Etihad Airways » Pearl Business » User reviews

FrustratedRegistration flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A340-500 (3-class new) (28/02/2012 12:52)

The limo transfer from Dubai was efficiently managed through SMS, was on time and had a better car than when in First (see other review).

Etihad's dedicated terminal in Abu Dhabi is very smart and I was checked in quickly. I've read a lot of horror stories about the lounge being standing room only but when I was in it there were only about 15 others. Having said that the whole terminal was empty and London was the only long-haul flight on the board.

The lounge is very pleasant and offers all waiter service though at times the waiters looked more interested in the TV than in serving the guests. I boarded late-ish and there was no queue so I was surprised to see the business class cabin absolutely full. I stood around like a hopeful debutante at a ball waiting for someone to take my jacket and only when I grabbed someone was it taken.

I believe the seat was the old one (sea green colour). So far as I am aware it is in storage space that the new one wins and the space for sitting is much the same, ie very tight. I would caution anyone against travelling in the middle pair of seats unless they are very intimate with other passenger as there seemed to be no privacy screen between the seats and because of the general layout you are cocooned in the perfect little love nest - which might not be what you want with a total stranger.

I had a window seat which provides a lot of privacy and a few bonus places on the floor to lay stuff. However, I was quickly pulling the seat apart to try to find where on earth these stray bolts were coming from that were jabbing into my rear. Eventually the penny dropped that these were the nodes for the massage seat. To me they felt about 1 cm thick and very noticeable. I spent most of the flight sitting on my duvet. When laid out you are fine as your weight is more distributed but when eating or working all your weight sits on those nasty little nodes.

Etihad prides themselves on "inspired service" which means, basically, that much is on demand and also that each approach from the steward/ess is specifically for you. That in turn means no trolley appears, ever, and every serving of a passenger requires the crew to make a dedicated trip from the galley to you and back again.... and then the whole thing again for your wine.... and then the whole thing again if you fancy water. This approach works fine if there is a high crew to passenger ratio but Etihad is no different to most airlines. The crew do work very hard but in the end I think the whole model fails.

The food itself was OK and the wines good.

On arrival there was a man at the carousel taking premium bags off (which didn't happen in First in Abu Dhabi). There is a dedicated transfer desk in T4 but, also unlike Abu Dhabi, all the drivers were ready and waiting.

Once again not a bad flight but it did not come up to the expectation which Etihad had raised in me by their advertising.

BrumTraveller flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A330-300 (06/01/2012 12:46)

I recently travelled FRA/AUH/BKK/AUH/BRU in C.

Boarding – handled very well on the FRA/AUH and AUH/BKK sectors. Boarding started nice and early and the flight was ready to depart well before the scheduled time. At BKK there was the usual incompetent ground staff (no matter which airline, I always find the ground staff at BKK to be hopeless). The queue to have boarding cards checked before entering the holding lounge went up all the way up the ramp to the upper level, and this was after boarding had actually started. Turns out there was only one person checking boarding cards and no premium line at all. On the AUH/BRU sector the flight left from Gate 6. What a horrible area – it really detracts from the quality EY experience.

Seat – this is where EY falls behind much of the competition. On 3 of the 4 sectors I, thankfully, got the “old style” new seats. On the FRA/AUH sector on a 333 I had the new seats, which I thought were positively dangerous. There is a huge hinge for the tray table sticking out precisely at knee level and within a few centimetres of my knee. Any sudden bump of turbulence and I was in danger of smashing my kneecap. Whoever at EY approved this design should be transferred to honey wagon duties.

The tray tables on the older style seats were much better in that there were no exposed hinges and they could be left open above the footrest area, allowing easy access to the seat. This is all the more important given the total lack of storage space. Do the seat designers never fly themselves? I always use an Ipad and my own noise cancelling headphones. The only place these could be stored was on the footrest. Drinks glasses had to be placed on the open tray table as the glass tray in the armrest was too small and invited knocking over of the glass with the slightest movement.

The Emirates C class seat on the A380 is basically the same as the EY seat (in terms of style and layout) yet EK can manage to provide plenty of storage and shelf space. EY could also look at the new LX business class seat to see how much better the seats can be on A330s and A340s.

Cabin crew – this is where EY shine. On each sector the crew were, without exception, friendly, helpful and efficient. On 3 of the 4 sectors, business class was completely full but this did not affect the service in any way, as it can often do on other airlines.

