Well I’ve got a few spare hours on my hands here before I have to head off out so I thought I’d do a quick report on the Etihad flights I took back in August 2005.

Basically the family wanted to go away last minute as usual and I was asked to have a look for some place cheap. After searching around the likes of Jet2, Easyjet, BA and the usual charter suspects I found this fare on EY to Abu Dhabi for just £208 return including taxes. We would need to book a BA shuttle down to LGW to catch the flight but these were showing as £154 return. Sod that. Luckily a friend at BA let me use a Hotline which returned the fare to £62 which was much better!

The EY flight left at 1100 from LGW so this would mean an early start at MAN for the flight. However, the parents weren’t keen on that idea so we headed down to LGW the evening before and stayed over at the 4* Le Meridian.

MAN-LGW
British Airways
BA2909
Dep 1615
Arr 1715
B737-436

G-DOCG

25th August 2005

Only my immediate family were going on this jaunt so we were able to take our car instead of a taxi. We did what we usually do in this case and parked the 5 series up in Premier Car Park which is a 2 minute bus ride from T3.

Sadly if you are travelling with children on BA you can’t use online check in, why this is the case I’m not sure, so we had to put up, shut up and check in on the day. It’s funny how you get used to OLCI and bypassing the queues at the airport. As it goes the Self Service machines were having a bit of trouble with us that day so we had to go to plan C and join the pleb queue.

We checked in 4 cases and I tagged up the pram myself so we could take it through to the gate. The aircraft was late arriving by 15 minutes and as I sat in T3 with a beer I got a quick snap of her landing. I didn’t realise it was G-DOCG as the previous two other times I had flown her she was wearing the Chelsea Rose tail. A shame it had been painted out eh Sam?



Boarding commenced around 40 minutes later from gate 144, back then this was the gate used most of the time for the BA LGW flights. Sadly now BD and WW have moved into T3 and so the gate assignments are anybody’s guess.

Jessica, the little sister of mine, didn’t have a seat for this flight, it was only 45 minutes after all. We pushed and took off from 24L and flew the HON1Y SID per usual, right turn after departure and left at Knutsford Services to point us south toward BHX / HON VOR… Basically.



The all important bar and meal service A.K.A, the All Day Deli, soon came out and I took a vodka and lemonade which by today’s BA Connect prices will set you back £3.50. So there we are, my flight now was costing me just £58.50 and with the little All Day Deli box I was given, ‘Something Savoury’, I reckon I got the flight down to around £56? Not too bad.


My snack, Vodka ready to go


My dads snack, whiskey ready to go

The weather was interesting as we descended into LGW, not that bumpy but the rain, light and cloud formations warranted a few photos!







We touched with a fair crosswind on 08R and headed for North Terminal. An announcement was made for the Purser who had just completed his last flight and was now retiring. It was all very emotional as I’m sure you can imagine.....


Memories


Notice where the Chelsea Rose was painted out

After arsing about following the signs for UK Arrivals, walking seemingly for an eternity through the maze of Gatwick, we arrived at baggage reclaim and surprise surprise, our bags weren’t there. No they made us wait 40 minutes for our bags which is usual for LGW I’ve come to find! We headed for the hotel, which along with the Hilton is attached to the terminals so thankfully no shuttle busses to go catch. This was one of the reasons we booked the Le Meridian.

We met up with Sean (B747-437B), Ben (err Ben) and Declan (Shamus_747) in the evening and headed out for dinner and a few drinks in London, getting nicely ripped off by the Gatwick Express in the process. Nowadays I just take a Southern service and stop 2 or 3 times en route. Saves me £10, costs me 5 minutes or something along those lines.

LGW-AUH
Etihad Airways
EY308
Dep 1100
Arr 2045
A340-343X
A6-EYC

26th August 2005

The next day we checked out around 0830 and headed for North Terminal to the EY check in desks where there wasn’t much of a queue. Thankfully I had already reserved our seats on the Etihad website when I booked the flights hence the late check in this morning. The check-in staff were very friendly and dressed in their EY uniforms. Little did I know that less than a year later I’d have a girlfriend who too wore this uniform but I digress. Ex g/f anyway.

We went through security and went and waited for a while by the windows next to Boots. The time soon came around for boarding and we headed to our gate which by chance was located on the new Pier 6 which meant us having to cross over the new bridge. I got a quick photo of Dylan as we did this.





