What four long-haul flights on the 10 year old business class ACTUALLY come down to
Seat 10A onboard the 787-10 (Photo by Mark Ble/ FlightInterior)
PROS:
- Etihad “The Studio” Business Class product includes direct aisle-access for all seats.
- Flawless service both on- and off ground including on-demand dining
- Fine bedding, dishes and amenities provided by Armani Casa and Aqua di Parma
- The seat reclines fully into an almost 2m long bed (~78inch for reference)
CONS:
- Lacking privacy for all odd-numbered window seats
- Proximity to other business class passengers can lead to unwanted eye contact
- Food (especially the meat) tended to be a bit too dry
I had booked a return flight from Frankfurt to Manila with a stopover in Abu Dhabi. This specific route was later even marked on Etihad´s own website as a business class fare deal. Without wanting to get into any particular numbers here, I can assure to have paid less than 500$ on each of the four long-haul flights, which for a trip around half the globe on one of the worlds most renowned airlines, is fairly cheap.
The overall boarding experience went smooth and the flight attendants greet you by name, which always has a nice touch to it. In the dreamliner, Etihad only has one business class cabin, which is located in the first 6 and 7 rows (row 5-11 in 787-9 and 6-12 in 787-10). There is no First Class or Residence Apartments in Etihad´s 787s.
At my seat there was already an amenity kit by Aqua Di Parma, a menu and wine card, as well as Armani Casa products: A blanket, pillow and even a mattress topper, which comes in very handy for sleeping!
I was kindly given the choice of a welcome drink. I opted for the signature lemon-mint, but you could have also chosen champagne.
The seat functions can be controlled both by a touch display installed in the wall or by the classic buttons on your tray.
There is plenty of storage areas within reach. However it is important to notice that you have to store your carry-on in the overhead compartment for take-off and landing.
Mid-flight you could only leave personal items like a backpack in the foot-rest or on the ground, which wasn´t an option for me. Putting the essentials in this storage compartment next to the armrest was therefore very useful.
There is only one “real armrest”, which can be adjusted as needed.
Also, the proximity to other passengers might be bothersome for solo-travelers like me. Since there are no doors on the Etihad Studio, you can easily see the person sitting at the opposite site of the plane.
The footrest was very spacious overall. When lying down, you do however notice that the end of it is ankled. For those who also prefer to sleep on the side, this isn´t a problem whatsoever. The air vent also let´s in some fresh air during the flight.
When the seat is turned into a bed, it aligns with the leather footrest, so you might want to store your shoes elsewhere if you need to them in the meantime.
Bedding was also provided by Armani Casa. You´re not supposed to take any of these off the aircraft though.
The crew kindly asked everyone if they would want their food being served right after take-off or later.
As a starter, I chose the classic Arabic Mezze which Etihad does well. Comparing the overall taste of it to Qatar Airways Business Class service and their Arabic Mezze though, this lacks in freshness.
The main course did not disappoint and was in fact an improvement over the starter. The attention to detail that comes with the branded cutlery also makes this an awesome experience. The only downside here was that the meat seemed to be a bit too dry for my taste. Other than that, it was certainly of high quality compared to most other airlines.
The desert in my case consisted of a cheese cake and some fruits. Be aware that this is just pure sweetness overload. You might be better off ordering just plain fresh fruits, which I will come to later.
After an amazing first flight we touched down in AUH, leaving me with a few hours time to take a shower and freshen up in Etihad´s biggest business class lounge.
(The view here can be seen from seat number 12K, which was on my onward flight to MNL onboard their 787-10.)
When flying on a 787, you can manually dim the windows to control how much sunlight you want to have in the cabin. While the windows do change the color, they will stay completely normal for take-off and landing.
On this flight, there were people sitting in the rear-facing middle seats. Given the fact that “The Studio” is a product line that was first introduced in 2014, I didn´t really expect anything like a door. Nonetheless, a little privacy divider or any other form of visual cover would have been appreciated. As soon as you´re laying down or even just put the seat in a lounge position, this problem seems to be non-existent anymore. The overall sleeping experience was better than I had imagined it. As someone who is almost 2m tall (~6″5), this bed was long and comfortable enough! Still, I also noticed the tilted footrest, as noted above. That might be bothersome to some people, but it did NOT affect me to an extent where I e.g. couldn´t even sleep.
Some order-on-demand food that you can get at any time during the flight.
The rice and meat, again, where a little too dry for my taste. That could be an area of improvement for Etihad, since competitors like Qatar Airways are way ahead.
The breakfast, which was served roughly one hour before landing, was fantastic and just the right size to start the day!
The bathrrom was very clean and it included some pretty expensive Aqua Di Parma amenities (for reference: a bottle of ADP hand cream sells for about 50$ online).
The last flight back to FRA happened to be on one of Etihad´s special liveries. The Manchester City livery in this case.
Overall conclusion:
Etihad did great on all four flights!
The seats were comfortable, big and clean, which (for a seat which is in service for ten years straight) is very impressive. The service didn´t lack and you felt welcome onboard. Apart from that, the restrooms were clean as well and the cabin air seemed fresh throughout all flights. Even though the food tended to be dry and a bit stale, the food experience was still fairly good. The selection in dishes and drinks was great!
When traveling on Etihad´s The Studio Business Class, be sure to select a window seat, which is not even-numbered and thus closer to the window. This will provide far more privacy, although you will still be able to see other passengers, if there are any in that row. And lastly, the lie-flat seat is also long enough for other tall passengers, which makes this an 8/10 product for me.
FlightInterior 
Leave a comment