My only slightly negative observation on the crew is that the dine anytime system tends to make the crew more reactive rather than proactive as it is up to the passenger to request what he or she wants and when. Also, without the structure of set meal services, there is constant coming and going from the galley with the curtains being constantly drawn open with the result that bright light floods the darkened cabin. Also it means that the cabin crew are walking up and down the aisles for a substantial proportion of the flight, potentially disturbing those who are trying to sleep.

My comments in the previous paragraph are simply observations on how the dining system can cause unwanted problems. My experience was that the crews did their very best to minimise the disturbance to other passengers.

Food and drink – I found the food to be of a high quality and the portions were a reasonable size. I do miss having a cheese and dessert trolley as whether or not I have anything after the main course often depends on what looks good on the trolley.

The wine choices were of a high standard but the spirit selection was somewhat basic. At least EY use decent size glasses to serve drinks in unlike the thimbles TG uses.

Summary – overall an excellent airline with a great soft product. However, the hard product is too far behind the competition. If it weren’t for the dreadful (and potentially dangerous) seats and lack of storage, I would happily transfer most of my flights to the Gulf, Asia and Australia to EY. As it is, I may use EY again if the price is right but, unfortunately, it will be far from my first choice.

YOMAMASOFAT flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A340-600 (3-class new) (25/08/2011 18:20)

I flew CBR-MEL-AUH-ATH one-way in Business. I flew Qantas from CBR-MEL and got to experience the awesome Qantas Business lounge in Canberra. It was much better than their Sydney and Melbourne lounges. Other than that, Qantas is not good and if you can, avoid it unless you're in business or premium economy.

They're ok. I'm just ranting on about Qantas, aren't I? Let's talk about the greatness of Etihad, shall we.

At 1930, I got picked up by a van (Etihad limo service for 6 people + driver) and driven to Melbourne Airport for the flight to Abu Dhabi.

Check-in was quite quick, as the Business queue was deserted. I did have a bit of trouble at security (my CD wallet is lime-green and apparently looked like a liquid(hahaha!).

I was airside by 2100 and the first thing I saw when I entered the Air New Zealand lounge was "Is this a lounge or an economy class departure lounge?" The food was OK but there was nothing to do. Although my flight was supposed to leave at 22:10, I got called at 21:10. My family and I waited until the final call at 21:30 and then headed up to the plane.

As I didn't know whether I would get the new or the old seat, I was very anxious to see. Fortunately, it was the new one.

I was in seat 12K at the very back corner of Business class. My family sat in seats 11D, G, H and 12E and F. Before take-off, I was offered water and a hot towel. I was thinking 'How good's this?, as I had only ever been on Qantas and Virgin Australia previously.

We took off at 22:04 and as soon as the seatbelt sign went off, the air hostesses came and took dinner orders. I ordered a veal cutlet and mashed potato. It was the best aeroplane food ever! Dessert was ice cream with a delicious biscuit on top. I then started watching "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2" as I had not seen it yet. The E-box is easy to use and you can just fast-forward past the ads. About halfway in, i paused and started playing bkackjack against the AI opponent and won lots of "money" I then reclined the seat flat and slept for five hours on that super-comfy bed.

The service was very good, although my mother complained of a rude hostess (I was on the other aisle so i didn't have to worry about that). About 2 hours out from landing, I got airsick (my travel medicine wore off) The purser was very helpful , as I went through 6 sick bags (poor me :( ).

I arrived in Abu Dhabi at 6:00am and I used their awesome lounge. Some of these reviews say that there is only one shower, but there are actually 6 more in the spa. I had a shower there and had breakfast. I tried surfing the internet in the business centre, but Safari kept blocking my Facebook and Gmail (security). I gave up and fixed this when I arrived in Athens with Google Chrome. The food was very good (especially if you love fried stuff).

At 9am, a staff member who had taken us to the lounge (this was a surprise) took us down to the taxiway and instead of being bussed, we got driven in 2 cars (there were 6 of us after all!) to our plane, an Airbus A320-200.

I sat in seat 2A, a window seat, but as there were only 2 people in the cabin apart from my family, we moved around a bit. I ended up landing in seat 1A. The inflight entertainment was the same as the longer flight, which is good (*cough* *cough* Qantas). I watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and played more blackjack (i like playing it). the lunch wasn't one of the best aeroplane lunches ever, but it was better than some food, such as Virgin's food (and you have to pay for that!).

