The Great Escape - EY J LHR-MEL

[TonyHancock]

Prologue

There is something a little disconcerting about a prayer coming up on the IFE prior to take off. I suppose if I was flying AF then this might be comforting. The pre take off prayer is just one of the little things that sets EY aside from my usual carriers BA and QF.

I decided to write a trip report because it has been commented that EY reports are relatively scarce on AFF. I find myself flying EY for two reasons, firstly price, and secondly the need to maintain my Platinum status with DJ. (Although through sheer incompetence this particular leg will not help me at all! It will however see MrsH keeping gold status though )

My day started at 5:45 AM :shock: when my iPhone, residing on the desk of my Hilton Queen Executive Room, began playing Side Saddle by Russ Conway. The overwhelming urge to make this dreadful din cease makes getting up relatively easy....although incredibly unpleasant.

I had over indulged a touch too much in the exec lounge the previous night and then knocked off a bottle of Shiraz, whilst watching the dreadful Olympics closing ceremony, so was feeling a little delicate. I was fearing the worst. Not liking being too far removed from my comfort zone I was a little unsure of what to expect on my EY flights back to Australia. (I had flown EY previously but that was five months ago and my memory is not what it used to be.)

This was the first of my "returns" from the UK to Australia to take advantage of the price of tickets booked outside of Australia. The cost of this trip came in at $4,400, which is pretty good for J. Now what I had not considered when I booked this was that I would be flying the day after the closing ceremony of The Olympics, the day forecast to be the busiest in LHR's history. :shock:

.....and that was why my alarm went off at 5:45 AM.

 

[TonyHancock]

LHR T4

LHR T4 has never been my favourite airport, although I consider it better than NBO and perhaps EZE, and I feared the worst. The prospect of tripping over minor olympic athletes, and worse USA Olympians did nothing to improve my, already, delicate state. T4 is the Scary Team hub. :shock: (Enough said!)

The brisk walk over to the terminal cleared my head a little. It was busy, not as busy as I feared, but busy. Lots of minor, US Olympians were wandering around in their tracksuits, whilst other pax appeared ro have lost the use of their legs as they stood gormlessly looking around. Having battled my way through the throngs I found the EY check in area. The J and F check in lanes were well policed, actually I say well policed I wandered through with a flash of my DJ platinum card.

The check in agent needed to sight my credit card, actually to be specific she needed to sight the credit card used to purchase the flights. This was a problem, I was on the fourth iteration of that particular Amex card. Unusually I had actually be sober enough to pop the credit card statement with that particular transaction on to my iPad so the problem was resolved quickly.

Seat selection with EY is a pain. I had telephoned EY at the time of booking and requested "A" seats, but an equipment change, for this leg, had left me without a seat allocation. My attempted online check in had at least secured me an aisle seat.

So far so good. There were no queues at the security screening, and no passport checks.

All that was left to be done was a spot of shopping, I'm warming to the Thomas Pink Traveller range of shirts.

The EY joint F/J lounge is really rather nice and still has a rather exclusive feel to it. It is located where the old BA F lounge was - opposite Gate 10. I had a couple of cups of tea, picked up my email, and read the newspapers. I didn't take up the option of breakfast or time in the spa.

I left the lounge 45 mins before departure, walked across to Gate 10, and boarded immediately through the priority lane.

My fears, so far were unfounded!

 

[TonyHancock]

EY12

As an experienced traveller I am used to the boarding process and know my way around an aircraft. I boarded the 777 and immediately got lost. My confusion was caused by the need to turn left for row 6, rather than right where I found myself.

This 777 had a mini J cabin, rows 5 and 6, behind F.



This was my first flight on an EY 777, my previous trips had all been on A345's or A346's and none of them had the new J fit out. I am impressed, I actually found the seat more comfortable than the Skybed Mk II and the IFE included the necessary inputs to connect an iPad...and of course other devices.

Drinks orders were taken prior to take off. (Champagne, juice or water - still and sparkling were served upon boarding. - I opted for sparkling water so can't comment on the "champagne") There was a short delay, perhaps 10 minutes or so, and then we were up and away.

My gin and tonic was delivered within minutes of the seat belt sign being turned off and along with it came a bowl of warm nuts. (Yes warm nuts, something once served in QF F!!)

I took my lunch early - if I understood correctly timing was down to pax choice. The salmon was very nice and washed down with a Kim Crawford 2011 sauvignon blanc or two. Dessert, for me, was a selection of cheeses, three in fact, and crackers. I have noticed in other reviews that the meals have not met people's expectations, but I have to say they were better than the usual Fred Perry slop on QF.

After a three hour nap, were were beginning our decent, slightly ahead of schedule, into AUH.

All up this was a good flight, the service was excellent, and the hard product very good.

 

[TonyHancock]

AUH J Lounge

The landing in AUH was one of the smoothest landings I can recall. (Is this typical of the 777 - I can't remember the last time I was on a 777) Perhaps I was sufficiently "medicated" so as not to notice!

AUH is a "laptop in the bag", sort of airport for security, but its also belt off. I don't understand the lack of consistency when it comes to airport security.

