Etihad Ticket Details

My flight today was actually incredible value. I only paid £66 / €78, which would be great for a budget airline. Let alone a full service carrier like Etihad who offer entertainment, an amenity kit and most importantly a meal. I think the main reason they charge such a low price is that they have direct competition from Wizzair on this route. For comparison, London to Abu Dhabi costs about £400 one way. So perhaps this cheap Rome flight is an anomaly in Etihad’s network.

One free cabin bag and one free checked 23kg bag are included for free, so that’s obviously a bonus over the likes of Wizzair who would charge extra. Though if you do want extra baggage it comes at a hefty cost. 40kg of extra luggage for instance will cost you a ridiculous EUR 843.76 (reduced from EUR 1,205.44). Not sure how they justify charging over 10 times the price of the actual ticket there, but definitely consider this if you plan on taking extra luggage.

Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO)

Rome’s main airport, also known by the very long-winded name Rome–Fiumicino International Airport “Leonardo da Vinci“, is according to Skytrax a 5 Star Airport. That apparently means it’s one of the best in Europe, though I found it to be just average, comparable to the likes of Gatwick or Frankfurt. It’s a large airport as well with no easy transit system so I ended up having to do a lot of walking here.

The airport itself if nice enough though I’m not sure quite deserves all the awards it has won. It pretty much feels like any other large European Airport with a lot of walking to do. That being said, I was running late so didn’t actually get a chance to explore much. I just raced straight through to the gate.

The Plane & Seat

The aircraft for this flight was an 18 year old Boeing 777-300ER in a 2-class layout, with registration A6-ETA. The plane has an impressive 404 seats, 374 of which are in Economy, making this a very dense layout. The economy seats are actually quite spacious, with 31.5 to 33″ of seat pitch depending on where you sit and an average 17.5″ of width.

I sat in seat 41A which is a bulkhead row at the back of the middle of the 3 economy cabins. Despite having a wall behind it you do still get some recline. Overall it’s a really comfy seat with good padding, good recline and an adjustable headrest. The usual amenities including pillow, blanket and headphones and an amenity kit are also there.

Despite being quite an old aircraft it was all in very good condition and kept clean. Also the screen was a pretty good size, though definitely not as big or clear as newer aircraft. There’s also a very useful cupholder so you don’t have to lower your tray table whenever you have a drink.

Lastly, when I flew Etihad were currently celebrating their 20th Anniversary. Normally you would just get a regular amenity kit (eye mask, ear plugs, mask etc). However, for the 20th anniversary everything had cool special branding, and they give you a little tote bag. Pretty impressive for what many airlines in Europe would class as a short haul flight.

Just for comparison, on the 14 hour flight from Hong Kong to London I took with British Airways, they didn’t provide any amenities. Just goes to show the difference in quality when Etihad do this much on a 5 hour flight and British Airways don’t even do they bare minimum for such a long flight.

Every passenger gets a soft blanket (pretty standard) and a really good pillow. The picture below doesn’t really do it justice but this is probably the best pillow I’ve had in Economy class. Maybe even better than some Business Class airlines. Basically it’s much bigger and thicker than most airline pillow. It’s also very soft and comfy. Would be great on a longer flight if you want to try sleeping.

Food & Drink

About half an hour into the flight the meal service began. I wasn’t expecting much for a 5 hour flight but actually it was really good. There was a choice of lamb stew (which I got) or a vegetarian curry (which also looked and smelt good).

The starter was just a bland-tasting grain salad (pearl barley I think). The main was a very tasty lamb stew with mashed potato and veg. Actually one of the better main meals I’ve had in any Economy flight. Then for dessert we had a lemon caramel cheesecake which was also pretty good. The meal was served with a bread roll and butter.

Everyone was given a small water bottle and a choice of either soft drinks, juice, alcohol or tea/coffee. I went for both orange juice and coffee which they were happy to provide. You also get metal cutlery, which I always appreciate. Makes it feel fancier than the likes of British Airways who just use wooden cutlery on their long haul flights.

Finally, instead of just serving the basic instant coffee you find on almost every airline, Etihad somehow manage to serve a proper cappuccino! I ordered it the cabin crew went off to the galley to make this using an actual coffee machine. A great end to a great meal service.

Everything Else

Etihad’s “E-BOX” Entertainment System is definitely up there with some of the best international airlines. They have a good range of both modern and older movies and tv shows. Plus, catering to the wide range of passengers they have loads of international cinema. There’s the usual Hollywood and European movies, plus Bollywood, Chinese, Korea, Japanese, French, German, Russian and more. So a pretty good selection for any traveller. My aircraft today was a slightly older model so the interface was also a bit dated. But on Etihad’s newer planes the interface does look more slick. All have the same selection of content as far as I’m aware.

Also just a small thing but I really liked the mood lighting they used in the cabin. It’s a warm orange-yellow light which I guess is there to evoke the dessert setting of the UAE?

Finally, arriving at Etihad’s Abu Dhabi hub airport was a good experience. When I travelled it was just 2 weeks after the brand new modern Terminal A had opened. This new Terminal was originally due to open in 2017 but after years and years of delays finally opening in November 2023. The plan is for this to become Abu Dhabi’s main terminal, replacing the aging Terminal 1, 2 and 3. Overall it’s a very modern, spacious and visually impressive airport. It’s also just really passenger-friendly with loads of comfortable places to rest. I talk more about it here in my review of the new Pearl Lounge in this terminal.

Final Thoughts

Overall I think the Etihad Airways Economy Class is one of the best in the world. Comparable to the likes of Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Japan Airlines. Just for context, Wizzair also operate this route from Rome to Abu Dhabi and that’s the basic budget airline experience with tiny seats, no food and no tv. And if you want baggage on your Wizzair flight it actually costs more than this Etihad flight which is just wild.

The seat was great, the food was great, the service was great. They even give you an amenity kit on a 5 hour flight! Apart from the plane being one of their more dated models I really can’t fault Etihad at all.

More from me…

Please feel free to check out other related posts I’ve written:

• British Airways Boeing 787 from Hong Kong to London – Avoid Economy Class!
• The Sofitel Luxembourg Review – Chic Business Hotel
• The Plaza Premium Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 2 – Overcrowded

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