I landed in Athens at 1300, 25 min. ahead of schedule. I got through immigration quite quickly and I had to help heave 7 check-in bags and 6 carry-on bags to a minibus (not from Etihad, as they don't do the limo service in Athens).

DisgustedofSwieqi flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A340-600 (3-class new) (10/07/2011 05:39)

As a resident of Malta, who travels regularly to the Middle East, options were affected when British Airways decided to withdraw from serving the islands. This meant trying to find ‘through’ tickets from agents such as Expedia or risking the journey with two separate tickets, which usually meant allowing several hours of ‘buffer’ between flights.

Air Malta and Etihad Airways launched a codeshare last year, facilitating a single ticket trip from Malta to Abu Dhabi, with snug connections through London Heathrow terminal 4 and with a regular business class fare of approximately 1,530 euros, which represents very god value for money. This report chronicles my first use of this service.

I could not check in online for the flight (Air Malta uses a Sabre system for this) and had to report to the business class counter, where my baggage was checked all the way through to AUH, but only the London boarding pass was issued, due to system mismatches. This is not acceptable and the two airlines need to work on a solution to allow check in all the way through.

I will not describe the Air Malta segment to Heathrow, as I have previously reported typical business class flight. This one was no exception, although due to traffic flow restrictions from the UK, we did depart about one or late and as my connection was 1 hour 45 minutes, this was less than helpful, although beyond Air Malta’s control.

Arriving at Heathrow on 27L was helpful, as the taxi to terminal 4 was short and fast. Flight connections was quiet and so was the Etihad ticket desk, so I found myself walking virtually all the length of terminal 4 to get to flight connections and then half the way back, to gate 10. This was not user friendly, but then Heathrow generally isn’t in my 33 years of experiencing it.

Arriving towards the end of boarding, I was greeted on board the A340-600 by name and escorted to seat 11G, a nice touch more often encountered in first class, than in business. I was asked for my choice of pre-flight drink and requested a glass of water.

The seat was a middle aisle seat and my initial impressions were that it was a little narrow. Later when I decided to sleep, I found it just wide enough to be comfortable and truly a flat bed. Compared to British Airway’s business class seat, it is not quite as wide ad is a little firmer. Having said that, I did sleep well on the seat.

When my glass of water arrived, I was asked for my after take-off drink and given a menu. I was surprised to discover that dining would be at my convenience and two main courses were on offer, with some alternative ‘light’ meals options.

The flight pushed back on schedule, followed by the normal 20 minute tax at Heathrow.

After take-off, I received a glass of G H Mumm cord rouge, which I thought was a reasonable fizz for a business class cabin and then decided to sleep, in the knowledge that I could eat later. Later turned out to be over Romania, where the aircraft had a slight turbulence encounter that woke me.

I decided to order a steak sandwich from the light menu and it came in about 20 minutes and was delicious. I often wonder why airlines try to produce restaurant style experiences, when a lot of us just want a good sandwich.

The service from the cabin crew was enthusiastic, but slightly ‘gauche.’ An example of this was after dinner, when I asked for a small glass of brandy and I waited over 15 minutes, following which a flustered stewardess arrived apologetically with a glass of (delightful) champagne cognac, saying how sorry she was that the aircraft had no brandy loaded, but that her colleague said this was similar. I had visions of the crew unpacking all the atlas boxes in search of the mythical drink!

Having recounted this amusing incident, I much prefer an enthusiastic approach to a smooth robotic service, so it did not in any way detract from the flight.

The inflight entertainment package looked similar to Emirates (which is intended as a compliment), although I did not use it on this overnight sector. The screen at my seat was about the same size as a 15” laptop, although fixed to the end of my seat pod, one did not get the impression of it being 5” larger than the BA business class screen, which is located nearer.

I dropped off to sleep over Turkey and woke up to the ‘bong’ of the seat belt sign, about 40 minutes out of Abu Dhabi, the crew had let me sleep through breakfast, per my preference.

Arrival was a bit of a shambles, being on a remote stand and with the air stairs being replaced after a few first class passengers had de-planed.

We were coached into terminal 1 and I discovered that my suitcase had not arrived, not a complete surprise given a tight connection at Heathrow. The same thing happened last year with an Air Malta/British Airways connection of over two hours and is not acceptable. Air Malta and Etihad need to get their act together and coordinate the delivery of ‘rush bags’ from flights running late on a tight connection.

