lucky9876coins

Hi Folks:

Back in November I took a trip to Abu Dhabi in Etihad Airways first class. While American is partners with Etihad in the meantime, I booked the ticket through ANA last January. Availability was excellent, so I decided I'd spend six days in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I used points to stay at the Park Hyatt in Dubai, while I used a buy one get one free weekend night certificate for my stay at the InterContinental Abu Dhabi.

Anyway, I wrote a trip report with a bunch of pictures on my blog, with the following installments:

Introduction
Etihad Check-in & The Lounge JFK
Etihad Airways First Class New York to Abu Dhabi
Park Hyatt Dubai
Exploring Dubai
Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab
InterContinental Abu Dhabi
Touring the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Etihad Check-in & First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways First Class Abu Dhabi to New York
Conclusion

Thanks for reading, and any questions/comments are of course welcome!

avm2806

great TR as always - love your blog!

vandiemen

Sounds pretty underwhelming, especially since Etihad is considered to be "up there" as an airline. The crew especially seems to need polish, a flaw that is similar to what many claim Emirates needs. Fantastic report, though, and thanks for pics of the amenity kit and PJs. Always love those!

econometrics

Thank you for the very detailed report. You gave a very (IMO) objective opinion here, and that's much appreciated! It's easy to get "wowed" by some of the more luxurious F airlines out there, and you did a great job of keeping your focus! ^

N830MH

Hey! It's good hear from you again. I'm glad you went to AUH. Wow! That's mpressive TR! Keep it up the good work.

avm2806

Also - I think you hit the nail on the head when describing Middle Eastern carriers - lots of flash with no service consistency. The mix of nationalities and extremely materialistic nature of the region I think has led to airlines that don't have much of a "soul". Flying airlines like CX, SQ, JL, NH and even 9W in First class I think is a far superior experience - there is much more a genuine sense of hospitality and warmth on these carriers that all the glitz and jazz can't make up for (and also of course decades of experience behind them that money or oil just can't buy).

camsean

Cool trip report, as always. Thanks for posting Lucky.

lucky9876coins

Thanks for the comments, folks!

Spot on. I'm planning on trying Emirates later in the year, though based on my experiences on Qatar and Etihad, that seems to be the case.

EK_Flyer

Great TR!

Thanks for sharing - it was good to know how EY look after their F pax

Cheers,

slodki

Superb! Thanks for sharing!

SFflyer123

Excellent TR, Lucky! Thank you for sharing this!

I just have one question for you lucky. With all the wonderful wines that they had on the flights, how come you didn't try any? You had a mimosa to start, so clearly you drink alcohol, but I was wondering how come you didn't try the nice wines with your meal? Thanks!

lucky9876coins

Thanks! You're not the first person to ask me that, so excellent question. I've gotta be honest, while I like a good glass of champagne or Baileys, Diet Coke with lime is my preferred drink with a meal. I'm just not really into wine.

A shame, I know, given that I do a fair bit of international first class travel.

piyush

Does any one know how lounge access works if you're connecting to JFK - AUH from another flight.

I'm flying ORD - JFK - AUH in F and will get my JFK - AUH BP in Chicago. Do you need the invitation to enter the lounge or will the BP suffice?

Thanks!

lucky9876coins

Unfortunately since they don't belong to any alliance and since they don't have their own lounge at ORD (they use a contract lounge), you wouldn't have access at ORD on account of your JFK-AUH flight.

piyush

Sorry about that. I was trying to ask about the lounge at JFK. I just went to the EY counter and got an invitation to the lounge. I'm not sure if just the BP will work.