Etihad Airways 204 Abu Dhabi (AUH) - Mumbai (BOM) Departure: 1425 Arrival: 1912 Duration: 3:17 Aircraft: Airbus A380-861
Registration: A6-APE Seat: 3A (First Class)
One of the cheapest way you can try out the Etihad's A380 Apartment is to try out the Abu Dhabi-Mumbai route. I had a couple of options (such as Jet Airways) to Mumbai before Etihad operates the A380 to Mumbai. But after finding out the company was starting the route, without hesitation, I was ready to book this flight.
Etihad has the biggest first class seats on their A380s and I was really excited to try it out! Configured in 1-1 for Diamond First, staggered front and rear facing, direct aisle Pearl Business Studios and CoralEconomy class in 3-4-3 seats per row and also the infamous three-room suite: The Residence seat. It carries total of 495 passengers with one The Residence, 9 First Apartments, 70 Business and 415 Economy seats. According to Seatguru.com, the pitch of the first class is 80 inches with 29.5 inches of width, business class has 70 inches and 20 inches and economy with 31 inches and 17.5 inches respectively.
The first class seat dimension seems shorter compared to Emirates and Qatar Airways but Etihad has a separate sofa across the seat which turns into a fully flat-bed. I will go with more detail with the seat on the "The Seat" section.
My flight to Mumbai was only 3-3.5 hours short but it was enough time to experience the 5-star airline's full-course meal, on-board shower and a short nap.
The Cabin:
Etihad's A380 First Apartment is configured with single aisle, which makes the only A380 operator to implement single aisle in first class cabin. There are 9 front and rear facing seats on the upper deck and one 'The Residence.' There is a squeezy feeling when you walk along the aisle but I think once you are in your spacious apartment seat, you just want to stay there. Since Etihad's A380s are relatively new, it is hard to find signs of aging inside the aircraft.
I find the cabin atmosphere calm and less jet lagging thanks to the changes in mood lighting throughout the flight. Also the exclusive? designs of the cabin lighting was something you don't see on other jumbos.
Etihad A380 stairways to the main deck.
Etihad A380 First Apartment aisle during daytime.
Etihad A380 First Apartment aisle with calming mood light.
The Seats:
I was seated in seat 3A, in fact, Etihad call their seat as Apartment on A380s. Each suite has two seats: One armchair for takeoff/landing and meals which reclines and one sofa which can also be converted into 180 degrees 6 foot 10 inches flat-bed. Keep in mind that if you want to turn the sofa into bed, the armchair must be reclined back to takeoff/landing position as the space between two seats are one leg rest different. (You can see the photo below).
In this closed suite, there is a partition between seats 3A and 4A, 1H and 2H and 2H and 5H. These 2 'connecting' seats are really useful for two people traveling together and especially couples as both sofa bed can be half-connected when the partition is adjusted. Also in a bed mode, the IFE monitor can be adjusted 90 degrees towards you.
Another cool features on the seat is the vanity unit. A huge vanity unit with large mirrors, lighting and shelves to keep amenity kits is located right in front of the sofa unit. This could be really useful after the in-flight shower and to all female passengers. Lighting units such as personal reading light and seat lamp are also available to make the seat brighter.
Unfortunately, no upper head storage spaces are on the first class. Instead, there are many spacious personal storage spaces all around the seat which you can easily store and access you belongings. Large bags might not fit into the storage spaces underneath the seat so you should ask the crew for help.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Bed mode.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Sofa bed.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Three windows on each seat with automatic shades.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 4A.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Bed with duvet and blanket.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Bed with duvet and blanket.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Bed (IFE Display monitor adjusted using the button on the left).
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Huge vanity mirror.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Underneath storage space 1.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Underneath storage space 2.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Seatbelt fitting for the sofa.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Headset storage.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Personal lighting.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Tray table is under the armrest.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Tray table.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Storage space by the vanity 1.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Storage space under the vanity 2.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Storage space under the vanity 3.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Minibar in the drawer.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Lamp.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Seat and window shade controls.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Touch screen seat and window shade adjustment controller.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Touch screen seat and window shade adjustment controller.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Touch screen seat and window shade adjustment controller.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Seat 3A: Privacy divider, personal lights and TV adjustment controller (Used when in bed mode).
