Etihad A350-1000 Business Class Review - Business Traveller

Etihad A350-1000 Review of Business Class with Tom Otley, Editor of Business Traveller magazine.
Full review here www.businesstraveller.com/tri...
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Transcript:
- Hello, my name's Tom Otley from "Business Traveller." And here we are, Heathrow terminal three, ready to fly on Etihad's new A350-1000 aircraft, from London to Abu Dhabi. It's an exciting flight, because this isn't an actually a scheduled flight. It's just so that we can experience the business class, on this night flight over to Abu Dhabi. So here we are on board. The business class cabin here is 44 business suites, in a 1-2-1 configuration. I'm here in 12 A, which is window seat. There are middle seats where there's a divide, so if you're with a couple, those are the ones to go for. So these window seats give you the most privacy, gives you the chance to look out of the window as well. Not much of a view here, but once we take off, and also landing into Abu Dhabi. And there's loads and loads of room in these seats. These seats are the same as the Rockwell Collins seats, you'll see on the British Airways new fleet. There are some differences in the seat, there's a lot of similarities, the sliding door. The storage spaces are slightly different, and also the feel of the cabin is different from the British Airways one, but both of them are very, very comfortable business class seats and a new generation. You've also got the new aircraft, which is the A350-1000. It's a big aircraft. It's brand new, and Etihad says it's about 50% quieter than the previous generation of aircraft, which will make a difference when you are trying to sleep, or just interacting during the day. One of the things you'll notice about the seat, one of the first things is these sliding doors. They are locked back for takeoff and landing, but once they're released, it gives you this privacy. Now that's not to say that people can't look over, but the thing is that you only really draw the door, or close the door when you are lying down. And of course, when you're lying down, your heads lower, and you really do get a sense then, of having your own private space. And it's a 79 inch bed, so once you're in here, there's a lot of space. You can lay out all of your stuff. You could have your phone charging while you're asleep, either plugged in or just on this wireless charging area. And there's a real opportunity to unwind. And this is an ultra long haul aircraft, so it's gonna be Abu Dhabi over to The States, for instance, or down to the Indian subcontinent. So although there'll be day flights obviously, it's a real chance to relax, and then when you wake up, you're at your destination. It's a very spacious seat. You've got all the leg room that you would want just for sitting, working, eating. But then of course, when it comes to the recline, you've got, it goes down, so you meet that Ottoman under there, and you've got a 79 inch long bed, which is plenty of room in terms of length for most people. But also you've got the room to move around in the seat. So for those of us who want to sleep on our back, or on our side, there's space to move around, without having to wake up to do so. The seat controls are pretty simple, which is just as well, cause to be honest, I've seen ones that are complicated and people can't handle them. You can see here recline, backup again. This is the important one for takeoff and landing. The light for the seats, as in the overhead light. Take all the power off, because you don't want this shining at you when you are trying to go to sleep. And then you've got these presets as well. So pretty simple, but just what you need. The important thing with these is to have storage area, so that you can put things out, but when it needs to go away. So obviously you've got the noise canceling headphones. There's a point for the headphones. This is an independent unit, so you use it to control the IFE, but you can also watch one set of content on here and another set on the touchscreen. And then in here you've got a USB and you've got power for your laptop, but it's also a storage area. And the same for just here. There's another storage area here, for putting I don't know, passports or phone maybe. Wireless charging, as we've mentioned. And there's another, just down here, I dunno if you can see it. There's another storage area here. Down by your legs, there's actually the USB power separately, so you can charge your phone or iPad. And there's another storage here under the armrest, so it can be down depending on your preference to make the arm wider, but then you can also lift it up like this. And then when you lift it, under here there's room for the bottle of water, that's provided. Lights in the corner, it's a distinctive Etihad touch. It's based on the light that comes through a Palm tree (...)

[@KeithApp]

Hi Tom. You are without a doubt, the best travel reviewer on TH-cam. Very honest, impartial and not hawking VPN products like many others on here! This is a solid product with great meal selection; service looks excellent too. This would be perfect for an Australia / New Zealand flight. Hope you're enjoying the bank holiday weekend!

[@Businesstraveller]

Thank you, Keith, really appreciate your kind words. Best wishes to you, Tom

[@Tuneitupful]

Good content, subscribed.

