I am crazy. People have told me that because of prior decisions I've made and I really started to believe it about halfway through my three-part flight from Bangkok to Christchurch, New Zealand which began with a seven-hour flight to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates followed by a 22-hour layover.
The airline with which we flew made the painfully-long flight much more bearable. Being my first flight with Etihad Air, I had no idea what to expect. Thus, imagine my pleasant surprise when the seats I assumed to be Business Class turned out to be our Economy ones. The seats were noticeably larger than those on other planes, we were given a little "sleep well" packet with earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste, noise-cancelling headphones, and the widest selection of in-flight entertainment I had ever seen in my life. The real thing that put the service over the edge was the eye masks provided. One side of it said "do not disturb," and the other said "wake me up to eat." That is genius. The built-in tray even had various options. You could fold it down halfway for just drinks, pull out the cup holder next to the drink screen, or fold out the tray all the way for larger projects or meals.
The flight attendants were gorgeous and impeccably dressed, of course, and provided sensational service with only a light dose of sass on the side. They passed out menus with dining options and a list of the available beverages which included top shelf alcohol and fine wines and beers. After the safety video, the pilot came over the PA and announced that he would be dimming the cabin lights, which then transformed to dim lights of changing colors, giving the plane's interior a rather "party bus" feel.
Yes, Etihad was fantastic on the two out of three legs of the journey during which we used them. The only negative aspect disguised as a luxury was that the seats reclined incredibly far. This would be nice in theory for anyone able to sleep in an overly-reclined-airplane-seat position (a very specific sleep position), bot not for someone like me who prefers to sleep leaning forward with her head on the tray. When the seat in front of me was all the way back, placing my head on a tray was impossible. That's not to say I didn't crane my neck in ridiculous ways in an attempt to do so anyways.
Another complaint has nothing to do with the crew or company, but with a rather.... charming... passenger. Starting during the meal portion of the flight and heading well into the designated sleeping part of the flight, one rather large and boisterous man was leaning on my seat and standing in the aisle while loudly speaking Farsi to another passenger. The flight attendants were getting quickly irritated as he couldn't even be bothered to move his big bum even an inch as they tried to move past to do their job. So that was fun. Oh wait...no, it really wasn't.
I was considering coupling this blog with my reflections on the Middle East, specifically their airport security and customs, but I love leaving you curious and this blog is a novel already, so hold your horses.
My only question now is... what does their first class look like??
The airline with which we flew made the painfully-long flight much more bearable. Being my first flight with Etihad Air, I had no idea what to expect. Thus, imagine my pleasant surprise when the seats I assumed to be Business Class turned out to be our Economy ones. The seats were noticeably larger than those on other planes, we were given a little "sleep well" packet with earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste, noise-cancelling headphones, and the widest selection of in-flight entertainment I had ever seen in my life. The real thing that put the service over the edge was the eye masks provided. One side of it said "do not disturb," and the other said "wake me up to eat." That is genius. The built-in tray even had various options. You could fold it down halfway for just drinks, pull out the cup holder next to the drink screen, or fold out the tray all the way for larger projects or meals.
The flight attendants were gorgeous and impeccably dressed, of course, and provided sensational service with only a light dose of sass on the side. They passed out menus with dining options and a list of the available beverages which included top shelf alcohol and fine wines and beers. After the safety video, the pilot came over the PA and announced that he would be dimming the cabin lights, which then transformed to dim lights of changing colors, giving the plane's interior a rather "party bus" feel.
Yes, Etihad was fantastic on the two out of three legs of the journey during which we used them. The only negative aspect disguised as a luxury was that the seats reclined incredibly far. This would be nice in theory for anyone able to sleep in an overly-reclined-airplane-seat position (a very specific sleep position), bot not for someone like me who prefers to sleep leaning forward with her head on the tray. When the seat in front of me was all the way back, placing my head on a tray was impossible. That's not to say I didn't crane my neck in ridiculous ways in an attempt to do so anyways.
 |
| NOT POSSIBLE!! |
 |
| He's mastered it |
Another complaint has nothing to do with the crew or company, but with a rather.... charming... passenger. Starting during the meal portion of the flight and heading well into the designated sleeping part of the flight, one rather large and boisterous man was leaning on my seat and standing in the aisle while loudly speaking Farsi to another passenger. The flight attendants were getting quickly irritated as he couldn't even be bothered to move his big bum even an inch as they tried to move past to do their job. So that was fun. Oh wait...no, it really wasn't.
I was considering coupling this blog with my reflections on the Middle East, specifically their airport security and customs, but I love leaving you curious and this blog is a novel already, so hold your horses.
My only question now is... what does their first class look like??
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