We arrived at the gate to find boarding hadn’t commenced and with Jessica requiring a nappy change we went and did this first! Soon boarding commenced of the premium classes, Diamond and Pearl, followed by us in Coral zone.

The aircraft is an ex Singapore Airlines A343 which Boeing bought off them and subsequently was used by Katilita before Etihad got hold of it. This was also to be my first A340 flight as it happened although I could have been flying on anything for all I cared.

So with the aircraft being ex SQ the interior was just that, nice purple and blue seats with ‘Raffles Class’ still printed on the dividing curtain into Business class. Apart from that you couldn’t really tell the previous owner of the aircraft and I doubt anybody other than me actually did as there was so much Etihad branded product about it wasn’t obvious. Waiting for us on the seat was an Etihad blanket, pillow, some headphones and a 0.5L bottle of Etihad branded water. Nice one.

The crew made a few announcements in a few different languages as we pushed back underneath the bridge that spans the taxiway. To me I was just on another one of my many A332 journeys as I couldn’t even see we had 4 engines. The only difference thus far was that it seemed quieter with those miniscule engines clinging onto the wing instead of my preferred 2 meaty RR Trent 772B’s! See Non_Aviation thread from 2004.  



With the clunking of the braking system synonymous of the A330 family, this Arabian A340 meandered forward around Gatwick’s apron searching for a runway and soon we were in line for takeoff from Runway 26L.


Can you spot Peter Max?

There was a discerning rumble in the cabin and a slight movement that steadily increased, stereotypical thoughts and actions then took place. The 340 got going and I was forced back into my seat with about as much power that a Morris Minor can give you accelerating from 5mph in fourth gear. Oh crap was this dull, reading one of KROC’s posts about ‘Soccer’ is more interesting.

I timed the takeoff roll for this 'special' occasion and we got to 48 seconds before the thing finally decided to get its arse into the air after which we just staggered about getting a close up view of Sussex. A few left turns later we were heading for the English Channel and AMS. The initial climb was up to FL340.


Moving Map showing our progress out of LGW


Up at FL340

Menus and hot towels soon got handed out by the very courteous and attentive crew. This was my fist time with a Middle Eastern carrier but from now past personal experience I’ve found out this is the norm and it’s why in my opinion, they blow AA, BA and VS out of the water. I’ve actually forgotten exactly what the meal options where but I know there was two salads as standard and two options for the main part of the meal.

I remember I got the Arabian meat dish whatever it was called, tasted good anyway. The meal presentation was also fairly impressive for economy class. Of course there was also some chocolate cake rubbish for dessert followed by tea and coffee if you like these things. However I don’t so I passed and even gave my little Etihad chocolate to my kid brother.


I only thought about taking this photo after I'd eaten most of it!

I took a can of Heineken from the bar instead since it was at least 1pm back home. We were by this time heading over Hungary, a place I hadn’t been too at that point in time. The meal trays were collected soon afterwards and upon seeing I’d finished my drink, I was offered another one by an Etihad girl. It would be rude to say no I thought.



The IFE on the A340 consisted of 6 movie channels comprising 3 Hollywood films, 1 Arabic Film, 1 Hindi film and 1 Kids film:

CH1: Kingdom of Heaven
CH2: The Interpreter
CH3: Madagascar
CH4: Wala Fee Alneya Abqa
CH5: Lucky
CH6: Pinocchio

They were set to 3 cycles with the 2nd cycle being a mix of Sitcoms, Lifestyle, Sports, Arabic Variety, Hindi Variety and Children’s shows spread out on the 6 channels for 90 minutes or so.

There was also the Moving Map channel as well as the channel dedicated to show me the way to Mecca if I so wished to drop to my knees and pray. Alas I didn’t. The 3rd and final cycle listed in the Entertainment Guide was exactly the same as the 1st but with the Hollywood films shown on different channels to early on.

I should also mention that there were 11 Audio Channels and this is what entertained me for the majority of the flight.

CH1: The Holy Quran
CH2: Khakijiyat
CH3: Al Tarab Al Aseel
CH4: Ala Mazajack
CH5: Anujuman
CH6: Mini Muthu Gee
CH7: Music Masala
CH8: The Hit Mix
CH9: Classical Musi
CH10: Jazz Session
CH11: Relax

Whilst CH3 really did appeal to me I gave in and listened to CH8 most of the time to the likes of Mylo, John Legend, Do Me Bad Things, Gadjo, Studio B and Gwen Stefani. Not so bad with a beer in hand and a view of the Black Sea from 7 miles high.


