However, once we were at the counter, it was a fast process and the staff were helpful with our questions.
Flight 1: Brisbane to Abu Dhabi (14 hours)
This was the first time we've flown with Etihad so didn't know what to expect.Our plane was a 787-900 which allowed the three of us to sit together by the window.
Their seats were the usual comfort you'd expect in economy but I did like the added cushion by the heads for somewhere to lean on.
They had a USB port to charge our phones, even if it was a slow charge and nearly took an entire flight just to charge it to 100%.
The headphones socket was next to the entertainment screen as opposed to on the arm rest which was good.
We each had a blanket and pillow. But the plane was extremely warm so we didn't need the blankets.
The entertainment unit had recent movies and a good variety of everything else including games. I only
It did not have a camera to see the plane view.
Our travel agent when we booked our flight had mistakenly booked all three of us as having kids meals. So each time meals were coming out, they would ask us if we had changed seats and wondered why there was only one child instead of the three they had on their meal list.
Thankfully, the staff were understanding and were still able to bring us adult meals.
The kids meals were nice though, I ate Hadrian's chocolate mousse and drank his chocolate milk. He had his own fruit and bread roll as well as most of his potato/cheese/spaghetti hot meal. Same with his next meal, it was scrambled eggs with chicken sausages as well as fruit, yoghurt and a muffin.
The adult meals were also delicious. This was our first meal on the flight. I never took photos of any of the other meals... I must have been hungus. We had two main meals on the 14 hour flight and some snacks in between. Nathan ate Hadrian's popcorn while he slept. No regrets. We didn't have options for both meals but they were still pretty good.
Wifi is available on these flights at a cost. We bought a $20 plan to cover all of us for the entire 14 hours. Expensive, yes. Worth it, absolutely. If you have a good roaming plan on your phones, this was also available during flight. We didn't and it would have cost more than $20 for what we would have used it for.
Flight 2: Abu Dhabi to Milan (6 hours)
Another Etihad flight. It was not delayed and this time we were on a A330 Airbus which meant we were sat in the middle for all three of us to fit with another person sitting on the end.In hindsight, we would have been better to split the three of us with two sitting by the window and one sitting across from us in the middle. Luckily this was just a 6 hour flight.
Their seats were older than the previous plane. There was no added padding to lean your head against and the headphone jack was still in the armrest like planes of old. They also had a USB plug to charge devices. They had a camera to view under the plane and in front of the plane.
The entertainment unit was difficult to navigate through even though it was the same as the previous flight. It seemed the touch screen software was playing up. It had the same movies and options as the previous flight so if I wanted to fall asleep to the same movies, I could have!
But, I couldn't sleep... the plane was freezing. Like unbearable freezing. I had doubled up the blankets and still, I couldn't get rid of the chill I had. And I knew others were freezing and I also knew the staff were informed of the temperature but nothing was done about it. No wonder people can get sick on planes - it was seriously ridiculously cold and had we been on that plane for our previous 14 hour flight, we would have had pneumonia. We were also seated by the bathrooms and would wake up every time someone flushed the toilet. Gross. I did have good eye masks though and good ear plugs but it didn't help the cold on the plane.
We were yet again offered kids meals because of the mistake made in booking (even after Nathan contacted our agent and she assured us things would be sorted for our final flight.. betrayal). Staff were able to still give us adult meals and yet again, their meals were pretty good! Hadrian was given a kids activity book and his kids meals were pretty good again - I should know, I ate some of it again.
We had one meal on this flight and one snack bag. I ate every single thing on this flight. Every snack and every part of my meal. We were given an option with our breakfast meal and I chose vanilla bread as my meal. Guys, it was delicious. I started eating the bread and realised I wanted it to be the last thing I ate as well so I ate everything else that came with the meal then finished it with the bread. It was seriously delicious. I was happy with my choice.
There was more turbulence on this flight but we left on time and arrived on time. No issues.
They had wifi options that were more expensive than our first Eithad flight and also roaming options. We didn't use either during this entire flight.
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Would we recommend Etihad?
I would, if they had a reasonable temperature on all their flights.
Nathan would, but if you have the budget... go with Emirates. If you want value for money though, Etihad is satisfactory.
Hadrian, as usual, agrees with his Dad... with the exception of "if you have the money, go on a rocket".
Yeah, go on a rocket!
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