I have always wanted to fly on an Airbus A380, one of the largest commercial planes in service that also has two levels. It’s not everyday that you get the chance to sit on a double decker plane! After spending a few days in London visiting family, it was time for me to fly to Osaka. For the first segment, I got the opportunity to fly on Etihad Airways’ business class product on their Airbus A380 out of London Heathrow Airport. This was my first time flying with Etihad which had been on my bucket list for some time. I think every award travel enthusiast should fly a Gulf Carrier at least once!
Here is the full review!
Table of Contents
Check in and Pre-Departure
My brother and were staying at the Hyatt Regency London Stratford and we took an Uber to the airport which took about 50 minutes at 6am in the morning. Upon arriving at London Heathrow’s Terminal 4, we quickly made our way to the Etihad check in lane. Our flight was scheduled to leave in just 2 hours and we were running on a time crunch.
Etihad has dedicated check in desks for premium cabin customers and luckily there was no line. Etihad is one of the few airlines that offer several ultra luxury premium cabins that bests some of the top first class offerings. Upon check-in we were able to use the priority security lanes and make our way through the terminal to the Etihad lounge. Prior to going to lounge, I made a quick stop at the Harrods store located in the terminal to pick up a few last minute gifts.
The Lounge
I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this lounge. The lounge was small, tucked away in the lower levels of the terminal with no views of the tarmac. On the other hand, the lounge was fairly empty and served a nice variety of Western and Middle Easter breakfast items and drinks. I found the food to be excellent and ended up with a protein packed egg breakfast and a latte.
Boarding
I was excited to be flying on a double decker plane for the first time. It has always been a dream to fly on an Airbus A380. Unfortunately you don’t get to walk up stairs during the boarding process. Boarding was done with 2 separate lanes with premium cabin passengers on the upper deck getting their own lane and jet bridge that connected directly to the second level. It would have been an amazing experience to walk up the stairs!
Anyhow, boarding was quick and within minutes of arriving at our seat, a flight attendant came over and greeted us by name before taking drink orders. Etihad boarding and pre-departure service is some of the best and comparable to my favorite carrier Qatar Airways!
The Cabin
Business Class on board Etihad’s Airbus A380 is situated in a 1-2-1 format with rows alternating between forward facing and rear facing (essentially flying backwards). Prior to selecting my seat, I made sure to figure out which rows faced backwards and avoided those rows. For context, I flew from LAX to LHR on American’s rear facing business class seats and could not tell the difference once we got to cruising altitude.
Etihad’s cabin is elegant decorated with soft colors that mimic the Abhu Dhabi’s color scheme of a desert oasis. Abu Dhabi is one of the states in the United Arab Emirates as well as a city within the Emirate. In essence there’s the emirate and city of Abu Dhabi. The soft sandy colors coupled with the nice finishing touches to the lights really made the cabin pop. While the seat itself did not include a suite door, the seat was comfy and definitely a few notches above the typical American based carrier.
Food
Food as expected from a United Arab Emirates based carrier was excellent. This flight was about 7 hours so a main meal was served after takeoff with a light snack prior to landing in Abu Dhabi. Etihad’s meal service does take some time and feels a bit drawn out, but I enjoyed the process for an early morning flight. If I was taking a red-eye, the slower service may have drawn a negative mark.
To start I was given warm nuts and a sparkling water. Roughly 10-15 minutes later I received my starter of Arabic Mezze which included humus, dolma and other regional specialties. A small salad was also served.
My main was a simple dish or shrimp and rice which was solid. I’m not the biggest fan of shrimp on a plane but it tasted fine to me.
I wasn’t really hungry, but did opt to finish the meal with a yuzu matcha cheesecake that was amazing. It was one of my favorite deserts I’ve ever had on a plane.
Overall Thoughts
This was my first time flying Ethihad Business Class and I was more than impressed. The brand does an excellent job end to end with great interior color schemes, a seamless pre-departure experience, to fantastic onboard service. I had a wonderful time flying with Etihad and would definitely love to travel with them again. Overall, I think this was one of my favorite experiences!
If have the option to fly Etihad, I would definitely recommend it!
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