Etihad Airline

[peejay]

Maybe this as been asked before I don,t know sorry

but has anyone travelled to Thailand with this Airline?

Thinking of booking but would like to have a few

comments. Cheers

[daleyboy]

Yeah theres a few threads on this, just go back a few pages. I have flown with them twice and i cant complain at all. Nice plane, not busy and not a bad stopover for 2 hours. I think you will find the general consenus is a positive one. For the money you cant go wrong. We would be flying them this year,but we will have our new born so we are flying direct. BA are offering direct flights for £415 return if you go before the end of June

[markt]

Flying with them for the first time next week. I choose them because of the good reports i had read, decent price, only one hour stop in Abu Dhabi.

But since i bought the tickets in december, they have made two changes to the original schedule.

Stopover in AD has gone from one hour, to 1.5 hours to now three hours, changing the arrival time in Bkk from 6pm to now 8pm.

If you do book with them, be prepared for schedule changes.

[daleyboy]

I think that is maybe a one off mate, i have never had that happen to me with them

[TBWG]

Maybe this as been asked before I don,t know sorry

but has anyone travelled to Thailand with this Airline?

Thinking of booking but would like to have a few

comments. Cheers

Hi Peejay

On my third round trip with Etihad from LGW-BKK this coming Sunday and I too have had minor changes.

They are a young airline and still trying to fine tune their route/times also they have recently taken delivery of new B777 equipment which was delayed by Boeing strikes and this has caused some time changes due to the speed of the aircraft.

However I have nothing but praise for them, all their aircraft are new and staff/food/seat pitch/entertainment all first rate combined with a very competitive price what more could one want.. Go for it!!!

TBWG

[markt]

I think that is maybe a one off mate, i have never had that happen to me with them

I do hope so.

There is a thread here on another site where others have been affected by schedule changes.

This doesn't install confidence in an airline i've never flown before.

[daleyboy]

Maybe i am wrong then. But when we have flown with them, they were on time at every point, decent planes, not bad legroom and the plane on the way back of one journey was all but empty, 40 people max which was great

I think even with the changes you will still have a good flight. Not much happening at abu dhabi though, airport is ok and clean enough, but not very interesting.

Were flying with ba this year, and they have already changed our schedule. Only by a hour or so but not a good start considering were not flying till June

[TBWG]

I think that is maybe a one off mate, i have never had that happen to me with them

I do hope so.

There is a thread here on another site where others have been affected by schedule changes.

This doesn't install confidence in an airline i've never flown before.

Hey Markt

Are you of a nervous disposition? majority of posts on said site very positive.

Lighten up, your going on holiday what's give or take an hour in the scheme of things.

Now if you were flying Phuket Air, then maybe you might have something to worry about

Take it from me Etihad are fine

TBWG

[markt]

Hey Markt

Are you of a nervous disposition? majority of posts on said site very positive.

Lighten up, your going on holiday what's give or take an hour in the scheme of things.

Now if you were flying Phuket Air, then maybe you might have something to worry about

Take it from me Etihad are fine

TBWG

I'm sure they are fine, but we've always flew direct to Thailand - THAI, Qantas, BA.

This time, after reading good reviews about Etihad, i persuaded the missus to fly with them, assuring her it was only a one hour stopover. Now that stopover has become three hours, i'm getting it in the ear.

[Rj 81]

Yeah theres a few threads on this, just go back a few pages. I have flown with them twice and i cant complain at all. Nice plane, not busy and not a bad stopover for 2 hours. I think you will find the general consenus is a positive one. For the money you cant go wrong. We would be flying them this year,but we will have our new born so we are flying direct. BA are offering direct flights for £415 return if you go before the end of June

daleyboy, is that direct from London? I fly from Manchester and usually have to go with other airlines as BA don't go direct from Manchester. £415 is a good price though, I hope they do fly from Manchester.

[Rj 81]

Just had a look on BA, cheapest from Manchester is £524.50 thats flying in June

[daleyboy]

Just had a look on BA, cheapest from Manchester is £524.50 thats flying in June

Yeah i booked at the end of Jan, they had a deal on and as long as you booked before the end of Jan and flew before the end of June you got the flight for £430, then if you joined their club you got another £15 off.

I posted about this deal a while ago here

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=56004.

Sorry i cant help you mate, looks pretty expensive now.

You can still fly from heathrow for £450 direct, so if you join their club you will get another £15 off so £435 aint to bad.

So you could take the coach with megabus.com for £1 manchester-London then fly Ba. Not a bad way of doing it.

[Guest endure]

Airline Network have an Etihad flight Manchester-Bangkok 5th-23rd June for £370 at the moment.

[TBWG]

Just had a look on BA, cheapest from Manchester is £524.50 thats flying in June

then if you joined their club you got another £15 off.

Hi Daleyboy

What's all this about a club? Do you mean an Etihad club if somhow do I find details?

TBWG

[daleyboy]

Not Ethiad mate, BA. I signed up to their executive club and then you get a further discount, on bookings.

[TBWG]

Not Ethiad mate, BA. I signed up to their executive club and then you get a further discount, on bookings.

Thanks Daleyboy

Crossed wires I thought I hadn't seen anything about it on Etihad website.

TBWG

[The Philosopher]

Flying with them for the first time next week. I choose them because of the good reports i had read, decent price, only one hour stop in Abu Dhabi.

But since i bought the tickets in december, they have made two changes to the original schedule.

Stopover in AD has gone from one hour, to 1.5 hours to now three hours, changing the arrival time in Bkk from 6pm to now 8pm.

If you do book with them, be prepared for schedule changes.

