Etihad ground staff at Perth Airport told me the reason for people being upgraded to First Class was because the airplane used was not the usual one for that route, and the usual one doesn't have First. So presumably there were either insufficient seats in Business for the number of booked passengers (which would be odd, as I had upgraded from Economy with points) or they wanted people in First for weight distribution, or to give the staff something to do.
The suite was certainly very comfortable, though slightly annoyingly I couldn't put my feet up on the little seat at the other end as it was too far away. (For some reason it appears to have a seat belt.) I am about 5' 9" in old money. Nice to have a mattress a bit like a futon, and a duvet. I didn't use the pyjamas, but took them home with me. (No I didn't sleep naked - I had brought my own comfy clothes for sleeping.)
Service was OK but I actually found the staff too obsequious (apart from the "On-board chef" who had a nice professional air); really it was probably just one female flight attendant who was like that, but I saw a lot of her. Also despite being less than half full (and in First being full would be no excuse) or perhaps because of it, service was a bit patchy. The call button was not responded to quickly, (and I mean, I waited 5 minutes or longer on two occasions) and a request for a cup of tea and some water resulted in the tea eventually, but no water. There was a little mini-bar with fancy bottled water, but the bottle was small and soon emptied, and I would have preferred one of the 500ml plastic bottles you get elsewhere in the plane, as it would have lasted longer.
The cabin was so quiet that other people talking was actually intrusive and annoying (a First World problem I know!). The headphones were superb - the noise cancelling worked brilliantly, but you can't sleep with them on, as they are too bulky, and the ear plugs were standard airline fare, wouldn't stay in my ears and barely had any effect.
While it was nice to have a choice of champagnes, and the other wines were good, the dinner I ordered was too fancy and rich for me. The stuff I did enjoy was similar to what I've had in Business Class, which suggests First Class is beyond my palate.
The one toilet was on the other side of the cabin from me, so to get to it I had to go through the galley. This was annoying for the staff and for me - you shouldn't have to feel guilty about going to the toilet. The toilet itself was not greatly different from Business or even Economy, though it was a little bigger than is usual, and decorated differently. Real towels for drying your hands are nice, but there was no receptacle for them, so other passengers were putting them in the bin. I set mine on the bench, knowing that staff were checking the toilets frequently.
If my experience was typical of Etihad First Class, frankly I would turn down the upgrade in future - a window seat in Business is as high as I aspire to.
As usual, the inflight entertainment controls had a mind of their own, and if the screen was touch-screen it was too far away to be controlled that way (I think it wasn't touch actually). Fast forward and reverse are very imprecise. Often with fast reverse you actually end up a few seconds forward! It's a tiny issue, a first world problem, but being mildly irritated a dozen or more times in a flight leaves a slightly bad impression.
So I guess Etihad Business Class is good enough for me.
Of course, flying First, or Business, did not provide a solution to the transit at Perth Airport. I used to live in Perth and I know that there is only one airport, so playing sardines on a transit bus for what seemed like a 20-minute journey is just stupid - Perth Airport needs a sensible internal transport system (I still think Gatwick's maglev is the best I've experienced). Ground staff told me there were 60 transferees, but our plane was slightly late arriving in Perth, and an Emirates plane had also just landed with scores of transferees, so it took several buses, with significant waits in between them, to get us to Domestic Terminal. Luggage took quite some time to come out - not just mine, everyone's - compounding the slightly tense and pressured transfer.
Virgin to Sydney was OK. Bear in mind I was back in Cattle Class but the length of journey was tolerable in Economy, the IFE was OK (though the disposable earphones were terrible - luckily I had my noise-cancelling Sennheisers with me, and unexpectedly there were even batteries in them, even though I hadn't needed them on Etihad) and the free food and alcohol a nice bonus.
I failed to factor into my travel plans that I would be returning to Sydney Domestic, so I had to hike over to International to collect my car! I used the train, as I hate buses. But this was two reminders why I hate transfers, and I fly Etihad because I go through fewer airports to Dublin than with any other airline (except Emirates, but their connections are terrible).
Anyone who has read my comments before may recall me whingeing about the internal security in Abu Dhabi, but on the outward journey there was no queue, and on the return journey my flight from Dublin arrived in Terminal 3, the same one I would depart from, so I didn't have to go through the security.
Now to chase up all the missing points.
