Flight Review: Etihad Boeing 787-10 Business Class
In a previous flight report I covered Etihad’s brand new A350-1000, a truly remarkable business class experience, and on the return leg of the Abu Dhabi trip I had the chance to try out their Boeing 787-10, also on business class. What follows is my flight review.
Flight# EY49
From: Abu Dhabi (AUH)
To: Barcelona (BCN)
Flight time: 7h
Aircraft: Boeing 787-10
Disclosure: This flight was courtesy of Etihad Airways
Pre-flight experience
Unlike the first leg of the trip, which included an ad-hoc tour for media and was, therefore a bit of an unusual pre-flight experience, on the return leg I was able to experience the “regular” (if this word really applies to this type of premium products) Etihad Airways business class experience when flying out of the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub.
Etihad has a specific section of the terminal dedicated to the business class check-in, it is not a separate building, more of a section of the main one, but it certainly adds to the premium feel.
Rather than designating one or two of the check-in counters in the main hall, business class passengers can check-in here in a quieter a more exclusive environment.
After check-in you just rejoin the main area of the terminal, which is located next door.
Next step was to try the Etihad Lounge and here I must say that, compared to the experience up in the air, the experience was a bit underwhelming. The facilities were not lacking per se, but, just as the rest of Abu Dhabi airport, were extremely crowded to the point that it was hard to find a spot to sit down. Maybe we just arrived at a particularly busy time, but this is consistent with what I heard before from other travellers transiting this airport.
It may be a sign of success for Etihad that the airport is reaching capacity (and this aspect may actually be beyond the powers of the airline), but, at the moment the facilities seem a bit overstretched, particularly when compared with some neighbouring hubs in the region.
When it comes to food and drink, it was correct, some warm - mainly rice-based - dishes, some salads and pre-packaged snacks and sweets, although perhaps not on a par with what you get onboard, which is, truth be told, truly outstanding.
By the way, I almost forgot to mention that I used the Etihad app to check in beforehand. And if I almost forgot is because the experience was pretty smooth.
Two things to remark:
I could upload the health-related documents by uploading a picture of the required certificates and I then received a message later on confirming I had been verified.
A feature that I found really cool: a section within the app that lets you see how full is your flight and how many people have already checked in on each of the cabin classes. I wish more airlines showed this information!
The Cabin
When it comes to the cabin, the first thing to highlight about Etihad’s B787-10 is the unusual seat layout. There are 32 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, BUT, not all seats are facing in the same direction! There are some seats facing forward and some others backward (I ignore what is the criteria here), with those in the central (aisle) section staggered alternately.
Personally I don’t have issues with flying on a backward-facing seat, but I heard some passengers do, purely psychological I guess, since I found no objective difference with the usual forward-facing arrangement.
Also, the window seat is actually a bit withdrawn from the window, but with the B787-10 huge windows you still have a pretty good, unimpeded view of the outside!
You can see here the different elements of the Etihad B78710 business class seat: armrest and storage compartment to the left side of the seat, note how the plugs are located in a way that the cables don’t interfere much if you are using headphones or charging your phone (there is an electric plug on the lower part of the right side monument, just opposite the safety card), a big surface (dark brown) to the right and very intuitive controls for the seat recline. Also, the position of the hanger, which doesn’t interfere much with your legs if you hang a suit, and the massive table (folded in this picture)
Compared to the state-of-the-art A350-1000, the business class seat on Etihad’s B787-10 has a more sturdy feel, but I quite liked some of the features. We will see them by order.
A noticeable difference with the A350-1000 is the sliding door, btw. Whereas in the A350-1000 business class it is possible to slide it close completely, on the B787-10 it only slides partially some 30cm or so, enough for a degree of privacy, but as complete as in the newer plane.
The seats recline fully so that you can lie flat to sleep (there is a simple and intuitive set of controls on the monument to the side of the seat).
But other features were quite more similar to the A350, for example, the designer lights, which are really nice aesthetically and also in creating a soothing atmosphere around you.
The design of these lamps is apparently inspired in the shapes of the Louvre Abu Dhabi (a very nice museum that I had the chance to visit and about which I will possibly write something soon on Places of Charm!).
There are three things I liked about this seat:
The space for the feet below the screen is separated in two compartments, higher and lower, which is very convenient to place your shoes out of the way while your feet are resting in the upper one
The surfaces on the side provide plenty of space to leave your things (phone, books, etc) and there is also a charger in the lower part, so the charging cable doesn’t interfere at all.
The table is pretty big and solid, great for eating with plenty of space. More on the food part shortly!
By the way, the Louvre Abu Dhabi also features prominently in the Etihad safety video!
You can regulate the lighting through this very intuitive screen
The light brown compartment that appears on the foreground (left side pic) doubles as a storage space if you raise the top (you can find the complimentary bottle of water here inside)
The business class toilet had the same tiled pattern that we already found on the A350-1000.
One particularity of the B787 (I haven’t come across on any other aircraft type that has it, if you are you aware of any, please let me know!) is the toilet window that you can see here on this picture.
Food and drink
I’ve said it before and I repeat it here: food onboard Etihad is truly amazing.
In this case it was a night flight, taking off at 3am and well after having had dinner at the lounge. The opportunities to taste Etihad’s business class delights were, therefore, limited, but still the experience did not disappoint.
Starting by the refreshment I had right at the start: the sweet lemonade with spices drink, followed by the Haagen-Dasz ice-cream with Gran Marnier.
The next meal was breakfast and here there was a choice, just like with the main meal whenever lunch or dinner is served.
I opted for the Mediterranean-Middle Eastern option (Foul medames with manakish, sumac labneh and halloumi) and I think it was a great choice, judge by yourselves in the pictures below!
Entertainment and amenities
If you read the preceding A350-1000 flight review you are already familiar with the contents of the Aqua di Parma amenity kit that Etihad gives to its business class passengers. Interestingly, though, the purse had a different design in this case, more elongated and with a different distribution of the pockets inside.
The contents were the same, though: socks, dental kit (toothbrush and toothpaste), eau de cologne and body lotion.
Separately, every passenger gets also a sanitary pack containing a mask, alcohol wipes, a piece of protective face-covering cloth and sanitising gel.
When it comes to inflight entertainment (IFE), each business class seat is fitted with a Panasonic 18.5” screen for inflight entertainment.
The screen can be controlled either by touch or through a console that is found next to the seat.
The content selection was rather broad and, although it possibly doesn’t have the largest catalogue of movies in the market, it is more than adequate for the duration of most flights. As you will see on the pictures below, there is a strong HBO orientation in the content selection.
Moreover, there are quite a few types of content available, including live TV and a feature that I hadn’t see yet on a plane for real, the capability to share video content with other passengers!
There is also inflight internet available, but it is not free (also for business class).
Since this was a night flight I didn’t use the IFE system much, other than the occasional peek at the map to monitor the progress of the flight between periods of sleep.
This being a Dreamliner, another unique feature that adds to the experience is the dimmable super-sized window. Not a novelty anymore, but always cool to play with!
Last, but not least, and as it was the case in the previous Etihad flight, a key element of the inflight experience is the amazing personal touch provided by the crew. In this case, big thanks to cabin manager Solange, who made sure everything was impeccably perfect during this great flight back home!
Our take
Etihad’s business class is one of the best regardless of the aircraft type you fly on.
Service onboard, crew dedication and attention to detail has been faultless in every flight I have taken with them. Food deserves also a special mention, absolutely top!
Things to improve: this may be a bit beyond the control of the airline, but, at times, Abu Dhabi airport seems to be near saturation point and this shows in the experience on the ground.