The first and only time I flew business class with Etihad was in 2009. For whatever reason, I was upgraded from Abu Dhabi to Jakarta.
All subsequent trips with them were downhill; that includes a mix of economy (shocker to some of you), and this month’s four flights. I’m only writing about the longest flight, because that’s the one that involves the Etihad lounge visit.
After attending Tourise Riyadh 2025, I had to get to Tokyo for work. Although never my first, second, or third choice, I went with Etihad as they had availability up front, and provided an opportunity to accrue AA miles (but not “loyalty points”).
A randomly preponed — that’s Singlish for you — flight from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi now meant that I had around five hours to check out the Etihad business class lounge, as opposed to the originally scheduled one hour.
Etihad Business Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi
Tl; dr version — Emirates business class lounge it was not.
Although there was a hefty number of seating choices, and the shower area was quiet, there was much to be desired.
For instance, why was there only one main dining area, stuffed all the way up on the 6th floor? For most of the time I was in the lounge, sure, it wasn’t busy– it was between 3:30pm and 6:30pm after all. But when the nighttime bank rolls in, it’s every bit the zoo as any other thoughtlessly-designed space.
The lunch buffet disappeared at 5:30pm, only to reappear at 6:30pm as the dinner buffet, albeit with the same darn insipid dishes.
Plus, given my garlic intolerance, I didn’t have many choices.
Once I was nigh on stuffed, I took a walk throughout the lounge.
As I said, the shower might have been the best part, besides the baklava.
Etihad, Abu Dhabi to Tokyo
I deliberately left the lounge right after boarding had begun, so as to glide right through the gate agent area and onto the jet bridge towards the Airbus A350-1041.
Whoops, two strikes had already befallen after boarding.
1) A couple of flight attendants had some persistent coughs.
2) The overhead space above my seat was occupied by cabin crew baggage.
As this particular bird had no overhead stowage in the middle section, I had to force the bags into another part of the cabin. Not particularly convenient.
Anyway, a drink was offered and declined, and I prepared my seat for the nine hour, 20 minute flight to Narita.
The seat — which I forgot to photograph — had ample, if awkwardly-sized storage compartments. One was too narrow for a magazine, another was too low for a toiletry kit. Another thing– where is everyone supposed to shove their duvets once they’re done sleeping? It’s easy to find space when one is seated in the last row of the cabin, but that’s about it, unless they’re all supposed to be thrown into the overheads.
On that note, unlike a number of other airlines, no one came by to make up my bed. It’s an odd perk to me anyway, but for those of you who care, it didn’t happen. Nor did it happen on my Bangkok – Abu Dhabi flight.
Speaking of which, perhaps because the Bangkok – Abu Dhabi plane was an older one, a flight attendant unexpectedly handed out in-flight wi-fi vouchers.
Not being too familiar with the airline’s business class, I thought that the same would’ve happened for the Abu Dhabi – Tokyo route. No dice.
Don’t you love it when loaded airlines get stingy up front? Given the necessity for sleep, I wouldn’t have used it that much anyway, so that was another unpleasant surprise.
Basically, I slept for around 6.5 hours. The first hour+ was dedicated to waiting for meal service, getting meal service, then somewhat enjoying meal service.
After waking-up, I had my standard glass of tomato juice, then chose a very Osaka dish, (prawn) okonomiyaki.
The IFE (in-flight entertainment) was also weak, save for a couple of John Hughes movies.
As usual, landing at Narita meant a few bumps along the way, but taxiing didn’t take so long to reach Terminal 1. I hoofed it to immigration, which around 12:10pm only took me around 15 minutes to wade through, but the crowds, they were storming in right after.
Tally ’em Up
Etihad, much like your home base, you disappoint me. The lounge was dull, the crew was aloof, and the food was meh. The only redeeming factor is that you have some useful airline partners, otherwise let’s just say that the best part was when the last Etihad flight landed, and I didn’t have to deal with you anymore.