The ex SQ cabin in all its glory


Heading over Turkey

As we were travelling east the day ended up being quite short and the sun started to get quite low in the sky after 4 hours in flight. At this point we were over Turkey near to Syria and heading straight for Iraq. I have to say I got a little twitchy until we turned left and headed into Iranian airspace and down the border of Iraq. I was sitting on the left of the plane but looking to the right, the silent cabin of the A340 and the distant orange and red glow over Iraq sent a shiver down my spine. Just thinking of what goes on down there and yet seeing it all from this high, it almost looked peaceful.


Passing down the border of Iraq and Iran


This was more impressive in real life

The sun finally disappeared and left the mountains of Iran to fade into darkness leaving just the gentle illumination of the winglet by the red nav light and a flickering strobe light every now and then. The cabin had also fallen silent, some people were sleeping in the dim light, some were grouped by the doors talking quietly and some like me were just sitting there with a can of Bitburger in hand watching the world go past, literally.

Fairly soon the Etihad crew regrouped at the front of the cabin and started handing out more hot towels and asked us to look through our menus to make our main meal selection. I found they were a very hygienic bunch which I liked. The menu I have to say was pages of a seemingly great selection for Economy. The first page listed the drinks available.

Aperitifs
Campari
Sherry – Tio Pepe (dry) and Harvey’s Bristol Cream (sweet)
Vermouth – Martini Rosso (sweet) and Martini (dry)

Selection of Cocktails

Wines
White:
Chile – Casa Silva Classic Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Argentina – Don Cristobal 1492 Chardonnay 2003

Red:
Chile – Casa Silva Carmenere 2002
Chile – Casa Silva Merlot Reserva 2001

Spirits
Scotch – Ballantine’s
Gin – Gordon’s
Vodka – Smirnoff Red
Bacardi Rum

Beers
A selection of Heineken, Bitburger, and Amstel light (low calorie)

Cognac and Liquor
Cognac – Martell (VS)
Liquors – Bailey’s Irish Cream, Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua,

Juices and Soft Drinks
Fresh Juices
Carbonated Soft Drinks – Coke, Coke (light), Sprite, Sprite (light), Ginger Ale, Natural Spring Water

The meal I chose was like a chicken wrap with Rocket, Tomatoes and Coleslaw. This was also accompanied by a Scone with clotted cream and jam which I gladly passed on just because I don’t eat that kind of crap. The wrap was nice if not enough; I was fairly hungry by this time. I got a vodka and lemonade to go with the meal along with another 0.5L bottle of water, all free of course.


Etihad's light snack

By the time the meal service has been collected and put away we were already flying halfway down the Persian Gulf and making good progress for Abu Dhabi. Sadly there was no view with it being night so I was somewhat willing the flight along now. A shallow decent finally began around 30 minutes before scheduled arrival time and we glided down in a straight line.

We made landfall over a port that was seemingly isolated if not attached to the distant capital city by a very long and straight road. This was all there was to see as this strangely quiet plane lurched about in the darkness before finally gracing the presence of the UAE with our arrival at AUH a little before 2045 local time.

We were welcomed to Abu Dhabi as we taxied in past a few Gulf Air aircraft and an Etihad B763. After a few minutes parked on stand Coral Zone got to disembark and we entered the main departure hall of the terminal and followed signs for passport control and baggage reclaim.

Upon getting our passports stamped and picking up our luggage we left the air conditioned haven and entered the hottest place I have ever been in my life. We stepped outside into still air that was 36 °C and 74% humidity at 2130 hours! I had jeans on and I nearly melted. I had to concentrate and look out for our courtesy car to the hotel we were staying at, the 5* Abu Dhabi Sheraton Resort and Towers. Fairly soon two black E Class Mercedes pulled up and the chauffeurs got out and confirmed our names. We all took the first car and all the luggage went in the second car. We then set off for downtown at speeds averaging 100mph. This country was mad but I was loving it!

The driver slowed down as we entered the more built up areas getting closer to the hotel. We pulled up outside the lobby amongst Hummers and other over the top luxury cars that you’d imagine finding in the UAE. The bell boy took our bags and we were lead over to reception.

