Many Australians choose to fly with Etihad Airways to Europe for its convenient connections via Abu Dhabi and its competitive airfares. The airline also partners with Virgin Australia, meaning you can earn and redeem Velocity points, enjoy Velocity status benefits and earn status credits flying Etihad.

Last decade, Etihad rapidly expanded its fleet and network. There was just one problem: it was losing a lot of money.

The national carrier of the UAE has since scaled back its network and cut a lot of costs in an effort to return to profitability. Etihad’s flights to Perth and Brisbane were unfortunately casualties of this process. But with the airline now making money again, and the opening of Abu Dhabi International Airport’s flash new Terminal A in 2023, Etihad is now ready to expand again.

Etihad still flies daily from both Sydney and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi, using a mix of Boeing 777s and 787s. I recently flew from Sydney to Abu Dhabi in Economy on Etihad’s Boeing 777-300ER. In this review, I’ll share my Etihad long-haul experience from the perspective of a Velocity Frequent Flyer member.

Flight Details

Flight number	EY451
Route	Sydney (SYD) to Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-300ER
Class of travel	Economy
Seat number	53K
On-time performance	We arrived one hour late
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I redeemed my Velocity Frequent Flyer points to book a one-way Economy Reward Seat from Sydney to Abu Dhabi. The cost was 56,000 Velocity points + $197.39 in taxes & carrier charges.

I was travelling during a peak school holiday period. Given I also booked only two months in advance, I was pleasantly surprised to find a reward seat at all on the date I wanted to fly!

I was able to save a lot of money by using my Velocity points. So I was happy with the value here.

Airport Experience

This was a popular flight and there were a lot of people checking in. The queue moved quickly, but the agent took a while to check me in as he seemed to be having some sort of trouble with my booking. After a few phone calls, he handed me a boarding pass and I was on my way through immigration and security.

Etihad invites its Business Class passengers and Etihad Guest Gold and Platinum frequent flyers to use the Air New Zealand lounge. This invitation extends to Velocity Gold and Platinum members flying with Etihad out of Sydney.

The Air New Zealand Lounge was a calm oasis during the middle of the afternoon, with a great selection of buffet food, barista-made coffee and bar service. The space had lots of natural light, as well as clean bathrooms, showers and a designated kids play area. I really liked this lounge.

As lounge access isn’t a standard inclusion with an Etihad Economy ticket, the lounge experience won’t affect my rating for this flight. But I’ve mentioned this as it may be of interest to those eligible for lounge access.

Before boarding, I also decided to check out The House Lounge using Priority Pass. This was Etihad’s old lounge at Sydney Airport and still has the look and feel of an Etihad Lounge. This was much smaller and more crowded than the Air New Zealand Lounge. It had a small buffet and bar service available, but you had to pay extra for plated meals or use of the showers.

I headed over to the gate when the airport screens showed the flight as “boarding”, but boarding hadn’t actually started yet and was delayed a bit. There were two priority boarding lanes, but the signage was a bit confusing and didn’t match the overhead TV screens.

We sat on the aircraft for another 40 minutes after the scheduled departure time before pushing back. I think the captain made an announcement advising the reason for the delay, but it was barely audible and unfortunately couldn’t hear a word of it.

The Hard Product

Some airlines use a 3-3-3 layout in Economy on their Boeing 777s. Etihad, like the other major Middle Eastern carriers, has opted for the tighter 3-4-3 option.

As a result, the seats (and aisles) are a tad on the narrow side… but there is some relief available if you’re willing to pay a bit extra.

The first rows of Economy Class, as well as the exit rows, have more legroom and are sold as “Extra legroom” seats (previously “Economy Space”).

Due to the curvature of the plane, the last five rows of Economy Class are in a 2-4-2 configuration where there isn’t enough space to add a third seat by each of the windows. My travel companion and I each paid $50.80 (in AUD) to reserve seats in one of these pairs.

I think this was a worthwhile investment as we had a little bit more space and didn’t have to share the row with a third person.

It also just so happened that 53J/K, where we were sitting (as well as 53A/C) were the only rows in our section of the plane with personal air vents. I often find the cabins on Middle Eastern airlines to be a bit on the warm side, so that was a nice surprise.

Etihad also offers the option to bid for a neighbour-free seat or row. Although this flight was close to being full, one passenger must have booked a row of three for themself and was comfortably sleeping across those seats for much of the flight. I must admit that, during the middle of the flight, I was slightly jealous! 😉

The standard Economy legroom was reasonable, and the Etihad Boeing 777 Economy seat itself was quite comfortable. It had plenty of padding and support, and an adjustable headrest.

Overall, while the cabin was starting to show its age a bit, it was clean and serviceable.

There was a charging outlet and USB port on the back of every seat. The USB port worked, but to be honest, it charged my phone so slowly that it might as well have not been there. There was also a cup holder that didn’t actually fit the paper cups Etihad was using on this flight.