Service recovery was professional, with an immediate cash payment of 200 AED for necessities and a promise that the case would arrive on the next flight from Heathrow, which it did at around 1915. A courier delivered the case at 0430 the next morning, which prevented me having my clothes pressed before work, but at least they arrived. I received an email, later in the day, advising me of progress and when I called later in the evening, I was promptly given the cell phone number of the courier, so that I could feel comfortable that the case would arrive – anyone who has ever waited for missing cases will understand how reassuring this was.

Overall, I would rate the flight as good value for money and the experience is very different to British Airways, with better food, better IFE (not that this is important to me), comparable drinks, slightly inferior seat (although I got nearly five hours sleep on a 6 hour 40 minute flight), much worse check in facilities, very different service with enthusiasm versus professionalism, but perhaps more importantly, very good ground service when things went wrong.

RichardRg flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A340-600 (3-class new - 2) (19/06/2011 20:11)

A little delayed, but finally, here is a report from my trip in April to Sydney on Etihad in J.

I’m sorry, but I can’t resist making some rather unfavourable comparisons with BA, but given that this flight was about £1000 cheaper than the BA fare, I don’t see that there can be any harm in making such comparisons. I realise that Etihad is bankrolled by the UAE, but there is still no excuse for BA’s failure to deliver an acceptable product.

Anyway, I realise that gripes are a bore, so let me get back to Etihad. I was going down to Australia to meet the sixth-month-old son of my oldest friend, who emigrated about four years ago. I did look into flyluxury4less, as my dad and brother-in-law had both used them recently for first class tickets to China, and I was about to book with them, when I found out that they wouldn’t accept credit cards, and, frankly, I didn’t want to shell out that sort of cash from my bank account. So, I booked, as usual, through Expedia, which I highly recommend. There was an excellent first class fare on Etihad for the dates, but I restrained myself and booked into Business Class.

I had read a lot about Etihad’s J class seat (Pearl Zone) and the feedback was pretty mixed. I can understand the criticisms of the seat that I had read, although I didn’t necessarily agree with them, but these have been addressed in Etihad’s new generation J class seat, which, to my complete surprise, featured on 3 of the 4 legs on this trip. I hadn’t seen this seat advertised or featured anywhere, either on this site or, indeed, on Etihad’s own website, which I found surprising.

Anyway, the new cabin, as I have tried to capture in this report and photographs, should appease the detractors. I should point out, however, that I found it very difficult to do the cabin justice in my photos, so please be tolerant!

Ok, so to the trip and the features. Firstly, limo service in Business Class is great. I live 96.8 miles from Terminal 4 at LHR, so was just within the 100 mile radius for EY’s J class rules. I was unable to book the limo service on EY’s website – I just kept going round in circles on there – but the call centre staff, based, I believe, in India, were very helpful and the limo service itself was very good. Nice ride in a BMW 730D (this means nothing to me, but it might to people who know about cars). Water and newspapers were in the car, and despite a major pile-up on the M3, we arrived in good time, as we diverted.

I have to say, I love the EY lounge at LHR. It is a combined F/J lounge, but caters more towards the F end. It is a little small perhaps, but then flight EY18 was the only flight going out that night, so it was easily big enough to cope with the passengers on that flight. I was quite early arriving, and was offered spa treatments by the very friendly spa staff, but I didn’t really fancy them (the treatments, I mean, not the staff). There is a bar, but also waiter service, and I have to say the staff were outstanding. I am torn between this lounge and the Virgin Atlantic LHR clubhouse as my favourite lounge. I think EY might just have it, but perhaps unfairly, as the last time I was in the VS lounge, the hot water had failed, and so there was not hot food. However, the food in EY lounge was excellent. The A la carte menu was a bit limited, but the buffet selection was superb. I had a bit of everything – tiger prawn salad, chicken and Singapore noodle salad, spinach, beetroot and goat’s cheese salad, all delicious. I then moved on to hot dishes of pasta with fresh parmesan, and beef stew and excellent potatoes dauphinoise. I do realise that I sound like a pig now. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to fly Emirates First Class down to Australia, and experienced their lounge at Gatwick. Etihad’s lounge at LHR beats it hands down.