After they confirmed our names the check-in process stopped and we were lead up to the 7th floor now just a little delirious from the flight and the heat. We all piled in the lift and followed without asking why. Once we got up there it became apparent this was the executive floor and private check-in, my dad seemed to forget he had status with Sheraton! We got lead to our three rooms, one for me and two adjoining rooms for the parents and little kids. All was good as I had been given one of the most impressive rooms I’d ever stayed in. Whilst it wasn’t the biggest, everything in there was top notch and the view of the Persian Gulf was dam amazing. The mini bar even had Marlborough Lights in there keeping cool! Not like I smoke of course.


Sweet Sleeper Bed= dam nice


This amused me


Part of my rather large bathroom


The rest of the bathroom, it just looked nice!


The TV has free internet with the wireless keyboard.

The next few days we spent basically around the hotel pool and private beach going out not that many times. The temperatures in the direct sun hit 57°C one day which was simply unimaginable! My skin felt like it was literally on fire, burning like I’ve never felt before. Temperatures in the shade were a nice cool 49°C which for a guy from the north of England was just deadly. The 36.3°C we had in the UK today is nothing in comparison! However, the one thing that they have lots of in the UAE is of course air conditioning. So I made sure to retreat back in doors and literally ‘chill out’ after about an hour outside.

The funny thing about this place was that the sweat on your body wasn’t sweat as I knew it. I timed it at one point, as soon as you leave the 22°C hotel, moisture would appear as little drops on your fore arms, face, legs and any other part of your body in 2 seconds flat and that is no exaggeration. I couldn’t believe it, this was standing still too! Let’s say the pool was well used at the hotel!


The pools


This was docked across from the hotel, impressive looking


I took this from my room, simply dam beautiful to watch the sunset


Condensation on my lens after coming out of the hotel.


30 minutes later and my camera is ready to go, same angle as before!

The second night we had been out for dinner and had arrived back at our respective rooms at 2300 local time. I was now fairly acclimatised to the heat
and time zone so I went back downstairs to the concierge and asked if there were any good bars in the immediate area. He told me about a place called the Zenith Nightclub which was attached to the far end of the hotel. What a result, well, except that it involved walking out the front of the hotel to the entrance. I figured it was worth it, even though I was wearing jeans.

I headed outside and was immediately hit by the immense heat. I walked down the front of the hotel, the huge highway next to me alive and packed with a huge amount of cars. Sky scrapers lay across the street but there was nobody about, so noisy and hot, so empty and desolate. I found the entrance, a huge bouncer was there and a red rope. My heart sank like it would if I was trying to get into a club in the UK but this guy saw my room key, smiled and greeted me before raising the red rope. Get in!

The entrance of this place was contemporary as hell, black marble walls and floors with an open fish tank either side of the walkway. There was a further doorman who welcomed me in to the main club, I don’t know what I was expecting but as the door opened the room filled with the sound of Rhianna – Pon De Reply. I found this just great; it was, at the time, my girlfriend Anna’s favourite song. I was missing her as it goes so it was good to hear it so far away from home. The bar was great though and I went there for the next 3 nights and stayed until 2-3am every night.

So after a few days in the Middle East it was time to go home. The same E Class Mercedes took us back to AUH late on the evening of 31st August for the flight back to London at the unsociable time of 0155!

AUH-LGW
Etihad Airways
EY307
Dep 0155
Arr 0635
A340-343X
A6-EYC

1st September 2005

Of course the aircraft was scheduled to be an A343 so it was the same aircraft we flew outbound, no issue. They only they had one. The check-in desks at in the Etihad area were empty so we had no wait before getting served. All the staff was again very friendly and the supervisor working the floor was British herself, it helped smooth things over.

We proceeded through passport control and got our exit stamps. A short walk around the nicely air conditioned corridors and we found ourselves in the large and rather unusual shaped departure lounge.


AUH terminal

Selling jewelry at the heart of the airport

We had 1.5 hours to kill so we took advantage of the duty free. 1000 cigarettes only cost £33 but our allowance back into the EU was a measly 200! However, it was buy 200 get 200 half price plus get a free gift. The shop assistant who dealt with our purchase pretty much made us take 400 back each! She insisted it was ok and frankly I didn’t care, I was knackered and hey, we got a funky free lighter…


GF A343 at the gate


LH off to Kuwait


KL B763 ready to go back to AMS

Boarding of our flight commenced and we got priority boarding thanks to the kids. We took our seats just 3 rows ahead of where we had sat outbound. The temperature according to the pilot was 37c. Hmm, that was going to be interesting in an A343! Thankfully the runway we used at AUH was approx 14,000ft long.