This happend because you booked the tickets so far in advance the schedule can change every two months -- the are a spin off from Emirates - they are well maintained mostly by Indians guys who have been trained by Brits and Americans through the Emirates Maint Programme. They are fine.

[Brown1950]

Etihad starts daily flights to Manchester

27/03/2006

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways has launched its service to Manchester, the regional capital of the north west of England, with its new purpose-built A330-200 aircraft taking off on schedule from Abu Dhabi International Airport in the early hours of Monday, 27 March.

Etihad will fly daily direct to Manchester, with EY 313 departing from Abu Dhabi at 02:10 hours and arriving at Manchester at 06:45 hours local time. The return flight EY 314 will depart from Manchester at 09:40 hours, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 20:00 hours.

Etihad's Manchester route, operated on a code-share with British airline bmi (BD), offers a seamless service to Abu Dhabi from nine airports in Europe. Guests from Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Durham Tees Valley and Manchester can now make a single reservation to take them from their local hub to Abu Dhabi via London Heathrow. Guests have the convenience of a hassle-free transfer process and journey, avoiding the need to collect and re-check luggage at Heathrow.

Manchester, the UK's largest economic region outside London, is Etihad's third UK destination after London Heathrow and London Gatwick. Manchester is one of the busiest airports in the UK, handling over 22 million passengers a year, and providing access to many of the north-west's major areas of interest, including Blackpool, Chester and the Lake District, along with other cities such as Liverpool.

Etihad's Manchester flights will serve many of the 650,000 Britons who visit the UAE each year, in addition to the estimated 95,000 British citizens living in the UAE.

Guests flying Etihad to Manchester will experience Etihad's unique hospitality on board the airline's new, two-aisle A330-200 aircraft, configured to carry a total of 262 Guests (240 in the Coral Zone and 22 in the Pearl Zone). Both the Zones have a comprehensive in-flight entertainment system with access to 30 movies, 24 hours of TV programming, 12 audio channels, over 100 audio CDs and 28 interactive games; a delectable dining experience created by award-winning chefs; and moodlighting to create the perfect cabin atmosphere throughout the journey.

In the Coral Zone, Guests have the comfort of a 32" seat pitch and 10.4" seatback LCD monitors on each seat. Each seat has a USB port, an RJ 45 socket and power access, allowing them to connect to a laptop and work while they fly.

In the Pearl Zone, Guests can relax in seats that recline 180 degrees into flat beds. Each seat is equipped with a 15" LCD monitor, a USB port, an RJ 45 socket, power supply and a massage facility.

The A330-200 will also considerably boost the cargo capacity into the UK market by adding around 14 tons of cargo space per flight.

Media Contact

[sadman]

I've flown Etihad several times and think they are the dog's. Good legroom, courteous etc and the best airline food I've ever had. The layover at Abu Dhabi is alright for a short time, but more than a couple of hours and I think it might be a little wearing.

I fly with them whenever possible.

Edited March 28, 2006 by sadman

[Ricardo]

Just flew a return to LGW with them, good-value at B30,780 (incl tax), but found it odd not to be able to pay for my ticket on-line or over the phone. Instead had to pick it up in person, and pay by credit-card (no surcharge), at the Lufthansa ticket-office (4th floor of T2), on the day of travel.

Cabin-service is sometimes good, sometimes not so good, depending how full the flight is. 2 hours to clear away the trays & only 1 pass with the drinks-trolley on an under-manned 6-hour flight out of BKK ? !

And Thai wouldn't let me go through to CNX as an international passenger , upon return, as Etihad isn't one of the airlines they permit this with. <deleted> ? ! Even though my bags had been checked through all-the-way. So had to clear Immigration in BKK, Customs for my carry-ons in BKK, then run down to Domestic to check-in to CNX, and clear Customs in CNX for my hold-luggage.

The new 777-300s are very good.

And will definitely be using them again this summer with the whole family.

[Lawnmower]

I booked flights from Bangkok to London Gatwick in March. Last week, i had a call to say there was a schedule change so would i mind switching to London Heathrow. I replied no as we had specifically looked for Gatwick flights to meet a connection. They replied no problem we can put you up in a hotel in Dubai until the next flight (12 hours). As we have two small children, the break between the flights should be great for them. Hopefully it will be a nice hotel with a good pool !

[Stravaig]

We used them last year - BKK to London return. They were very good. We had an overnight stopover, at their expense, in an Abu Dhabi hotel. It was fine - nothing to rave about but the food was good and it was a nice break for a smoker who hates long haul flights. I'd use them again if the price and times were right.

[Sunderland]

Etihad lack the longer term experience of Emirates, but if you are on the BKK-DXB leg you should get a nice new Boeing 777-300. Service similar to Emirates. Probably owned by members of the same family ...

[intumult]

Three return flights form UK with Etihad so far. No complaints at all with the polite service, food or anything else. 30 kilo luggage allowance is good, never weighed hand luggage so far.

Stopover at AD usually 1hr 20mins or so is time to stretch the legs, have a coffee and get some duty frees. Makes an acceptable break on such a long journey.

Often the midweek flights are not full allowing you to stretch out and get some sleep. TV's on the backs of the seats etc.

Only reason I am considering another airline is the travelling times to MAN airport from where I live otherwise I would continue to use Etihad. Their frequent flyer scheme is one of the best also IMHO

[onzestan]

Have used Etihad couple of times in Business class.

Excellent.

Only gripe is that their ground staff in AUH is not on a par with their flight crews.

Unfriendly and not very professional.

Also had some rescheduling done but nothing to complain about. Prefer 2 hours stopover to under 1 hour.

Also I'm a smoker and Abu Dhabi is the only smoker friendly airport that I know.

cheers

onzestan