4k Trip Report and Review on board an Etihad Airways 787-9 Dreamliner from Abu Dhabi to Milan Malpensa.
Hi there! My name is Kevin and today we will take a look at my business class trip from Abu Dhabi to Milan on board a sleek 787-9. We will take a look at the full Abu Dhabi transit and lounge experience, talk about Abu Dhabi’s tragically delayed new terminal, check out the aircraft & seat in detail, explore all of the food on board, go through all of today’s amenities and then of course wrap it all up with The Flip Flop Score.
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💰 Airfare
Airfare (CGK-AUH-MXP): $1036 USD
Fare Basis: ZV3JK
📽 Next 5 Videos
⇢ 06 Oct: The Westin Palace Milan
⇢ 08 Oct: The Excelsior Hotel Gallia, Luxury Collection, Milan
⇢ 13 Oct: Hyatt Centric Milan Centrale
⇢ 15 Oct: Singapore Airways A350 Business Class Milan – Barcelona
⇢ 26 Oct: Majestic Hotel Barcelona
⏰ Videos posted at:
9:00 (New York), 14:00 (London), 20:00 (VN), 23:00 (Sydney)
—Video Chapters—
0:00 Flight Preview
00:23 Intro
00:34 Welcome to Abu Dhabi
00:42 Walking Through Terminal 1-3 Shops
01:05 Warning, This Video is an Honest Review
01:38 Flip Flop Butt Cam
01:50 Business Class Lounge Walk Through
02:18 Shower Suites
02:24 “Simmering Urinal” Story
02:34 Food Offerings
03:05 Walking to the (Bus) Gate
03:15 Midfield Terminal Story
04:03 Our Gate Area
04:09 Our Flight Stats
04:21 Business Class & Babies Bus Ride
04:41 Etihad’s Widebody Fleet
05:08 Boarding 787-9 via Stairs (Great views!)
05:38 Turning Left, Cabin First Impressions
06:04 Seat & Cabin Details (Graphics)
06:16 Seat Measurements
06:28 Smart & Stylish Seat in Great Condition
06:42 Avoid Row 9
06:52 Seat & Suite Details
07:36 Champagne Pre Departure Drink
07:50 In Flight Entertainment Selections
08:15 Best Blanket in The Skies
08:40 Cavernous Foot Cubby
08:50 Stylish Acqua di Parma Amenity Kit
09:24 Pushback & Taxi Route
09:43 Midfield Terminal View
09:58 Spool up & Take off
10:40 Bed in Full Flat Mode
11:04 Our Route Today
11:15 Vile Bellini
11:36 Full Menu & Wine Prices
11:54 Steak Sandwich (Tender as Flannel!)
12:10 Happy Babies
12:21 Bathroom Amenities
12:26 Nap over Kuwait
12:38 “Dark” Windows during Sunrise
12:48 Crossing Croatian Coast
13:00 Breakfast Service (Arabic Breakfast)
13:20 Service on Our Flight
13:43 Approach Route, Flying Over Venice
14:21 Landing at Malpensa
15:00 Taxi to Gate
15:17 Arrival in Milan
15:42 The Flip Flop Score
Music featured in this video is licensed under an Artlist Unlimited License.
This is NOT a promotional video. I pay for all of my flights and hotels (and I always tell you how much!) so I can be as honest and impartial as possible. I do not receive any special treatment that wouldn’t otherwise be publicly accessible, in fact, the hotels and airlines have no idea about my visit and that’s the way I like it!
#etihadairways #tripreport #businessclass
43 Comments
Thank You for this frank and very honest review !!! It refreshing for someone to tell the truth instead of just mentioning the good and nothing about the bad !!!
Great video. Good to know how crowded Abu Dhabi can be, I flew Etihad next month.
Good lord, that steak sandwich looked awful…🤮
Thanks for your review, anyway! 😄
Another good vlog with sincere comments…
Dont like these Busines class seats.Great work
The way the video opens with "Etihad’ s Abu Dhabi hub sucks" cracked me up 🤣🤣🤣
Another very informative, but also very entertaining video! Some remarks made me laugh out loud 😂 Can’t wait for the next one, thank you for all your hard work 🙏🏼
Fantastic description of the boiling urinal. I mean the way you described it made me feel like I was actually there! Anyways, are you still planning to go to Hong Kong now that they are easing the quarantine requirements? I was born there and I still keep track of HK news. Personally, I won't suggest going there. There are just way too many better places to visit in South Asia.
Maybe the Flight Attendant found you attractive and that's why she got closed to you? 🙂
That Steak Sandwich looked awful. Amazing they haven't yet moved out of that overcrowded hub airport, I haven't flown Etihad for a while and I had assumed it had already happened.
Hello mr flip flop =>>
Thanks for the honest review of Etihad. Like Emirates, I always assumed Etihad provided a similar high level of service-so thanks for the heads-up on their mediocre, at best, service offered both at their Abu Dhabi hub and on-board. Once again, another great video but since you DO request feedback on how to improve your videos-here's mine : it would be great if you can either reformat that disclaimer or get rid of it all together. Having said that, you do create honest, informative and entertaining content so please keep them coming – Thanks !!
Thanks once again for these detailed videos. Always enjoy the thrice weekly uploads. I have not yet flown with Etihad (amazingly), but even if I did it would only be in economy. The business class situation you presented looks sufficient for me 😉 However the story you told of the attendant being forced off the plane by the purser is actually quite upsetting. I wonder what the problem was.
