Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Trip Report: Etihad Airways, New York to Abu Dhabi; Abu Dhabi to Dallas (July, August 2017)

Trip Report: Etihad Airways
New York to Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi to Dallas
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Recently, Etihad announced it was cancelling its Abu Dhabi to Dallas flights.  Earlier this year, in late summer, I had the opportunity to fly this route.  My entire Etihad entire included New York to Abu Dhabi on the outbound, and Abu Dhabi to Dallas on the return.  The outbound sector was operated by an Airbus A380 while the return was operated by an Boeing 777.  I have flown Etihad before (ADD LINK HERE) and it has not been a good experience.  If possible, I try to avoid flying Etihad but unfortunately work had booked my travel so I did not have an option.  My Etihad travel was booked on Etihad but with partner airlines - JetBlue on the outbound and American Airlines on the return.

With a flight time of 12h45m, flying on the Airbus A380 is more pleasant vs the Boeing 777.  The flight was scheduled to depart New York at 3pm and arrive Abu Dhabi the next day at 12pm.  I had arrived to the gate and there was a lot of commotion - the number of passengers greatly outnumbered the number of airline staff; in fact there seem to be only 3-5 staff working on a full A380 flight.  The boarding pass stated that boarding would start around 2pm but boarding did not start until 2:30p.  Passengers were boarded by groups, and when I went to the front of line I was told I needed to get out of line and go into a separate line to confirm my boarding pass.  Those passengers who were connecting to Etihad from another airline, and there were many of us, needed to get our boarding pass reverified.  I understand this - what I do not understand is why this announcement was not made earlier (as other airlines have done) when the passengers were waiting for boarding.  Also, if the airline knew many passengers were connecting why not have more than one staff person to verify everyone's boarding pass.  It was extremely chaotic, disorganized, and not a pleasant way to start the flight.

I finally boarded and got to my seat.  Etihad does allow complimentary selection of seats (something which Emirates now charges for) so I was able to pre-select an aisle seat.  Because of the size of the plane, generally the seats on the A380 are bigger and better as compared to other airplanes; this was no different.  The seat size was definitely bigger and it was nice given the long flight time.  Each seat contained a pillow and a blanket, both of which were needed as the seat was not comfortable.  The seats pitch was generally decent, especially given the long flight time, however the seat comfort was almost nonexistent.  I used both the pillow and the blanket to add cushion to the seat as the seat felt as if it had no cushion, especially towards the end of the flight.  The blanket came in a packet which also included the headphones and the amenity kit - the amenity kit included eyeshades, tooth brush and paste, earplugs and socks.   Additional amenities of the seat included a decent size touch-screen PTV with USB port and headphone jack and a controller, a seat pocket, and a tray table.       

Boarding completed, we taxied to the runway and took off.  Etihad has a policy that it does not turn on the entertainment system until you pass 10,000ft on the departure, and turns it off when you get lower than 10,000ft on the return.  This policy may have a reason, but what ends up happening is that passengers have nothing to entertain them so they notice all the commotion and delays.  On other airlines, such as Emirates, the entertainment system is available as soon as sit in the seat until you depart - this policy is so much more customer-friendly.

In my experience, Etihad is not known for their exceptional service such as Singapore or Emirates.  I have found Etihad's service to be lacking in the past, but this time it was decent.  The service wasn't great, but it was better than previous experiences.  A little after take-off the first meal was served - lunch - along with complimentary drinks.  The meal was light but decent - not a lot of food but a decent amount.  After the service was completed the meal trays cleared, the cabin was dimmed for passengers to rest.  Water was available in the galleys for passengers to help themselves, along with some crackers.  In other airlines, staff usually walk around with water or just to check-on the passengers; this has not been the case in the past with Etihad and it was not the case here.  The staff rarely came through the galleys while passengers were sleeping.  Midway through the flight, they did come through with a light snack and another meal closer to landing.  The meal closer to landing was basically a big snack; it was larger than the mid-snack but smaller than the departure meal.  Again, as we passed 10,000ft on our landing the entertainment system was shut off - it's an inconvenience to passengers.

We landed and our proceeded to our gate.  About a month later, I took my return flight.  This flight was from Abu Dhabi to Dallas and was operated by a Boeing 777.  It's odd that for the 12hr flight Etihad would use the A380 but for the 16hr flight they would use the 777.  I guess it has to do with load factors (update: Etihad cancelled the Abu Dhabi to Dallas flight - they said that their partnership with American was one of the reasons to bring the flight to Dallas and since American ended that partnership it seemed fitting to end their service).  The return flight was operated by a Boeing 777, with a flight time of 16h30m, and was scheduled to depart Abu Dhabi at 9am and arrive Dallas at 4:15pm.  A lot of Etihad's American flights were departing around the same time and from gates right next to each other - it created for some confusion as people for one flight were getting confused by announcements to other flights.

