The First Class vs Business Class debate has been raging post pandemic. On one hand, there’s been a significant increase in demand for premium passengers; on the other hand, who knows how long this demand will last. To respond to this, many airlines are trying to push more premium business class seating (a 25-75% increase according to the NYT) and doing away with pure first class (or even Residence) seats.

Etihad is in a tough position, being surrounded by so many wonderful competitors in Emirates (see review of their first class here) or Qatar (see review of their business class here). It has to substantially curtail it’s operations due to COVID, and unlike its competitors has yet to fully restart their operations. Indeed, there’s only two first class routes: AUH-IAD, and AUH-LHR. The latter hosts the world famous A380 apartment, while the former is what I’ll be reviewing today, their “regular” first class.

Flight: QR 737

Departing: Abu Dhabi (AUH)

Arriving: Washington (IAD)

Operated by: Boeing 787-9

Cabin: First Class

Check In and Ground Experience

Etihad' is moving to a new terminal, called Terminal A, which replaces the extremely small airport they were operating out of previously. So the check in experience will be different starting in 2024 for the better.

There was a separate First Class, and another Business Class checkin; however, there wasn’t really anything unique about that outside of few separate check in desks and a dedicated security line. One thing that nearly had me miss the lounge was that I had to check in physically, and it took 15 minutes for the associate to issue my ticket! This is partially why the ground experience is a bit lacking, as Etihad closed the lounge more than an hour before the flight was to depart due to pre-clearance requirements.

The First class lounge felt a bit…off. The hard product was fantastic, with a full gym, bar, dining section, kids playroom, shower and a closed spa (another blogger has reviewed it in detail here). What was strange was the sheet lack of people outside of the attendants, which gave it a mausoleum feel.

Given there was only one flight today to the US, so all the other passengers were inside the significantly smaller Pre-Clearance Lounge (which also let in business class passengers, shocking).

The lounge was a bit too full for me to easily snag pictures (see this link for a review). Two important things to note was that they serve alcohol (including the fantastic Macallan Lumina) prior to 11AM, and that there is no real hot food.

With a bit too much to drink, I was one of the last to leave the lounge. This was a pro move, as the actual terminal was quite cramped, with just duty free sales and a few cafes to keep travelers company.

I did manage to snag a picture of our bird - it’s the a product that Air Canada uses for it’s flagship flights, so it was interesting to see a new configuration.

Seat and Cabin

As soon as I got in, I could tell Etihad had…definitely branded it’s cabins with a fantastic use of bronze and black. My bias: I love most of Etihad’s designs, it just the excessive use of brown is not my favorite.

There are eight suites in total, arranged across two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. I was in a forward facing seat (1D), but those in seats 1A, 2D, 2G, and 1K are backward-facing. It was fun talking with my neighbors in 1A, who happened to be a Google Product Manager who tracked his flights to a tee, and ran analytics on that information. I’ve been in a backwards facing seat before, and they’re pretty interesting only for takeoff and landing, but unremarkable otherwise.

The seat was substantially longer than it was wide, partially necessitated due to the Dreamliner’s space constraints vs the A380.

The main bones of the seat consisted of a main seat, along with a large ottoman; the ottoman had both storage space underneath, as well as a seatbelt for another companion.

Waiting at my Ottoman was a plush blanket, as well as an amenity kit by high end Italian fragrance house Acqua di Parma.

Furthermore, there was a classy paper menu, as well as a free Wifi voucher. The wifi awkwardly didn’t work the first time, and the attendants had to give me another one. I find it hilarious they call it Wi-Fly, and why no other airline has thought of this genius name.

The seat controls were quite classy as well, with a nice golden sheen, allowing passengers to change the seat angle, lighting, and doors.

There was also a classic Panasonic remote that reminded me of Air Canada’s remote, and could be used to control either the entertainment or the seat.

Finally, there was a cute lamp to balance everything together.

And because we’re on a Middle Eastern Airline, never forget the need for a bar.

There was both sparkling and still water, as well as pop, all of which was unfortunately warm. That being said, I do like drinking water whenever I wanted to.

Food and Drink

The service started with a splendid, expensive glass of Stenope Devaux and Chapoutier 2009 champagne, along with traditional Arabic coffee and dates.

There was a semi dine on demand concept, as the lovely flight attendant only asked that I give her 20 minutes notice to heat items up. Challenge accepted.

Of course, we had to start out with the caviar service, which as always was delicious.

Next up was the challenge of the grill. I personally found the beef better than what I had on Emirates, and overall wonderful. The salmon was solid as well, but the real let down was the chicken, which was too dry.

And to top it off, I got both the cheese plate and this lava cake, and I thoroughly enjoyed the lava cake.

After doing some work, aka frantically applying to jobs, I decided it was time for a nightcap. Being unable to decide between drinks, the flight attendants solved the problem by giving me 2 of their finest to try. I do appreciate the mini bottles, I think its a much more efficient way as opposed to opening a single bottle for a traveler, only to have them not finish it.

After a nice nap, I took it upon myself to try some new items, and to give my stomach a break, I started with a nice salad.

The other dish was some wonderful lamb on rice, with the lamb being perfectly cooked and seasoned.

The crew then topped it all off with some chocolates, which I swear were the same as the ones they served on Qatar Airways.

Overall, the food was among the best I’ve had on an airplane, and I loved every minute of it (minus the chicken).

Bathroom and Amenities

The kit contained Acqua di Parma’s body lotion, lip balm, and fragrance, eye mask, dental kit and in a sign of the times hand sanitizer. Business class passengers get a slightly worse version of the same kit (I think they don’t have the lotion and fragrance, and it’s physically smaller). Unfortunately, I lost my kit (and pajamas), so I wasn’t able to provide an opinion. Speaking of pajamas, Etihad provides a silky dark brown set that I also lost. :(

I didn’t go too in depth into the TV selection, but I did get to watch some live BBC news, which I thought was pretty fun.

Going to change in the bathroom, I appreciated how clean it was, but also noted that it didn’t seem to fit the “First Class” aspect. Perhaps Etihad should add in a few lotions, or fragrances, to make it feel a little bit more premium.

Bed

I think this was a solid, but not fantastic bed. While I was in the bathroom, the crew kindly set it up for me, including bringing on a mattress pad. While a tad narrower than my Emirates bed, I still managed to get a good nights sleep.

Service

Service quality has at times been an issue during the pandemic, accentuated by the fact that many experienced team members had quite, and that there was record demand for travel. Indeed, on my flight into Istanbul through Qatar, I was disappointed by a lackluster service. Not here. The flight attendants leaned more on the efficient side, knowing everything there was about the menu and seat; indeed, when there was an issue with my seat, they spent 10 minutes trying to fix it, and finally made it work! I also appreciated how willing they were to just feed me food, along with the general warmth they brought to their service. Alas, I am not huge fan of the uniform, but that’s my personal preference.

The Point

After 14 hours, we settled down into Washington DC, and I was full and still slightly sleepy given the time difference. In comparing this flight to others, I felt it was significantly ahead of American Airline’s Flagship, and was slightly behind Emirates. Why? The food was certainly much better than Emirates, but overall I felt it lacked a certain WOW! factor. This by no means was a bad product, it’s that I, as the customer, would need a more compelling reason to shell out several thousand dollars more for a first class seat. In comparing to business class, the menu was slightly more extensive, there was a bit more privacy, and the lounge was a bit more exclusive. That being said, if you do have a chance, you should definitely try out Ethiad’s first class, especially since they are moving to a new terminal with a better ground experience!