Each seat had a personal in-flight entertainment screen. It’s not the most modern system and did seem a bit slow to respond at times, but it did the job.

There was a good selection of entertainment available, including a fantastic music library. However, I found that the content library wasn’t nearly as extensive as on airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. In particular, the selection of TV shows was perhaps a bit lacking. The six live TV channels were great, though!

The airline provides free in-flight messaging for Etihad Guest members, which otherwise costs USD9.99 (~AU$15). Unlike on some airlines, your Etihad Guest number does not necessarily need to be linked to your booking to access this benefit. I was able to access the free Wi-Fi chat even though my Velocity number was on my boarding pass.

Etihad charges USD24.99 (~AU$38) or 3,000 Etihad Guest miles to get free Wi-Fi for the entire flight.

The Soft Product

Waiting for me on my seat were a blanket, a substantial pillow and an amenity kit that converts into a carry bag. The kit contained an eye mask, earplugs, hand cream and a sanitising wipe.

On this flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, Etihad served two main meals. There was also a mid-flight snack around seven hours into the flight.

Even in Economy, Etihad provided printed menus. This was the menu for the first meal service and mid-flight snack on EY451:

And this was the menu for the second meal, as well as the drinks list:

Dinner was served soon after we reached our cruising altitude. I chose the soy chicken, which was served on a tray with a bread roll, salad and mousse for dessert. I was impressed that it came with metal cutlery.

The meal was tasty and I enjoyed it along with a great view of the Australian outback.

My travelling companion ordered the beef for dinner. This is what it looked like:

The meal came with a choice of complimentary drinks including beer, wine and spirits, although the alcohol pours were comically small. The photo above shows the red wine that my seat neighbour received before taking any sips!

During both main meal services, the cabin crew had run out of the vegetarian option before reaching my row. Admittedly, I was sitting towards the back of the plane. But you may wish to pre-order a special meal if you have specific dietary requirements.

The in-flight entertainment system had a section where you could theoretically order more drinks at any time. This system wasn’t activated, but I was able to get another drink by pressing the call bell or walking to the galley.

There was also a small self-service snack station in one of the galley areas with chips and Oreos available throughout the flight, as well as water and orange juice.

On many other airlines, flight attendants will regularly come through the cabin offering cups of water between meal services. On Etihad, however, the crew did not proactively offer any drinks outside of the meal services.

In general, the crew looking after the Economy cabin on this flight were efficient and did their jobs professionally, but just didn’t seem overly enthusiastic. To be honest, I can’t really blame them when they likely had just worked another flight from Abu Dhabi to Sydney the previous day.

After passing the western Australian coastline, we enjoyed a long sunset out the window…

Soon after, the mid-flight snack was served along with tea and coffee. This was a satisfying (albeit slightly soggy) sandwich with cheese and crackers, a Kit Kat and orange juice. For some reason, this came with a single plastic fork.

We received supper around 2.5 hours before landing, at what would have been 5 am in Sydney but was 10 pm in Abu Dhabi. This meal was very similar to the dinner we had after take-off, with a near-identical mousse dessert – just in a different flavour. I did enjoy the meal though, which was again tasty and substantial.

I’ll just make one final comment about recognition for Velocity Frequent Flyer members. My Velocity Platinum status was recognised well on the ground in Sydney. But once I boarded the plane, it seemed to make no difference.

This isn’t a complaint and I don’t necessarily expect anything. It was just noticeable because I often receive a personal welcome from the purser when flying Emirates in Economy as a Qantas Platinum member. Emirates also doesn’t charge Qantas Platinum members to select a seat.

Arrival Experience

Due to our delayed departure out of Sydney, we landed in Abu Dhabi an hour behind schedule. The onboard crew never apologised for or even acknowledged this delay.

We arrived at the brand new Terminal A at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport. This is a modern, spacious terminal that is clearly a big improvement over Etihad’s old terminal. Immigration and customs were an absolute breeze, and my checked bag was already on the luggage belt when I arrived there.

I had booked a connecting Etihad Coach service from Abu Dhabi to Dubai on the same ticket as the Sydney-Abu Dhabi flight. This is a complimentary service for Etihad passengers.

Because of our late arrival in Abu Dhabi, I unfortunately missed the bus that I was originally booked on. Even though the flight and bus were on the same ticket, Etihad did not rebook me onto the next bus. So when I tried to get on the next available bus, the agent initially wouldn’t let me on because my ticket was for the earlier one. Many other passengers from other delayed inbound flights were also initially refused boarding.

I did end up getting on that next coach after a long wait, but the whole boarding process was a bit of a shambles and took so long that we departed 20 minutes late. As there was no traffic in the middle of the night, we at least made up that time en-route.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.