Seating area in LHR lounge:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1513.jpg[/IMG]

Sit down meal area in lounge:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1513.jpg[/IMG]

Buffet selection:
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Buffet selection 2:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1516.jpg[/IMG]

Bar area in lounge:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1517.jpg[/IMG]

Dining area in lounge:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1518.jpg[/IMG]

Arabic coffee just before departure. Departure wasn’t announced until about 15 minutes before scheduled departure time, but the gate was virtually opposite the lounge, so F/J passengers could board very easily after the majority of passengers were already on board.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1519.jpg[/IMG]

I was greeted at the door by name, and escorted to my seat. Always such a nice touch. And here’s the much advertised J class seat:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1521.jpg[/IMG]

Footrest and ptv:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1524.jpg[/IMG]

And my feet! I have read numerous complaints about Etihad’s J class seat, but I suppose because the people who choose to review seats on sites like airlinequality are generally only writing reviews because they have had a negative experience.

However, I am 6 foot tall and of medium build, and the seat was plenty big enough for me, both in seated and bed positions. It is true that storage for small items or a drink/water bottle was lacking, and there could be more room for one’s feet, but these issues have all been successfully addressed in Etihad’s new J cabin, more of which later. There was plenty of room in overhead lockers, although there were no lockers over the central seats. The window seat in this cabin is clearly the best for people travelling on their own – very private. There is one criticism that I did have of the cabin on all four legs of the flight, however, and that was that it was kept uncomfortably warm, making sleep difficult. I have read that airlines up the temperature to make passengers fall asleep, but in my experience exactly the opposite is achieved.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1526.jpg[/IMG]

Pre-departure champagne. Hot towels were also distributed on small wooden trays, rather than with tongs.
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I just loved this warning! Can only imagine what had happened in the past!
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Amenity kit turned into a shoulder bag, but not sure who would actually use it as such!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1529.jpg[/IMG]

Menus distributed – didn’t realise you’re not really allowed to keep them! I did though.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1531.jpg[/IMG]

Chardonnay and amuse-bouche.
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This may not look great, but it was excellent! Was late night, and I’d already eaten like a pig in lounge, but this soup – carrot and almond – from the express menu was superb.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1534.jpg[/IMG]

And breakfast was delicious too.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1538.jpg[/IMG]

Very classy Voss water – I notice it’s disappeared from the service in the new J cabin, where Etihad’s own branded water is now served.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1537.jpg[/IMG]

Beautiful view of engines!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1539.jpg[/IMG]

F1 livery on our plane from LHR
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1548.jpg[/IMG]

Lounge was crowded, but still some people were happy to take up a couple of seats! The criticisms of the size of EK’s J lounge at AUH are quite justified at busy times, and the poor guy trying to keep the bathrooms serviced with towels etc simply couldn’t keep up. It does drive me nuts, however, that people are quite happy to occupy free seats in the lounge with their coats, just so that nobody will sit next to them. I rather pointedly asked one rather snotty looking woman if the seat next to her was actually taken, or whether the coat was hers. She VERY reluctantly then removed the coat. I meant to mutter a comment under my breath, but instead rather loudly said “selfish cow”. This did, however, have the bonus of her getting to leave fairly soon afterwards.

There was no PA system in the lounge – I imagine this is deliberate – so lounge staff walk around shouting out flight departure info, or a passenger’s name, if they were trying to page someone. I have to say, I found this rather irritating after a while.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1550.jpg[/IMG]

Nice to have a shower in lounge – there was a “plate” showerhead over head too
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1554.jpg[/IMG]

Can’t deny beauty of A340
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1556.jpg[/IMG]

And here we are – the new generation Pearl Zone seat – love it!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1557.jpg[/IMG]

Notice all the little extra storage bits?
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1558.jpg[/IMG]

Water storage, BUT, Voss water is now only in First Class I believe.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1561.jpg[/IMG]

Table storage is an improvement on previous version of seat.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1562.jpg[/IMG]

And much more room for feet, which I think was a common gripe about old version of seat.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1563.jpg[/IMG]

Love the hot towel on wooden tray presentation.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1566.jpg[/IMG]

I think my brother-in-law would be more interested in this shot than I am!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1571.jpg[/IMG]

Bloody Mary and another interesting amuse-bouche!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1578.jpg[/IMG]

And lunch –tiger prawns with a three-bread-loaf – was quite delicious.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1581.jpg[/IMG]

This was grilled beef tenderloin with wasabi mashed potato and buttered carrots – it doesn’t look that special on the plate, but it was excellent.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1585.jpg[/IMG]

