The national airline of the UAE, Etihad Airways operates an extensive network of flights to destinations across the Middle East and around the world from its home base of Abu Dhabi.

I recently flew from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi, and Etihad Airways was one of three non-stop options alongside low-cost carriers Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Air Arabia. I opted to book with Etihad due to its partnership with Virgin Australia, which meant I could earn Velocity points and use my Velocity Gold status benefits.

Although my Etihad flight from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi was originally supposed to be operated by a Boeing 787-9, there was a last-minute aircraft change to a larger Boeing 777-300ER. This is the same aircraft type that Etihad Airways uses on its flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi. (In fact, this particular aircraft had just flown in from Sydney on the morning of my flight.)

This review covers the Etihad Boeing 777 Economy Class service on a relatively short flight from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi.

Flight Details

Flight number	EY302
Route	Kuwait City (KWI) to Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-300ER
Class of travel	Economy
Seat number	21A
On-time performance	The flight ran an hour late
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I paid KWD31.500 (~AU$148) one-way for an Economy Choice ticket, which included up to 30kg of checked baggage. There was a cheaper “Hand Baggage Only” option.

I also paid an extra KWD7.700 (~AU$36) to select an “Economy Space” seat with extra legroom.

It would have been possible to redeem Velocity Frequent Flyer points for a seat on this flight. But for this particular short flight, I didn’t consider it to be a good use of Velocity points. Since Velocity adds an Etihad carrier charge and my ticket wasn’t that expensive, the saving compared to the cost of buying a commercial airfare wouldn’t have been enough to be worthwhile.

Airport Experience

The value of my Velocity Gold status became apparent as soon as I reached the check-in area. There was a huge line of passengers checking in for this flight in the Economy queue, but an empty Business Class lane that I was able to use. I probably saved almost an hour of queueing!

Due to the last-minute aircraft change, the Economy Space seat I’d paid for on the Dreamliner no longer existed. I was moved to another seat, and when I enquired about getting an Economy Space seat reinstated, was told I’d need to pay extra. (This was sorted once I showed the check-in agent the receipt for my previous Economy Space purchase.)

I then asked about lounge access, and the check-in agent called over her supervisor to confirm that this was available to Velocity Gold members. The supervisor spent several minutes looking this up before stamping my boarding pass with a “Pearl Lounge” stamp. (I guess there aren’t many Velocity members flying out of Kuwait?)

After security and immigration, I headed upstairs to the Pearl Lounge.

Although nothing special, this lounge was perfectly fine for what it is. There were plenty of comfortable seats, clean toilets, showers, newspapers and wifi. There was no view of any sort, but separate areas were provided for children, smoking and napping, as well as separate male and female prayer rooms.

There was a moderate selection of buffet food and drinks available, but no alcohol – which I completely expected.

There was a second security screening checkpoint to enter the gate area prior to boarding (in a similar setup to Singapore). This had another long line, but thankfully priority boarding was available here!

Business Class passengers and eligible frequent flyers were then invited to board first.

The Hard Product

Etihad Airways uses a 3-4-3 seating layout in Economy Class on its Boeing 777s. This means the seats are a bit narrower than on other airlines that opted for 3-3-3 seating, although the seat width is no worse than on Emirates or Air New Zealand.

My Economy Space seat was in row 21, the second row of Economy Class. This seat offered excellent legroom which allowed me to fully stretch my legs out underneath the seat in front.

The seat was well padded and had an adjustable headrest. I also liked the little touches like the drink holders and charging outlets.

Overall, although slightly narrow, this was a very comfortable seat. If I had to fly Etihad Economy Class from Australia to Abu Dhabi, I would definitely consider paying extra for Economy Space.

The front row (20) also appeared to offer lots of space. However, note that Etihad does not generally allow seats in the front two rows to be selected in advance – even for a fee.

Etihad has a solid in-flight entertainment system on its Boeing 777s with a touch screen on the back of every seat and a good range of content. Wifi was also available for a fee, although I was able to log in for free using my Boingo account. It’s always free for Etihad Guest Platinum members.

The Soft Product

The flight attendants handed out wellness kits to every passenger before departure. This was supposed to contain a face mask and sanitisers, although mine was missing the face mask.

My previous flights before this had been on EgyptAir – so maybe that had reduced my expectations – but there was a very noticeable difference in how polished the cabin crew were! The Etihad flight attendants were simply exceptional; professional and focused on customer service.

On boarding, for example, I received a very warm welcome from multiple flight attendants who looked me in the eye and addressed me by name.

Although our flight time from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi was just over an hour, there was a complimentary snack and drink service. The “one-size-fits-all” snack came in a paper bag, which contained a sandwich and a piece of cake.

While I was initially excited about the sandwich, this quickly turned to disappointment when I discovered it was dry and contained almost no filling. The cake was pretty good, though.

Overall, for a relatively short flight within the Middle East, I can’t complain. I was surprised to be getting anything at all!

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.