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Etihad Airways Trip Report 2011
Well I wish all of you have a great traveling year in 2011 and this New Year starts with flying a new airline and finally learning to write a trip report with photos enclosed. I have finally subscribed to photo bucket and please be patient as I try to download photos to two different sites and learning all the techniques. I will continue to post a link to my corresponding shutterfly photo album for those who want more detailed cabin and meal pictures.
Etihad Airways is one of the Middle Eastern airlines that emphasize an excellent on board product and a boutique airline travel experience. I have been trying to get an affordable flight, and saw a number of very good ex-MXP (Milan Malpensa) first class fares to various Asian destinations. I first selected Seoul, as it is a bit cheaper than Tokyo Narita. Subsequently, I actually find Tokyo Narita a bit more convenient and the changing process is done rather speedily through expeida. Why don’t I buy from Etihad website? It does not accept American Express, which is a big no-no on my book. I love AMEX so I go through expedia, especially I am allowed to select seats directly on the site.
However, after the change to Tokyo, there is an unwelcome aircraft downgrade from three-class to two-class on my original afternoon flight from MXP to AUH. Of course neither Etihad Airways or Expedia has the courtesy to call in advance, I found out as I saw the change at expertflyer. I first called EY directly and the agent could not do much, but asked me to call Expedia. I really did not see a difference here, but EY insists on me talking to expedia, and then expedia called them directly on the reissuing process. I asked about refund on that segment, but EY just could not give me any quote. It is obviously quite difficult to price that downgrade. Aircraft change happens frequently, but the way EY expects passengers to just accept the downgrade is rather arrogance and unacceptable. EY just expects me to bite my tongue and accept the downgrade. I actually don’t mind EY rebooking me to fly thru one of its European hubs, but EY does not want do anything and not providing any solution. At the end, I found a flight with first class that departs the evening before, but my layover will be a ridiculous 16 hours. The EY agent tried to dissuade me from changing but I can’t accept flying any less than first class especially I saved up for this flight. Well I am sitting in empty Etihad Airways first class lounge writing a report now. Transit hotel is available but for a rather steep price of $185. Not to mention it is under renovation and looks rather sad compared to its Dubai counterpart. Anyway, EY agents were polite at all times, but were just actually providing solutions. Very disappointed start, but most Middle Eastern airlines scores rather poorly on the booking aspect.
EY Diamond First Class MXP-AUH Jan 2011
January 22, 2011
EY 82 MXP-AUH Lv2105 Arr0605+1 Airbus A330-200 A6-EYK
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqS2A
Check-in:
No pictures here due to previous bad experience in taking pictures of check-in counters by Italian police in Rome FCO before! Anyway, MXP is not that impressive and the airport looks rather cold and tired. But better than FCO! At least people here are friendlier than their colleagues in Rome. Etihad Airways uses a third party ground agent at MXP. First and Business class lines were empty, and this Italian agent, who seemed to have issues communicating with me, checked me in. She insists on finding out my place of residence, despite it is a return ticket with a return date within 30 days. Not sure what is going on, but as long as my bags were checked through to NRT, and I got my boarding passes, I was more than happy. Fast Track stickers were placed at my boarding pass and direction to the lounge was provided. Fast track definitely saved some times on this busy evening at the security check line.
Lounge:
Sala Pergolesi is a common airline lounge used by most non-Oneworld and non-Sky team alliance members. I have no expectation to most airline lounges in Italy, as my previous visit to the Alitalia lounge at MXP is rather poor. This lounge is at least modern looking and I am able to find a seat. There is complimentary wifi, but you have to ask for the card in the desk. Food is limited to sandwiches, cheese, and cakes and light snacks. Drinks are self-served.
