Being a very tall person (201 cms) would you recommend calling EY to make sure they have a XXL/XXXL sleeper suit available when we fly first SYD-AUH-FRA return in September ? Or is it like flying an Asian airline where they just have "one size fits all" slippers that hardly fit my hand ?

That sounds wonderful - look forward to seeing it. :)

I might try and get some similar enthusiasm going - I feel I should contribute something after years of lurking on these boards. :D

We have an interesting combination as well - Qantas Y to Sydney - Etihad F to London, Club Europe on BA to Istanbul and Turkish Airlines J to Antalya. I am looking forward to comparing all the Lounges as well!

Wouldn't do any harm to ask although from what I have heard Etihad's ground staff are not that helpful.....

You are spot on. Gave them a ring and instead of giving me a clear answer they said I should take along my own comfortable wear in case they don't have my size on board. No harm done, will just take my own trackies along for the trip.

Certainly a lot of flying to get to Turkey. Didn't I read somewhere that EY and TK just signed a code share agreement ? Would have thought that EY could have flown you in to Istanbul.

We are flying QF in to SYD and EY SYD-AUH-FRA return and have 3 nights in Abu Dhabi. It is our first trip without the little kids who are staying home with grandma. My wife keeps on talking about this being our second honeymoon

Oh dear - now I have to confess to doing too much wheeling and dealing and ending up with a weird itinerary. :cool:

Went something like this - was going to go J on EK to Dubai and then Istanbul. Didn't like the reports on the strange J configuration EK has, where every second row seems to have shorter seats. So thought would pay extra and go J on BA to London and then connect to Istanbul. Because of the long wait in transit in Dubai, actual travel time was almost the same. BA were having a special where Sydney to London was really cheap, but if you booked to Istanbul it went back to fullprice J. Then I noticed if I booked J LHR to IST separately on BA's site it was cheap as well. So I booked that, meant to book the Syd LHR separately on Zuji, but got busy and distracted and by the time I got back to it I had missed the special :o

So there I was with a London Istanbul leg and nothing that I wanted to fly to connect to it at a reasonable rate. That was when I started searching the highways and byways and after a short flirtation with MAS came across the Etihad 1st class specials and so booked them. Because we are concerned about connections in and out of London, we are actually spending a night in London either side which I am quite happy to do as I always love visiting London and hitting the book shops (while Mr FM and Ms FM look for clothes). I am trying to fit in afternoon tea at the Ritz, although currently Mr FM is refusing point blank to take a tie and jacket with him.

Sounds great - we always flew with ours and much as I love them it was difficult. I just couldn't stand the thought of being away from them though. A second honeymoon sounds wonderful and your wife will probably really enjoy the break from kids. My 3 are 18+ and life is much easier these day. :rolleyes:

Our little devils are nearly 3 and 8 months old twins. We actually took them to Germany in May flying JL in economy and had a miserable trip. Our, at time 2 1/2 years old, son couldn't understand why he was locked-up in a tin can for 20 hours plus so he decided to run up and down the plane for the entire trip and explore the air craft. Tried all sorts of recommended tricks (DVD, toys, Medicine) but nothing worked so we are really looking forward to this trip in first without kids even though we will miss them but they are in good care with grandma and our au pair girl.

Oh you poor thing - I couldn't even contemplate what it would be like trying to travel with twins of that age! We did one trip with a 10 month old, but it was two of us to one baby, so we could take turns to eat etc. Very hard on the toddler as well. After the first trip with the 10 month old we decided not to travel economy again overseas. We are comfortable rather than wealthy, so spending the extra on airfares has meant making choices, but we love travelling and travelling in J or F with children is so much easier. More space so you can entertain them more easily, meals come quicker, so you can settle them down to sleep. Also in BA in First they have a video library and individual players in the seats and the kids used to corner the few children's videos and play them non stop. There are a lot of negative comments on these boards about kids travelling in F and J, but we always used to make sure that we sat with them and ensured they didn't disturb anyone. The hosties used to love them and quite often they would leave the plane with bags of chocolates they had been given!

Well you definitely deserve your trip on your own in first to rest and recuperate. ;)

Oooo I'm so glad I found this thread. Taking off in 2 days on Etihad F and this has just made my day. Me wants a sleeper suit :-)

I'll be sure to post some reports of my F experience although after sitting in Y many times, I'll be grateful for anything over and over that. haha

Happy travels from Diva

Hi Diva

I found your blog about a month ago when I was trying to find out info about Etihad. You look like you have an awesome itinerary - hope you enjoy every minute of it and yes we will look forward to your reports. :)

You will really enjoy first vs economy!

Hi Diva,

hope you are enjoying your trip and can't wait to hear about your F experience. Am getting a bit concerned as I have been reading more and more mixed reviews about EY C and F product. Anywhere from very good to unpolished service, unfriendly and poor service from the flight attendants, etc.

Just hope my wife and I won't be disappointed as this is our first trip without the kids and we call this trip our second honeymoon.

The service from FAs is great although it varies some are very hospitable while others go through the motions. My concern is that the food portions are quite small...yes, you can order whatever you want, but the portions are small so you have to order a lot on longer flights if you're hungry. The seats are fantastic though!

Diva has put a short report on her blog and she seems to have had an excellent experience with Etihad.

Most of the negative comment I have seen on the net has been from economy passengers and also about the seats malfunctioning (which kinda worries me as I am really focused on flat beds....). Also ground staff seem to be pretty bad, so if something does go wrong on the ground, that could sour things.

However I also think that attitude is a lot. People who are really frequent flyers get so used to J and F that they become quite picky about small things. In your case just being able to get away from the kids is going to be great, so everything else will be a bonus and seen through rosy spectacles. I would suggest a few glasses of bubbly to set the scene and then enjoy every minute. :)

Sounds good to me! I like to try lots of things, but can't really eat that much. Sounds like this might be like a degustation menu. :D Talking of which in 2007 we flew frm Sydney to Singapore with Qantas in F and they had a brand new degustation menu. Mr FM, who is quite slight, although can eat a lot, decided to try it. (He also hates wasting food). The FA obviously had no idea what to do with it, so instead of bringing "tastes" for each course, she served a full meal. By the time he had worked though about 5 full meals, he had to admit defeat and give up on the rest of the degustaion menu. :)