Etihad’s Abu Dhabi hub sucks, plain and simple. If only there was a new terminal they could move to.
Hi there, my name is Kevin and I make honest and to the point narrated trip reports about airlines
and hotels all over the world. This is episode 118 and today we are completing our trip to Milan
with a flight in Etihad’s Business Class from Abu Dhabi. The full experience begins in 10 seconds.
Welcome to 11:00pm at Abu Dhabi’s International Airport- I just arrived
from Jakarta and have the pleasure of spending the next 4 hours here.
It’s been six years since I last here and I had high hopes that they would have kinda sorta maybe
sorted out the chaos that it used to be- news flash, that has yet to happen. As we navigate
the winding duty free menage where terminal 1 and 3 meet, check out the description below if
you’d like to know the exact fare that I paid or my next five videos in queue, but first.
The following video is an honest review of a flight that actually happened. This video is
not sponsored by any travel related company and was filmed anonymously. This video may include
praise for a soft blanket and/or disturbing nit-picky dialogue related to simmering urinals.
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When I began mounting my camera onto my spinner, I had no idea it would become a butt cam,
but here we are. Right now we are heading to the Business Class lounge in Terminal 3.
Etihad has transitioned from an airline with global ambitions to one with a boutique
mentality over the past years, something I spoke about in my last Etihad video.
But today I want to focus on their beautiful mid-field terminal which is just sitting there.
First, let’s take a quick stroll through the lounge and make our way to the shower suites.
I was 5th in line when I arrived with around a 20 minute wait. The space got the job done but it was
tiny and stifling hot and humid inside the shower suite- to the point where not only was I sweating
profusely, but even my carry ons needed to be wiped down once I found a seat in the lounge.
Oh, and the simmering urinals- you caught that? Yeah so I’m not including a photo or video of
it because it was vile, but in the primary men’s restroom, the only two urinals were literally at
a rolling boil with steam venting out- and it wasn’t clear water. I’ve never seen something
like it and don’t even know how it’s possible. That’s a great transition to talk about the
food on offer. It was fine, but nothing special. Sorry that I don’t have more footage of the food,
the lounge was so crowded that I wasn’t too comfortable leaving my
bags at my seat for any period of time. Time to head down to our bus gate one
level below the lounge in the area I like to refer to as the passenger punishment lounge.
As global travel began to recover after the 2008 recession,
Etihad, obviously supported by the Abu Dhabi government planned for a new midfield terminal
to replace their terminals which they projected to soon be capacity strained.
Construction of the midfield terminal began in 2012 and was due to open in 2017. In 2017,
it was still due to open in 2017, but was then suddenly delayed by 2 years. It’s been reported
that since 2019, the terminal has been 98% completed but has been sitting there unchanged
for three years, with the latest development being the government controlled airport operator
canceling the $3 billion construction contract in 2021. When or if really the new midfield
terminal will ever open is still unknown. I arrived at the teeny tiny gate area which
at the moment was servicing four different European flights luckily just a few minutes
before boarding. Let’s check out this early morning’s flight stats.
We’d be taking off almost an hour late and would climb to 38000
feet on this just under six hour flight to Milan, landing 9 minutes behind schedule.
Business class passengers, Etihad elite members and families with fourteen or more carry ons
were piled into a premium bus for our drive to our aircraft all of the way on the other side
of terminal 1. We did have some great widebody views though. With all of the changes Etihad has
gone through over the past years, it’s worth taking a closer look at their widebody fleet.
Today we’d be flying one of their 787-9s which they have 30 of with 11
more on order. They also have 9 of the -10 variant with 21 additional coming.
Five of the A350-1000s with the new business class interior with 15 more on the way, the
A350s meant to replace their fleet of 9 remaining 777s which are slowly being taken out of service.
I do think Etihad has one of the classier liveries out there though and I’m always a fan of an up in
your face engine view. I can’t wait to have this same view of a 777x if they ever find their way
into anyone’s fleet. Considering
we’re in the desert, not sure why the stair had to be covered and limit the beautiful views.
I stepped on board, turned left into what would be a completely sold out cabin and
would be nearly surrounded by children and babies. Oh joy.
Seats on this six year old 787-9 are the same as
my last flight but I’m just on the opposite side now in 8A.
On all 2-class 787-9 like ours is today, you’ll want to avoid row 9 due to a missing window-
in the three class version of this aircraft the missing window is at row 5. If you’re traveling
alone, the Alpha and Kilo seats are surely the best as you’re right next to the window
and also forward facing, which I don’t think makes a difference but I know many prefer it.
In general the seat just looks very smart and stylish- actually this one seems to be
in even better condition than my past flight which was still very good but on a newer
aircraft. My only gripe about these seats is how shallow the seat cushion itself is.
Here’s row nine with it’s missing window.
At each seat you’ll find a pillow waiting for you. Next to it you have
the fancy pants light fixture which also has a reading light on top.
Below it is your arm rest cum storage area with a literature pocket in front and a water bottle
holder on the side. Upon boarding the headphones and bottle of water are in the storage area.
On your foot rest you’ll find this morning’s menu as well as a wrapped blanket.