Boarding:
We used B9 this evening. Boarding began early – an hour prior to departure, and an announcement was made in the lounge at 8:09am. The line was not that bad, and there was a separate first and business class boarding line. Once on board, I was pointed to my seat at 2A. A6-EYK still had the old diamond first class seats, but with only one other person in first class, it was an okay experience. There was no overhead compartment in first class and the hand carryon storage section could not take more than one piece, but with an empty cabin, the crew just asked me to put my roller on at another seat. James, the leading F/A in first class, immediately helped with hanging the jacket and took my order for pre-takeoff beverage. Hot towel was offered and interestingly, that was the only hot towel service during the whole flight. Issac assisted James in the Arabic coffee service, but for the rest of the flight, James did all the serving. Amenity kit and pajama were handed out, as well as menu cards. I was disappointed with the lack of design on the wine list and menu card – they were basically cardboard papers with no design at all. No leather folder on non-suite flights. The purser, Teodora Popescee, also paid her greeting after boarding was completed. She was available during the flight to talk to passengers and did her farewell.
Flight fact:
Door was closed early at 8:50pm, and we pushed back three minutes later. Milan was not particularly busy at this evening hour, and we took off from R/W35L at 9:08pm. I really enjoyed the nose camera function on the entertainment system. We immediately headed west after takeoff as we passed Brecia on our way to 37,000feet. Then we passed the city of Pula, Sarajevo, Sofia, and Plodiv, before climbing to 39,000 feet, before reaching the Turkish city of Istanbul. We continue towards cities of Sivas, Elazig, Kirkuk, Ba’qubab, Barsa, Al-Faw, and headed towards Qatar and AUH.
Cabin:
The Diamond First Class cabin was not as private as the suites, but quite nice. The seats started to show its age, and I had to change from 2A to 1A, as the seat function did not work at all. No problem on this lightly loaded flight. There are quite a number of positions one can choose from – dining position requires your seat to move forward so you can use the dining table. There is a mirror on the table as well. Universal power outlets are available, but storage space is a bit lacking. My pet peeve was the lighting system. The reading light is not aligned with the dining table. So it makes reading very uncomfortable, as well as taking meal pictures. I hate using flash but had to use it for a number of pictures. Thankfully it was a lightly loaded flight. I hope the diamond suite will address the issue better. I did not turn the seat into sleeping position because I was not particularly tired on this short flight. My body clock is on west coast time.
Entertainment system:
Etihad has an on demand system, and has the latest selection of movies and short subjects. But it pales compared to Emirates and Singapore Airlines. But I like the multiple map fuction. I just watched DVD using my laptop throughout the flight.
Well I wish all of you have a great traveling year in 2011 and this New Year starts with flying a new airline and finally learning to write a trip report with photos enclosed. I have finally subscribed to photo bucket and please be patient as I try to download photos to two different sites and learning all the techniques. I will continue to post a link to my corresponding shutterfly photo album for those who want more detailed cabin and meal pictures.
Etihad Airways is one of the Middle Eastern airlines that emphasize an excellent on board product and a boutique airline travel experience. I have been trying to get an affordable flight, and saw a number of very good ex-MXP (Milan Malpensa) first class fares to various Asian destinations. I first selected Seoul, as it is a bit cheaper than Tokyo Narita. Subsequently, I actually find Tokyo Narita a bit more convenient and the changing process is done rather speedily through expeida. Why don’t I buy from Etihad website? It does not accept American Express, which is a big no-no on my book. I love AMEX so I go through expedia, especially I am allowed to select seats directly on the site.
However, after the change to Tokyo, there is an unwelcome aircraft downgrade from three-class to two-class on my original afternoon flight from MXP to AUH. Of course neither Etihad Airways or Expedia has the courtesy to call in advance, I found out as I saw the change at expertflyer. I first called EY directly and the agent could not do much, but asked me to call Expedia. I really did not see a difference here, but EY insists on me talking to expedia, and then expedia called them directly on the reissuing process. I asked about refund on that segment, but EY just could not give me any quote. It is obviously quite difficult to price that downgrade. Aircraft change happens frequently, but the way EY expects passengers to just accept the downgrade is rather arrogance and unacceptable. EY just expects me to bite my tongue and accept the downgrade. I actually don’t mind EY rebooking me to fly thru one of its European hubs, but EY does not want do anything and not providing any solution. At the end, I found a flight with first class that departs the evening before, but my layover will be a ridiculous 16 hours. The EY agent tried to dissuade me from changing but I can’t accept flying any less than first class especially I saved up for this flight. Well I am sitting in empty Etihad Airways first class lounge writing a report now. Transit hotel is available but for a rather steep price of $185. Not to mention it is under renovation and looks rather sad compared to its Dubai counterpart. Anyway, EY agents were polite at all times, but were just actually providing solutions. Very disappointed start, but most Middle Eastern airlines scores rather poorly on the booking aspect.
