Review: Etihad Airways B777 – First Class

Foreword

When I planned this dream trip to the United Arab Emirates, one of my goals was to travel in one of the most beautiful First Class in the world: Etihad Airways First Apartment on an Airbus A380.

The description made by Etihad:

Traveling in an A380 is an experience in itself, so much so that this aircraft improves the comfort of passengers in all classes of travel.

But traveling in First Class on Etihad Airways, in an A380 is a dream for many people… including points and miles hunters. This first class, called « Apartment » includes:

• a very large chair
• a dedicated bed
• a vanity for ladies
• a shower on board!
• a lobby to have a drink and relax…

In short, a unique travel experience!

You can see on this cabin plan, the space devoted to First Class apartments on the upper deck of the A380.

A few hours before departure, I receive an alert from Expertflyer:

This is a feature you can program in Expertflyer to monitor whether an aircraft change is planned by the airline.

Unfortunately, a few hours before departure, we had no other option than to « suffer » this change of aircraft. #firstworldproblem

Boarding

After a few hours of relaxing in the Etihad Airways lounge, Audrey and I headed to our gate. We will be the first to board through an entrance dedicated to First Class which has 8 seats.

Our seats are the 2D-G, in the center of the cabin.

These are separated by a partition, which is of course removable for people traveling together.

While the stewardess is adjusting our seats, I take the opportunity to have a look at the cabin, and especially at the solitary seats on the window side.

If you are traveling alone, these seats are perfect, with 3-4 individual windows.

Let’s take a closer look at our chairs.

Under the ottoman, you will have room for your carry-on luggage: you can note that our Away luggage fits perfectly in this space.

But in order to place my second carry-on bag in this location (including camera, computer, passports…), I prefer to place our Away bags in the overhead bins located in business class, right behind us.

I take the opportunity to take some pictures of the first business class cabin, still empty:

Back in First Class, you can see that there is no luggage compartment, which gives a real sense of space!

While the boarding continues, under the background of Etihad’s music, the hostess offers us Champagne, cold drinks… and a souvenir photo.

At our seats, we note the presence of a trunk in which you will find water bottles and other snacks, as well as a closet to hang your clothes, once you put on your pajamas!

The blanket provided is very soft and pleasant.

The screen is very large… which is nice considering the distance between us!

There is an outlet for your electrical accessories, as well as good quality headphones.

At present, the hostess brings us the travel kit, of mark Aqua di Parma with products of quality (we regret however the absence of earplugs…!):

And she provides us with pajamas that we can put on before takeoff. Let’s go to the bathroom!

This one is very spacious and « classy » with its black and white tones. Hygiene products are in abundance in the various drawers!

Back at our seat – and still before takeoff – we are offered the menu options for tonight: either a full menu or a snack to optimize sleep time. We will choose… the full menu!

Service on board

Shortly after takeoff, cocktails will be served:

• Americano Cocktail (Campari, White Martini, Soda)
• Brass Monkey (Vodka, Rum, Orange juice)

Then the service begins:

With caviar (note that between 2 services, it is really possible to isolate yourself by closing the doors of our « suite »:

Then we each chose a different entry:

• Saumon fumé
• Arabic Mezze

Then a different course with a beautiful dessert (and many glasses of champagne!):

The service lasted about 1h30, the time of a movie.

Shortly after the service, the cabin was dimmed… to reveal a starry sky!

The hostess then set up our chairs in bed mode with the addition of a mattress topper, a comforter and a pillow. A real cocoon for a few hours of sleep.

The flight was shorter than expected: about 5h50 to reach Abu Dhabi from Paris.

Bottom line

A great flight on Etihad in this Boeing 777. The service was excellent and attentive. As for the product offered: it is very comfortable, but we are far from the great luxury of the A380 that we had the chance to have for our return.