And now for something completely different! [EY F]

[DeltaFlyingProf]

I guess some airlines come up very regularly in trip reports. They are the big airlines that make the beaten track. So I thought I'd do two things:

1. Get off the beaten track
2. Bring the number of international F airlines I have flown to 17 (Not counting any domestic F in the US)

To attain that goal, I decided to try Etihad on one of its longest flights. So I took EY 151 Abu Dhabi-Chicago in F.

Due to the late arrival of my connecting flight, I unfortunately did not get a chance of trying the famed F lounge of Etihad in Abu Dhabi. Instead I had to immediately go to the boarding gate.

If you've never been to AUH, the architecture of the terminal is rather unique.



Each satellite is like a doughnut with the gates on the perimeter.

[nickbot]

Appetite successfully whetted DFP

[jjpb3]

Appetite successfully whetted DFP

F tart.

Great start, as always, DFP.

[nickbot]

F tart.

Moi ?!

[SliverKris]

I am so looking forward to this one. EY F product swept all F class awards in Skytrax survey this year.

If you've never been to AUH, the architecture of the terminal is rather unique.

To me it's a crossover of being like genie in the bottle and inside a beehive.

[HUGE AL]

F tart.

Great start, as always, DFP.

+1

Yes you, nickbot!

[jjpb3]

I am so looking forward to this one. EY F product swept all F class awards in Skytrax survey this year.

You do know your SQT street (or is it 'cloud'?) cred goes down a couple of levels if you cite Skytrax, right?

[N_Architect]

Good start, will be interesting to read.

[coffeeblack]

Excited. I love me some Monty Python quotes... Oh wait. This isn't a sketch, it's a trip report! EVEN better.

[HUGE AL]

You do know your SQT street (or is it 'cloud'?) cred goes down a couple of levels if you cite Skytrax, right?

I was going to say something, but decided to utilize one of the awesome features of this site.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

Boarding was already almost complete when I got to the gate. The two agents manning the boarding called my name as I approached. That is to say that the list of passengers that had not boarded yet was very short. They asked me: "Can you guess how we knew your name?"; to which I answered "Am I the last one to board?". They answered no and gave me some bogus answer but nice anyway. Each sub-satellite of the donut has a security service and I went through it swiftly. Thus I was ready to board the A340-500 waiting for completion of the boarding.



If there is one thing I learned, it is to never board early a flight out of AUH!
The AC was down and the shades in F were closed. You can see on the picture that shades in Y were not all down. One thing is certain, it was HOT in there! A bit uncomfortable but alright.
As I arrived so late, I actually did not take a picture of the seat in the upright position. What I can say however is that EY has now 2 possible F seat. The older ones that can rotate 180 degrees to allow two passengers to eat face to face in their own seats and the new 'suites'.

The suites were first installed on the A340-600 and as I had determined that the flight would be served with a -500 I thought I would have the old seats.
However this aircraft was fitted with the new suites. Just like on SQ 77W, there is no overhead compartment. I gave one of my bags to the FA and the other went under the Ottoman.

[MAN Flyer]

Hello DFP, nice to see you're still pontificating around the world in F!.

I suppose 'unique' is one way of describing it.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

Coming back to the boarding, I must say that as I entered, I was greeted by a flight attendant. Seeing that I had seat 2A, she had another attendant accompany me to my suite. She is the one to whom I handed my roll aboard.
Shortly after, she came back to ask what I wanted to drink and told me they had two champagnes. A Veuve Clicquot Blanc de Blancs and a rosé. I started with the blanc de blancs



Ahead of the glass is a thank you card signed by the purser.

On the Champagne subject, I did not give it enough attention unfortunately... She brought the bottle and showed it before pouring it, and then did so carefully and according to the strictest rules of proper Champagne pouring.
However, trying to do some research about that Champagne, I cannot find a single picture of its label and only one store that had it but is out of it now...
If someone knows more about it, I'd be delighted to know more.

PS: I was pretty tired, which explains I was not in my best shape to make a good trip report.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

Here is a picture showing the card as well as the box of chocolates that also comes before departure.



And a more complete view of the suite from the seat side. The IFE has a very large screen and the IFE is overall excellent. It has as much variety as SQ's system I believe.



To the left of the ottoman is a small compartment in which a bottle of water and a pack of nuts (excellent nuts) can be found. Though I must say that since the box is filled before the flight, the water can get quite warm.

The seat controls are on the left and similar to LX's system. It's a touch screen system with a few external buttons for the most common functions. Here it is in light control mode:



and in seat recline control mode:



One down point of the EY suite is the lack of space to keep things out of your pocket yet within reach. Not the worst of things, but an obvious lack of foresight on the designers' part.

[SQflyergirl]

Yet another Rare TR (for SQTalk) Very much enjoyed it - thanks for sharing this with us!