There were clearly few flights landing at the same time as EY12, either that or nobody in J knew where the lounge was. As J lounges go I think the EY's AUH effort is a good one. There is a decent selection of food, reasonable internet, and I didn't experience the crowding that others have reported.



A couple of bottle of Perrier and a sandwich later and it was off to board. (I knew what I was facing - an A345 with no overhead locker space in the centre - I wanted to get on board early.)

 

[Major]

Havn''t been on EY for more than 12 months. Do they still have this boarding music ?

Etihad Boarding Music by Etihad Airways on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

 

[TonyHancock]

EY460

As I lined up with other J passengers to board, I noticed five rather attractive young ladies ahead of me in the queue. It was difficult not to notice them really, a) because they were wearing a fair bit of make up, stillettos, and were attractive in an obvious way, and b) because they were making enough noise to be heard in Dubai. It was soon apparent they were EY staff, presumably air crew, and Australian. I have obviously been traveling too long because my first thought was how to plan my "restroom" usage. (You at the back stop sniggering please, you have been watching far too many carry on films.) It was clear to me that these ladies would be staging some sort of restroom occupation at the start and end of the flight. :shock:

Seat 7A was my seat of choice. It was not right at the front, and was a window seat that gave the feeling of a private suite. Unfortunately it was the old, and rather tired, fit out. :-|(I have seen the question asked a few times about an update to the A345's but without any definitive answer. there seems to be a "feeling" that there will be no new fit outs on these aircraft.) The five ladies were served their pre flght champagne first and gathered together at the front of the J section, chatting to the FA's and amongst themselves. It was quite noticeable at first, but then as the "fog" descended it was pretty much impossible to see across the cabin.



We were delayed for about 30 mins because of congestion in the region, and the mixing of cold and warm air meant "mist" billowed out of the aircraft vents. It was a real pea souper!

Once again drinks orders were taken prior to take off, and if you were an Etihad crew member traveling in J, served shortly after the seat belt sign off. If you were a bog standard pax you waited a little longer, although it was a touch irritating to watch the FA's wander past one with drinks to be served to the aforementioned staff sitting behind one!

Warm nuts and a gin and tonic made the world look a much better place, although I could not get my iPad to hook up with the IFE system so found myself, albeit briefly, irritable. A spot of Jeeves & Wooster soon cleared that up though.



I opted to take dinner as soon as possible and once again was pleasantly surprised by the offering. (I knew what to expect after seeing dinner served to the EY staff before any other pax though!)

The soup was asparagus with sour cream.



Followed by grilled sea bass with mash potatoes, tomatoes and other green things.



The food was very good, presentation fine, and very tasty. Whilst I am making light of the EY staff being served first the reality is that the service was pretty good, and unlike QF very attentive. There was no stage where I felt I needed to go and refresh my glass myself or press the attendant button to get service. All through the flight the FA's kept an eye on the cabin.

I managed five hours sleep and the lay flat position is OK. I know some think it is a bit short but for me (5' 11") it was just fine. When I awoke the FA was on hand to check if there was anything I needed.

For me I took a cup of tea at breakfast and skipped the "full english" food offering. It did seem a little odd to be offering breakfast at 4:00 PM MEL time. :shock:

The restrooms were duly occupied by the EY staff traveling in J for about 1.5 hours as the ladies changed from their flying attire back to the stilettos and skirts and most definitely necessary make up. (To be fair they only spent half an hour after take off to change into flying attire.)

Landing was on schedule and there were no other international flights in at the same time. I found myself through immigration and customs within 15 mins of landing. The EY chauffuer escorted me to the car and I was home within an hour!

Overall it really is a decent experience. Based on price it is a "no brainer" The quality of service and food, in my opinion, is better than QF J. The older fit out on the A345's is not so good. So will I be flying EY more regularly? Probably not! If I drop down to WP status with QF then I might, but the use of points for JASA's and FASA's and my treatment as a P1 keeps me coming back. There is still some uncertainty for me with EY, I never quite know what to expect. Until DJ/VA joins an alliance there will always be some doubts at to entitlements and I like certainty when I travel!

 

[TonyHancock]

Havn''t been on EY for more than 12 months. Do they still have this boarding music ?

Etihad Boarding Music by Etihad Airways on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

Sounds familer but to be honest I didn't pay much attention.

 

[openseat]

Great report. I've only flown EY on the 777 without F BKK to ORD. I found the window seats like a suite and service very good.

 

[RB]

Thanks, this was a good read.

 

[mella2007]

Great report Tony and agreed with their landing being smooth. In fact my flight to AUH started clapping when it happened.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Great report Tony and agreed with their landing being smooth. In fact my flight to AUH started clapping when it happened.

A smooth landing is a pax landing, not necessarily a pilots landing. Deceptive I know.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Thank you Sir, comprehensive and concise. Another tomb indicating you can't buy class, but can opportunistically imitate it occasionally.

Locking in entitlements was the key to repeat business here, I summarised that in the chance any dullard airline analysts are lurking.

 

[TheEmu]

Thank you Sir, comprehensive and concise. Another tomb indicating you can't buy class, but can opportunistically imitate it.

AFF's up-market version of Hunter S. Thompson, perhaps?
A good fun read, thanks.