Cheese was nice too!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1586.jpg[/IMG]

This was breakfast coming into Sydney – was really delicious! And I could have asked for more or different combinations. The dine anytime menu system worked well, and FA’s were attentive and happy to serve.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1592.jpg[/IMG]

Sunrise over engines at Sydney
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1600.jpg[/IMG]

Etihad’s black and white blankets and pillows are great – very distinctive.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1621.jpg[/IMG]

This is a great business class seat.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1622.jpg[/IMG]

Seat lights and water storage.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad124/rrawlins-2009/Australia%20Easter%202011/CIMG1627.jpg[/IMG]

Etihad business class check-in at Sydney.
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Etihad uses the Air New Zealand lounge at Sydney, as, it seems, do a lot of airlines! Strange that Etihad doesn’t get a mention on the boards outside the lounge.
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The snacks etc in Air New Zealand lounge were fine, but not a patch on offerings either in Abu Dhabi or Heathrow.
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On the other hand, I counted 35 bottles of chardonnay, so was quite happy!
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Bathroom at SYD was nice
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So, had the new generation Pearl Zone seat on way home too. I think it’s great.
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Another view of seat
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Gin and Tonic and another great amuse-bouche!
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Just remembering here, what a bloody long way to go!
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An extraordinarily good starter – I’d been proud to serve this at home.
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This veal might not look like much, but it really did just melt in the mouth –outclassed anything I had on Emirates First Class!
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And the cheesecake was good too!
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And a great light breakfast.
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A shot on take off which I suspect would be of more interest to brother in law than me!
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I’ve read a lot of criticism about the J lounge at AUH, and I agree with some of it, but I can’t fault them for their food selection.
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More
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And sushi!
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I was in lounge for 8 hours, but quite happy
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Airbag seatbelt and storage space.
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PGazzard flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A340-500 (3-class new) (13/11/2009 16:11)

Flew from LHR via Abu Dhabi to Melbourne. The new business and first class lounge at Heathrow is fantastic with an a la carte restaurant, buffet, drinks service and the opportunity for a 15 minute spa treatment from Six Senses.

Seats in business appear a little narrow at first but are certainly adequate and very comfortable. These recline into a fully flat bed which are surprisingly comfortable. Seats also have a massage option which are highly recommended if you start getting back ache!

Service was extremely good - some slightly strange food (being a middle eastern airline) that may not appeal to some Western tastes but as there was a big selection to choose from, you can always the "exotic" ones! Excellent choice of drinks and you can make full use of the "anytime kitchen" if you get peckish at any time of the flight.

I would recommend window seats for those travelling alone as they are very private indeed and STRONGLY advise NOT to take any seat just behind the galley as you will have to put up with a lot of noise and people traffic.

Service was very good. Flights all arrived well on time.

Spartan flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A330-200 (2-class new) (16/02/2009 17:04)

Abu Dhabi-Beijing. Seat No 8C, window, spacious, private and excellent flat bed.Great for people travelling on their own. Should one want to seat together with a companion - choice of middle seats available and should be requested upon check In .

SeanCollins flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business (29/12/2008 08:55)

Dammam - Manchester via Abu Dhabi - Great seat, Great food even on a 1 hour hop from Saudi to Abu Dhabi. Only issue - Boarding at Abu Dhabi can be chaotic to say the least !! Excellent product and service on board - attentive not obtrusive

oyvindsathre flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A340-500 (3-class new) (11/12/2008 14:39)

Great seats during night and day. Superb service on our 15 hour flight to Sydney

HappytobeSilver flew Etihad Airways Pearl Business, on a A340-500 (3-class new) (29/11/2008 09:55)

Recently flew MAN-AUH-SYD return in Etihad's Pearl Business Class. Most private seats are indeed those at the window which have nevertheless direct access to the aisle. The EF seats which are very together have no privacy, and unless you are a couple travelling together are to be avoided. These are however the only seats that allow you to have a conversation with a travellling companion. Yes the seats are a little narrow.

IFE was great. A la Carte meal service was on the whole good, but on 3 of the 4 legs we were unable to get our first choice of main course for the principal meal service as the cabin crew had already run out by the time they reached us.

There aren't many seats in Etihad's business- only 22 in the A330 and 28 in the A340, so the cabin does have an exclusive feel to it, unlike on BA's 777 aircraft.

Cabin crew were attentive but not overbearing. All in all a very good product.