bit outside the ME3 standards).
You have not reported where you are travelling from which would also dictate what airline options are available to you.
Here's the video TripReport:
Safe Travels,
James