Boarding commenced and we were able to board the plane.  The plane is laid out in a 3-4-3 configuration making it very dense.  The legroom was decent, but the plane felt smaller as compared to the A380.  Amenities on the seat included a blanket, a pillow, an amenity kit with eye shades, socks, and a tootbrush/toothpaste.  The seat contained a PTV with a USB port and headphone jack along with a tray table, and a seatback pocket which contained the airline magazine, safety card, and duty free magazine.  While the seat amenities were nice, the seat comfort was not.  Given the length of flying time, you would think the seat would have more cushion, but unfortunately it did not so you felt the seat during the flight.  Service on the flight was similar to the outbound - a meal after takeoff, a midflight snack in between, and a light meal before landing.  Again, portions were on the smaller side but decent and flavors again were average (I've had bigger and more flavorful meals as well as smaller and not as flavorful meals).  

What was the major disappointment as the entertainment system - Etihad's 'e-box' does not contain enough material to cover two long-haul flights.  My previous experience with them was similar in that they provided an average on-board product, poor customer service, and poor entertainment options.  Nothing seems to have changed in the 5 years I have been flying with them.  Change needs to happen to ensure the airline not only competes with, but wins against its competitors.   

Monday, November 13, 2017

Trip Report: United Airlines - New Orleans to Ottawa via Newark (October 2017)

Trip Report: United Airlines, New Orleans to Ottawa
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)


United has been offering lower fares recently.  I need to fly to Canada for work and when I looked online, United was offering the best options both in terms of flight times and prices.  When I have previously flown to Canada, I like to fly Air Canada to try their product; however, this time Air Canada's prices were significantly higher so I booked United.  My route was New Orleans to Ottawa via Newark (and same on the return).  New Orleans to Newark was operated by an Airbus A320 while Newark to Ottawa was operated by an Embraer 190.  

It is very easy to manage your booking through the United app.  Through the app, you can view your booking, change your seat assignments, access boarding passes, see gate numbers, gate changes, flight status, as well as access the on-board entertainment.  It really is a useful app to have if you are flying with United.  With the app I checked in online and received my boarding passes.  My flight was scheduled to depart New Orleans at 3:50p and arrive into Newark at 7:50pm.  The flight had arrived from another destination, and after a quick turnaround we started boarding.  Boarding happened by groups, and within 30 minutes the plane had been boarded.  


The operating aircraft for the almost 3hr flight was an Airbus A320 with a 3-3 seat layout.  The legroom was surprisingly very good, I am tall at 6'1 and the legroom was good enough for me.  My knees were not hitting neither the seat in front of me nor myself.  The seat itself was pretty decent and comfortable enough for the 3hr flight (although I have been on this aircraft for longer flights, and after 3.5hrs the seat starts getting uncomfortable).  There was a small pocket in front of the seat that was empty.  The inflight magazine, safety card, and other information was stored in the pocket above the seat.  This is very convenient as this layout provides more legroom for passengers.  I also saw passengers use this nook as a holder for ipads and other electronic devices.  It was a quick taxi to the runway and we took off near our scheduled time.

About 15-20 minutes after reaching our cruising altitude, the inflight service continued.  Complimentary drinks were served along with complimentary pretzels.  Snack boxes were also available to purchase.  The drinks were provided in small cups, and this was the only inflight service for the entire 3 hours.  After providing drinks, the flight attendants never came by for another service - not even for water.  I understand trying to cut down on costs, but they could have at least come back down the aisle with water.  The rest of the flight was uneventful as it was up to the passenger to pass the time.  You can access free entertainment through United's app when you are connected to United Wifi.  Unfortunately the wifi was not working on this plane so you were not able to connect to the entertainment - there was no apology, just a statement that the wifi was not working.  We landed in Newark earlier than our time, but it took a while to taxi to our gate as there was another plane there.  We finally got to our gate and deplaned.

I had about one hour before my next plane departed, but I also had to switch from the C concourse where United is based to the A concourse where United Express is based as my next flight was on a small plane. The operating plane for my flight to Ottawa was a small Embraer plane in a 1-2 layout.  There was one seat on one side and two seats on the other side and neither of them had a lot of room.  The plane was also small in height - I am about 6'1 and my head was hitting the roof of the plane.  Luckily the flight time was only 1h20 minute so a lot of time was not spent in the plane.  Given the short flight time, as soon as we reached cruising altitude the inflight service commenced.  Complimentary drinks and snacks were provided.  It was a very short and uneventful flight - and that's good because it is not a comfortable plane to be on for a long period.  

Overall, it was a decent flight with United.  While United is a mainline carrier, their service resembles that of a low-cost carrier.  Before their ticket prices were very high and you did not get a lot for the ticket price, but now they seem to have lowered their prices in comparable to the service you receive.  You do not pay a lot of money and in return you do not get a lot of service - basic prices for basic services.