Review Etihad Airways Business, Milan Malpensa - Abu Dhabi

Paul‘s Flight Report for

Etihad Airways

Flight: EY80

Route: MXP - AUH

Aircraft: Boeing 787-9

Flight Time: 5 hours 40 minutes

Travel Class: Business Class

General Impressions:

Ground Product:

Inflight Product:

Before the Flight :

Check-in Process:

Security Control:

Lounge:

Information:

Boarding @ Gate:

Staff @ these points:

Boarding in Cabin:

Welcome Drinks:

Punctuality:

, 23 min delay

During the Flight :

Food presentation:

Food quality:

Drinks:

Service Procedure:

Amenity Kit:

Entertainment System:

Seat Quality:

Legroom:

Lavatories:

Cleanliness:

General Atmosphere:

Announcement Pilots:

Announcement Cabin:

Cabin Crew:

After the Flight :

De-Boarding:

Baggage Delivery: in transit

—-

= bad, a lot of work needs to be done

= poor, you will be busy with corrections

= good & normal, nothing special

= high level, but the icing on the cake is missing

= topnotch, leave me here!

= Half a Point/sheep

—-

On the Ground:

Check-in of Etihad Airways in Milan was in Terminal 1, row 15.

We arrived around 3 hours and 15 minutes prior departure at the check-in area.

The waiting lines at check-in were already massive in both classes.

Etihad Airways Staff (Etihad Uniform not Ground Handler) was sorting the queues in a Military way with commanding people around.

Even the agents were there, ready and sitting at the desk, playing on the mobile phones, they only opened check-in sharp 3 hours prior departure. They had 2 business class counters, 4 bag drops for Economy and 4 counters for economy.

Staff was not super friendly and Check-in was not efficient which might come from the passengers background mix.

Once the check-in was done the agent explained which lounge we were entitled to use, where to find fast track for security as well as the boarding gate and time.

Security as always was no problem at Milan Malpensa Airport and there was no queue at all at the fast track.

Once through security we headed to emigration and also here no queue. The automated gates were all open.

After having done all the formalities we headed to our departure Terminal B to the Lounge.

Etihad Airways has contracted the Pergolesi lounge as their lounge at Milan Malpensa.

Staff at reception was very friendly, staff at the buffet was more military style.

The lounge itself is very modern as it was renovated about a year ago. They do have a lot of seating space and we had no problem to find two seats for us.

The F&B product was good. A nice buffet with cold and hot snack items, a very empty and tattered salad bar as well as a full bar. Food was okay, most of it already sitting for a while.

We were at our departure gate around 10 minutes prior the indicated boarding time and boarding started right on time.

Priority boarding was done as per procedure. Announcements for boarding were clear and understandable.

Staff at the gate was friendly but nothing out of the ordinary or to write about.

All in all a rather average ground experience at Milan Malpensa Airport.

Only one bridge for boarding was used.

At the aircraft door we were greeted by the cabin manager and a flight attendant who were checking the boarding passes.

The other cabin crew members were in the cabin and super friendly and helpful during the boarding process.

The seats were already equipped with a very comfortable and fluffy pillow, a comfy blanket and a seat mattress / cover. In the compartments next to the seat there were some noise cancelling head phones as well as a small water bottle.

On the surface next to the seat there was the amenity kit and the menu card.

Once installed in the seat and seated, the crew came by asked for a welcome drink. We were able to choose from fresh orange juice, champagne or lime/mint. They offered actively a second one as it was rather warm in the cabin.

Once everyone was on board, the crew also passed with slippers and served hot towels.

After the safety demonstration the crew passed by to take the orders for the meal service. They asked about our choice for dinner as well as for breakfast.

Inflight:

The Etihad Airways business class on this Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was the second newest business class product Etihad Airways offers on their flights.

Our Aircraft had 28 seats in one big business class cabin between door 1 and 2.

Etihad Airways does not offer a Premium Economy, they only had two classes on this plane.

Business Class has a 4 seats abrest in a 1-2-1 configuration.

We would have chosen two seats in the middle of the aircraft during booking, but about 1 week prior departure one of the seats was taken away and we were splitted around in the cabin. One day prior departure I was able to secure two seats next to each other over the aisle.

The seats are fully lie flat and very comfortable. You got a lot of private space.

With only 5 hours and 40 minutes flight time, I only had a little nap. The bed was comfortable and I had enough space with my shoulders to sleep on my back.

After take off, once the fasten seat belt sign was switched off, the cabin crew started very swiftly with their inflight service. The service was absolutely impeccable and completely by the books and procedures.

They started with an aperitif service right after take off before they started with the service.

The tableware and glasses Etihad Airways uses are from Armani Casa. The design is amazing. The champagne was offered in a classic champagne flute glass and the wine in real wine glasses. Soup was offered in a bowl and every dish came in the right tableware.

For the main service the crew passed and set up the tables with a very nice embroidered table cloth and set up the dinner. I did choose the traditional mezze platter and some ice cream for dinner whilst my better half did choose the soup and warm apple pie.

The dinner was served with some bread and a very fresh salad.

All the food was simply wow. Very tasty, fresh and delicious.

Along with the dessert, you were able to choose from a huge list of freshly made coffee and tea.

Quality wise I would rank this inflight meal on the high end again. The food was super delicious, well presented and the portions were on the right side for airplane meals. The cabin crew did an amazing job and was absolutely top notch.

After the main service, the cabin was cleared, and the lights were dimmed for some rest. With the short flight time there was only some time left for a nap.

Around 50 minutes prior arrival in Abu Dhabi the crew served breakfast.

I had some fresh fruit and the omelette accompanied by a absolutely fantastic Coffee Latte.

The amenity is now from Giorgio Armani & ESPA. The kit is okay for a 5,5 hours flight and offers a toothbrush, earplugs, eye mask some lip balm and body lotion.

The inflight entertainment is good and the screens have a good size and resolution for business class. The screens are touch screens, but it takes a little while until they respond, but the system was super reliable.

The inflight entertainment is offered in different languages and Etihad Airways has a good choice in movies, music as well as TV shows. A nice feature is that you are able to start a film a the same time as your neighbor so can watch it simultaneously.

This Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 also offers WiFi on board.

Prices are great for. WiFi. The package for our entire flight only cost 9.99 US$. For Etihad Guest members the texting only option is free of charge.

Toilets were super clean throughout the entire flight and the cabin crew checked them super regularly and stocked and cleaned them all the time. I found the toilets very nice and bigger in size compared to other airlines. Etihad Airways has its own design and fabrics in the lavatories.

Announcements from the flight deck and from the cabin crew were clear and understandable. Unfortunately both were way to fast.

After the Flight:

Arrival in Abu Dhabi was at a gate position.

As we are continuing to Colombo in two hours, we do not have to pick up our bags and we stay in transit.

Stay tuned for our next flight review for our flight from Abu Dhabi to Colombo on board an Etihad Airways Airbus A321!

Summary:

All in all, a fantastic flight with Etihad Airways.

The inflight service was stunning and everything was delicious. The crew did an absolutely amazing job. They were top notch and interacted with the guests.

The hard product such as seat and amenities were very good.

We liked the inflight experience and the product Etihad Airways offers and we would recommend Etihad Airways based on this flight experience.