Etihad were certainly good to me, but have been equally bad and ugly over the years. I remember being a Gold/Silver card holder and was regularly upgraded from Business to First, during James Hogan's day. Very nice!! Initially Etihad had some great flagship lounges, London and the Alitalia lounge in Malpensa were my favourites. Sadly during their demise the lounges soon disappeared and were replaced by some very poor third party lounges. The bad!! The lounge in Abu Dhabi is passable, but like you previously stated Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business lounge is not much better. The ugly are those old terminals, I just cannot believe Etihad have still not completed their new terminal. Reminds me of the Qatar's New Terminal that went well past its completion date. I must admit I do not miss those frequent scrums at those small gates and clearly remember many customers waiting, for their own flights, after yours long departed.
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Hmm appears as though Etihad have some catching up to do in comparison to Qatar and Emirates.
Your videos are amazing! And I agree. Every time I fly through AUH, I'm baffled by their mediocre lounge filled to brim with couch sleepers especially in the later evening… I don't think we can expect any progress until that terminal issue is sorted which is a shame😬
Kevin, I worked in Dubai for 4 years, DXB and EK, were the airport and airline of choice. A couple of times I traveled out of AUH… really bad to say the least. As usual I love your video and review. I used enjoyed premium cabins without babies… the golden aviation days are over. Phillip Gachet (EK Product Guru) would enjoy your points of view. Please whenever able you must take a ride on EK. Happy Landing’s GG
Next time you ‘chase the shadow’, could you let us know who won?
🤣🤣🤣
What could have happened to that Male Cabin Crew who was to "take care of you"..?? 🤔
Could he have been offloaded due script mistakes, standards non compliance or …??
Mmmm… Would be interesting to know… 🤔
I like your straightforward and honest reviews! But honestly, since you arrived at 11 PM and had to hang around for about 3 or 4 hours, why not just pay a few dollars and pick out a nice luxury hotel and spend the night (or two) in Abu Dhabi. And then begin the delightful journey onward, including a visit to that fabulous steamy hot shower room! 😂
do you know how wheel chair users get up the airplane stairs?
Wow…I’m getting sensory overload…the food, the urinals, the crew…..dog rough! Nonetheless, a great video.
Thanks for video
That lounge is heaven compared to the old lounge which was way to small.
EY have had their moment,they are not as good as their early years sadly.
The onboard catering on flights to SYD used tobe very extensive.
Now all cut back sadly.
Awesome review. Most will sadly miss your humour👍😁
To many buts for the "Number 1 airline"
Any way you could show how you were able to get cost you did? Seems like a great value and would LOVE to know any tips you have to get best price?
Great video again, I do like you say how you see it. It like having a chat in the pub.
I just transited Abu Dhabi from Zurich to Kuala Lumpur. My impressions from the messy airport are exactly the same as you mentioned. I also agree with your description of the business class seat. Odd was also the lack of privacy, compared to other business classes. The food I had was quite good, especially the "sambal sea bass" I had on the way to KL was one of the best airline dishes I ever had. disappointing is the wine selection; it shows clearly the fundamental problem of Etihad: they try to be a premium boutique airline, but they economise so much that pretension and reality still produce a visible gap.
Great video nice capture Good job
Thanks for the review. Save me the points/$ from redeeming on ETIHAD.
Thank You for sharing this video with your honest informative feedbacks.
The original flight attendant may also have tested positive for alcohol or drugs, as this would immediately lead to a deboarding and write up or firing.
Thanks!
So great reviews and excellent videos. Underrated
I agree the airport needs to be improved, although the new terminal is finished I'm not completely sure if its gonna be open anytime soon. As it's been more the 90% complete since 2019.
Hi, Thank you for the video. Can I ask 2 questions though? Can the seat recline at all? And in order to lie flat, do you have to get up first?
It’s Oct. 10 here in the Seattle area and there are no videos posted since this one. What’s up? Emergency?
Excellent review. I fully agree the AUH hub and it's business lounge is awful. It's literally the same terminal I transited through as a 5 year old.. 30 years ago! For a layover longer than 3 hours I think adding 100 usd to upgrade to the first class lounge might almost be worth it.
I sware that guy tripped in the tan coming from the right.. 2:08
Seems like you might need an assistant 😊
I see that Etihad's CEO is moving on, after quite a short stint at the helm.
I still don't get the "Budget Luxury" title on the thumbnail. Was the ticket literally cheap or did the reviewer feel shortchanged for the amount he paid which would mean the price was not worth it?
I agree with the sentiments about AUH having transitted there 10x in the past year. This is hardly within Etihad's control and shouldn't be scored against the airline (or any airline in future reviews).
Comprehensive trip report by the way. Keep up the good work.
I flew with Etihad business Zurich to Kuala Lumpur in Nov this year. I enjoyed the flight a lot and I have no complains whatsoever with the crew. The meals were great, the drinks as well. The inflight service was very good. My seat facing forward was comfortable. The only issue I had was the Abu Dhabi business lounge, it was full to the top and only a few seats were comfortable.
I had a better experience than you did. I flew their A350-1000 business class and it was just awesome. On par with Qatar. Agree with you about AUH lounge though.