EY Diamond First Class MXP-AUH Jan 2011
January 22, 2011
EY 82 MXP-AUH Lv2105 Arr0605+1 Airbus A330-200 A6-EYK
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqS2A
Check-in:
No pictures here due to previous bad experience in taking pictures of check-in counters by Italian police in Rome FCO before! Anyway, MXP is not that impressive and the airport looks rather cold and tired. But better than FCO! At least people here are friendlier than their colleagues in Rome. Etihad Airways uses a third party ground agent at MXP. First and Business class lines were empty, and this Italian agent, who seemed to have issues communicating with me, checked me in. She insists on finding out my place of residence, despite it is a return ticket with a return date within 30 days. Not sure what is going on, but as long as my bags were checked through to NRT, and I got my boarding passes, I was more than happy. Fast Track stickers were placed at my boarding pass and direction to the lounge was provided. Fast track definitely saved some times on this busy evening at the security check line.
Lounge:
Sala Pergolesi is a common airline lounge used by most non-Oneworld and non-Sky team alliance members. I have no expectation to most airline lounges in Italy, as my previous visit to the Alitalia lounge at MXP is rather poor. This lounge is at least modern looking and I am able to find a seat. There is complimentary wifi, but you have to ask for the card in the desk. Food is limited to sandwiches, cheese, and cakes and light snacks. Drinks are self-served.
Boarding:
We used B9 this evening. Boarding began early – an hour prior to departure, and an announcement was made in the lounge at 8:09am. The line was not that bad, and there was a separate first and business class boarding line. Once on board, I was pointed to my seat at 2A. A6-EYK still had the old diamond first class seats, but with only one other person in first class, it was an okay experience. There was no overhead compartment in first class and the hand carryon storage section could not take more than one piece, but with an empty cabin, the crew just asked me to put my roller on at another seat. James, the leading F/A in first class, immediately helped with hanging the jacket and took my order for pre-takeoff beverage. Hot towel was offered and interestingly, that was the only hot towel service during the whole flight. Issac assisted James in the Arabic coffee service, but for the rest of the flight, James did all the serving. Amenity kit and pajama were handed out, as well as menu cards. I was disappointed with the lack of design on the wine list and menu card – they were basically cardboard papers with no design at all. No leather folder on non-suite flights. The purser, Teodora Popescee, also paid her greeting after boarding was completed. She was available during the flight to talk to passengers and did her farewell.
Flight fact:
Door was closed early at 8:50pm, and we pushed back three minutes later. Milan was not particularly busy at this evening hour, and we took off from R/W35L at 9:08pm. I really enjoyed the nose camera function on the entertainment system. We immediately headed west after takeoff as we passed Brecia on our way to 37,000feet. Then we passed the city of Pula, Sarajevo, Sofia, and Plodiv, before climbing to 39,000 feet, before reaching the Turkish city of Istanbul. We continue towards cities of Sivas, Elazig, Kirkuk, Ba’qubab, Barsa, Al-Faw, and headed towards Qatar and AUH.
Cabin:
The Diamond First Class cabin was not as private as the suites, but quite nice. The seats started to show its age, and I had to change from 2A to 1A, as the seat function did not work at all. No problem on this lightly loaded flight. There are quite a number of positions one can choose from – dining position requires your seat to move forward so you can use the dining table. There is a mirror on the table as well. Universal power outlets are available, but storage space is a bit lacking. My pet peeve was the lighting system. The reading light is not aligned with the dining table. So it makes reading very uncomfortable, as well as taking meal pictures. I hate using flash but had to use it for a number of pictures. Thankfully it was a lightly loaded flight. I hope the diamond suite will address the issue better. I did not turn the seat into sleeping position because I was not particularly tired on this short flight. My body clock is on west coast time.
Entertainment system:
Etihad has an on demand system, and has the latest selection of movies and short subjects. But it pales compared to Emirates and Singapore Airlines. But I like the multiple map fuction. I just watched DVD using my laptop throughout the flight.
Really enjoyable!
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