[@louiem5654]

More reviews please BT!

[@denden1675]

Amazing!

[@will-i-am-not]

Everything I need to know, and nothing left out 😁

[@speen9430]

Solid product

[@tmtools]

I quite like the fact that South African wines are served 🥂

[@ashokxrai]

Nice review, thank you. Please review the service too. How the flight attendants handled your request(s) through out the journey? I do business travel every year. Majority of times, my experience didn't match with the review's on internet. May be because airlines know you are going to write about their product and you get extra attention? I believe your review but I don't expect the same service when I travel.

[@Businesstraveller]

Thank you.
Yes, I normally do that, but this was a flight with only business class occupied (economy was empty) returning the aircraft to Abi Dhabi.
It had been flown over to London to show Etihad partners the new onboard seating. As such, the service was superb, but not typical of a normal flight.

[@pmarmify]

did etihad weigh your hand luggage when checking in? Im going to abu dhabi soon

[@Businesstraveller]

No, they didn't.

[@get2dachoppa249]

Just booked AUH back home to JFK. I’m so done with Etihad that I used every single Guest point I had so they wouldn’t go to waste, and closed that particular rewards credit card account. They are a shell of what they used to be, post pandemic and all. Its more than worth it to to me to spend the money on a car service for the 90 minute drive up to Dubai Int. for the sheer variety of choices of airlines & price points. Both Emirates & Etihad priced themselves out of range for my trips. It does look like it’s going to be a very comfortable final trip with them, though.

[@DrLifeGamer]

Etihad is the cheapest middle eastern airline though (for me it is slightly lower than Turkish)

[@ozbolli]

Absolutely. They’re more like a budget airline now cramming in as many seats as possible.

[@DrLifeGamer]

@@ozbolli 3-3-3 on A350 is "cramming seats"?

[@ozbolli]

@@DrLifeGamer the configuration has absolutely ZERO to do with being cramped. You could have 3-4-3 and all it does is restrict aisle width. The pitch is the problem. If you watch Tom’s video on economy it might educate you a little.

[@ozbolli]

@@DrLifeGamer pitch DOES make a difference if you’re tall LOL. You really do need to do your research.

[@SnurX]

Solid seat but still a little underwhelming by Etihad. Even that they didn't choose the electric window blinds surprises me. details...

[@johnguidetti5839]

What do you expect for business class?

[@johnguidetti5839]

@@owenaitken4754 literary like Qsuite it even has a door.

[@johnguidetti5839]

@@owenaitken4754 You don’t make any sense as it’s the exact same carbon copy Collins Aerospace's seat used as club suite. A lil bit of research is needed on your part.

[@owenaitken4754]

@@johnguidetti5839 I’ve done my research thanks, and that has included flying on both Qsuite and Club Suite on the 350. Etihad’s offering is not a 1:1 carbon copy of the Collins’s seat for BA, there a quite a few changes to the design that I believe effect the overall experience, and there are various comparisons of this already on here. There are a variety of shortcomings in Collin’s design compared to that of PriestmanGoode’s, along with the dull EY cabin ambience and lighting this J offering falls short in comparison to the other ME and Asian carriers which I assume EY is trying to compete with. I would’ve expected more innovation from Etihad given their previous achievements in First with The Residence and Apartment seats.

[@johnguidetti5839]

@@owenaitken4754 What is the difference between club suite and Etihad’s product? And don’t waffle. You just said a whole lot of nothing.

[@mxyzptlyk]

A good report No walk through Duty Free or Airplane Poop Room Appraisal. Oh dear, Tom. Its not a window seat. Its an aisle seat. Window seats are next to a window, you can get your head up to it and see what's going on around the aircraft. An aisle seat is, like yours, is next to an aisle. That is a seat that you can see a window from. 🔭
"Journey's End" wine just when you're embarking on a flight? Good choice. 👍
🍷

[@Businesstraveller]

Thanks Tony K. I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, but thank you for watching the video.

[@ozbolli]

@@Businesstraveller LOL

[@sylviasolomon2241]

Ethiad . nightmare.

[@jz3689]

Don’t fly this airline they will rip you off anyway they can I swear on my mothers soul