In-flight Meals:
Being a 5-star airline, Etihad serves a full-course meal even on a short flight like this. Once you are on-board, the crew will bring a tray with a welcome drink, dates, a fresh towel and a welcome letter. Then, after takeoff, more snacks and drinks just before the main meal will be provided. I had a three-course meal which were fantastic and perfectly fit to my taste. With numerous choices of beverages and foods, it took some time for me to choose the menus.
Etihad A380 First Class welcome letter, warm towel, drink and dates.
Etihad A380 First Class snacks.
Etihad A380 First Class menus.
Etihad A380 First Class in-flight dining.
Etihad A380 First Class in-flight dining: Appetizers and breads.
Etihad A380 First Class in-flight dining: Main.
Etihad A380 First Class in-flight dining: Dessert.
In-flight Entertainments:
Equipped with two touch-screen controller and a huge 24 inch touch-screen IFE display, it is really comfortable to control even you are lying on the bed. There are a two USB ports, one HDMI, one power socket and two headphone jack port. Now, the headphone jack was really interesting and futuristic where it was magnet instead of the conventional two, three socket jack. It looked really simple and much more comfortable where it will instantly plug on and off.
Etihad Airways uses E-BOX in-flight entertainment on their fleet. With recent movies, TV shows and songs, if makes one's journey fun and relaxing even on short-haul flights. The in-flight Wi-Fi (Etihad Wi-FLY) has a pretty speedy connection: There might be faster connectivity with other airlines but this was the fastest I have experienced so far.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: Touch screen remote controller.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: Noise cancelling headset.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: Noise cancelling headset.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: Remote controller, USB ports, HDMI ports and headset jack.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: Noise cancelling impressive headset jack.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: 110VAC power socket.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: 24 inch wide and touch screen display.
Etihad A380 First Apartment IFE: 24 inch wide and touch screen display.
Etihad Airways In-flight wi-fi service.
Etihad Airways In-flight wi-fi service.
Shower/Lavatory:
Followed by Emirates, Etihad also has their own shower area on board. But instead of having two huge shower facilities like Emirates, due to the space taken by The Residence, Etihad has only one shower facility with lavatory and another smaller independent lavatory on their A380s. The lavatories are pretty compact while the size of the shower area was similar to the Shower Spa.
The shower facility also has a timer for water flow control and instead of installing a removable shower head, it is attached on the top like a rainfall type. The angle makes it hard for passengers who are tall but for me it was just perfect. Shower amenities will be provided in a bag by the cabin crew if you request them that you would like to use the shower facility. Other hand soaps and lotions are available on the rack above the faucet.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Lavatory/Shower.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Lavatory/Shower.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Lavatory/Shower.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Lavatory/Shower.
Etihad A380 First Apartment Lavatory/Shower.
On board Lounge:
The lounge on board is located between first class and business class. It has two curved bench and a table in between and the bar itself is located on one side. I find this lounge smaller than the one on Emirates but the bench really comfortable and it is high enough to support your whole back. This flight was really short-haul so there was no one in the lounge and it also had limited drinks displayed.
Etihad A380 on-board lounge.
Summary:
First of all, I would like to congratulated Etihad chosen as 5 star airline by Skytrax.
Though is was only a three hour flight, I have noticed that the in flight services were outstanding. Having both seat and bed combination, the First Apartment seats were massive in size with numerous amenities available, I think it will take some time for their competitors to compete with Etihad's First Apartments. Unfortunately, the current routes operated by Etihad's A380s are only to few countries like New York, London, Sydney etc. I hope they will someday fly ultra-long haul flights so that passengers can enjoy more on their top products.
Similar to Emirates and Qatar, I was impressed by Etihad's commitment towards the passengers by assigning multinational cabin crews who can speak different languages such as Russian and Swahili, even though flight was mostly flown with Indian and Middle East nationals.
Too bad I can only enjoy part of the real first class experience but I am looking forward to get the longer routes sometime next year.
Etihad Airbus A380 at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.