Duval-Leroy Brut Reserve was offered before takeoff and we can see our first look at the
amenity kit and browse the IFE on our remote, just next to the seat controls LED screen.
The chunky table uniquely folds out from the seat divider module and is
sturdy as a brick and moves far enough away to allow you to escape during meal service.
Then we have my favorite blanket in all of the skies. It’s a type of blanket that Qatar and
Turkish also offer but Etihad’s is just so so so much softer, almost unnaturally soft- well
not almost, surely it’s all polyester. I do wish it was as long as Qatar’s version though.
Just fine are the words I’d use to describe the pillow.
The foot cubby is especially deep, surely to balance out how shallow the seat cushion is.
Then we have the amenity kit. Don’t really understand this one. First,
the Acqua di Parma zipper bag is much more useful than the document clutch I got on my
last flight is- the thing I don’t understand is why there’s more stuff in this one,
including socks and an eye mask, when the other, which was a longer flight didn’t.
Headphones are also in the just fine category, though I still just use my own.
A peak at the menu and in the cockpit before we start our pushback.
You can see the octopus-like midfield terminal in the upper right.
We’d be taking off to the southeast before pulling a uey and heading up the Persian Gulf.
The spool up and take off are up next.
Bit of a nothing burger view- let’s pretend the cabin is still dark and take a look at the bed in
full flat mode. For the vast majority of sleepers it will make for a comfortable sleep, being both
long enough and wide enough to offer a bit of wiggle room in just about ever direction. Seat
covers are not provided, but the seats are fairly soft- actually the firmness can be controlled,
but I’m not a big fan of it since it makes you feel like you’re sitting on a flat balloon.
Our route today would take us just north of Qatar before crossing over Kuwait,
Iraq, Turkey and continuing over the Balkans. Most in the cabin chose to reserve a dish for
later in the flight and just go straight to sleep, but I had scientific research to do so I made
the disastrous decision of ordering a Cipriani Bellini. What can I say, I saw the bottle on my
previous flight and it looked pretty. Five stars for branding and packaging. Negative 18 stars for
taste. I cannot remember the last time I spit a drink out. I’m not sure I ever spit a drink out
before- and I’ve had raw fermented horse milk in Kyrgyzstan, it was better than this bellini.
Here’s the full menu for the flight. The service is all on demand and a la carte.
I’ve zoomed in on the good parts and have put US retail prices on the wine menu in red font.
For now, I just had a steak sandwich, which back in the day Etihad used to have quite
the reputation for. Almost as ubiquitous in flight reviews as the Lobster Thermidor
is in Singapore Airlines’ reviews. This one was flavorful and tough as tender flannel.
I ended up having a cheese and arugula sandwich and ate the
meat with a knife and fork since my teeth weren’t up the the challenge.
Bathrooms on board were identical to my last flight and kept in good condition throughout.
Bonus points if you already knew this was the same recycled clip from my last review.
As we passed over the oil fields- is that even what they’re called?- of Kuwait,
I settled in for a nap.
A few hours later I woke up over Serbia and saw first hand why some
people hate 787 windows. This is at their darkest setting. I don’t mind the light,
but I can say from experience that you can feel the heat from the
sun. We were crossing the
Croatian coast to the Adriatic Sea as my breakfast was served. It was ginormous. I reserved an Arabic
Breakfast in the beginning of the flight. In reality it was just all surprisingly bland.
The mango yogurt parfait ended up being my favorite thing on the tray since it just had
a bit of flavor. I was impressed to see a proper ice coffee glass though. That brings me to the
service. Generally my Flight Attendant on this flight was friendlier than on my previous but
my god she consistently got way too close when talking. I mean like six inches away from my face.
Anyway, she was very pleasant though, but the service did still feel rushed.
As we start our approach and cross directly over Venice, let me mention one weird thing
about the crew. When I boarded I was greeted by a male flight attendant who said he’d be taking
care of me on this flight. Very nice guy. A few minutes later though, there was a chat
between him and the purser. I mean, he didn’t punch her, but he didn’t look too thrilled.
He got his bag and got off the plane. A few moments later, the female flight attendant
who would actually be serving me came on board and introduced herself just before taxiing.
Don’t really know what happened. Only two things I can think of was he was fired or he tested
positive for COVID- but I have no idea what their testing protocols are these days. It was just odd.
The cabin was readied for arrival and we began our descent over northern Italy. For this flight,
I definitely chose a seat on the wrong side of the aircraft, missing out on those views of the Alps.
I did enjoy racing our shadow though. A quick
taxi brought us to our gate and to what seemed like an empty Milan Malpensa Airport.
Alright
so as we get into the Flip Flop score, what are we thinking? The flight itself was okay. Food could
have been better, service could have been paced better, but overall the flight itself was decent-
but that airport in Abu Dhabi is a haphazard mess and even with Etihad still running at
reduced capacity compared to pre-Covid, the airport was still ready to burst at the seams.
Etihad has done well transforming their business and returning to profitability, but without that
new midfield terminal, they’re never going to be a truly premium boutique carrier. I hope you enjoyed
this video and will give it a thumbs up and turn on notifications so you will catch my four videos
which will include some beautiful hotels in Milan and a Singapore Airlines business class flight.