Me on the PTV

We pushed and headed to the runway, the airport being rather dead at 2am.

We commenced a rolling takeoff which took a rather staggering 56 seconds to get airborne. Thank god this wasn’t MAN! The route after departure was fairly standard and took us north east of Bahrain and then straight up to Damascus.



The EY A343 approaching the runway.


Heading out over the gulf


Time to sleep

The main meal service commenced soon after departure with the menus and hot towels being passed thru the cabin. I managed not to lose this menu so here’s what we had; the drinks selection I already listed earlier on.

Coral Zone
Light Meal

Appetiser – Seasonal salad with feta cheese
served with cucumber slices and lettuce

Main Course

Arabian Chicken Provencale (signature dish)

Grilled chicken prepared Arabian style, with onions, garlic, and leeks flavoured with olive oil, accompanied by lyonnaise potatoes and saffron rice.

Lamb Biryani with Vegetable Saloona

Lamb, marinated with yoghurt, Indian herbs and spices, cooked with basmati rice, and served with Arabic style mixed vegetables.

Dessert and Chocolate

Pista and Mint Mousse Cake
served with strawberry coulis

Bread Roll and Butter

Beverages
Tea, Brazilian Coffee or Hot Chocolate.

I went for the Lamb Biryani but sadly it had run out so I settled with the Arabian chicken. I also took a Bitburger to accompany it followed by a Baileys later on.

Since the IFE movies changed every month I was looking forward to watching Mr and Mrs Smith which was listed for September in the entertainment guide. However, when the IFE started up I was disappointed to see that they were still playing August’s movies, oh well. I told one of the cabin crew who apologised and blamed it on the ground crew at AUH, nice going.

The cabin lights had been dimmed by now and since it was the middle of the night, around 4am, I decided I’d try get a few hours sleep. The cabin had been kept nice and cool which allowed me to use the blanket to cover up, gives you more of a sense of being in bed I think thus you sleep better. I fell asleep just south of Damascus and to the west of Iraq whilst flying over Saudi Arabia. I awoke a few times during the course of the flight, the first time we were directly over Beirut, the second we were directly overhead Istanbul and heading out to cross the Black Sea.

The flight westwards to London takes an additional hour on the eastward flight to Abu Dhabi. It started to drag a bit as the sun started to rise and we reached the southern tip of Germany. The final meal service finally started with the hot towels being brought around followed by the following:

Coral Zone
Continental Breakfast
Appetiser

Seasonal Fresh Fruit

Bakery Selection
Breakfast bread selection served with butter and preserve

Beverages
Tea, Coffee or Hot Chocolate

I asked for a banana and two white bread rolls although there were Danishes and other such things available. I’m not really a morning person though. I got another bottle of water to go with it all and watched as we headed over northern Europe.

The cabin lights were raised as we began to cross the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands. By this point in every long haul flight I take, the immediate area surrounding me has been turned into a sort of bed sit; all my personal items sprawled out between the seat pockets and on the floor. This time was no different. Blankets, pillows, empty bottles and the occasional stray head rest littered the floor. My camera was far under the seat in front of me and for some reason I could only find one shoe! It was time to get out of my pit, time for a visit to the washroom!

Now whenever I do this I always have visions of grandeur, I always imagine stepping in looking a mess, a little tired and a little crumpled and think that I’ll come out looking fresh as a daisy. It never happens though.

I pushed the left hand side, mid lavatory folding door open and inched forward. The first thing I did was step in a shallow, sticky glazing of pee, great. This is why we wear shoes when visiting the toilet. I leaned forward and put one hand on the curved wall and did my thing, lowering the lid like a polite person afterwards. I hit the flush button and felt the freezing cold air running over my feet as I did this, weird sensation. I splashed a bit of water from the sink on my face and tried to get rid of the sticking up hair I’d gotten from my slumber. Urgh, I felt a bit like death but good to go after a quick spray of the Etihad branded Eau d toilette, hmmm. Toilet bowl fresh!

The descent soon started and we headed up the Thames and made a few turns to get us on track for LGW. The sun had started to rise and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to get a few shots of it.





The approach to Gatwick was now in its final stages, all the window blinds were up, and all the tired people were bolted upright in their seats albeit looking a bit grim. The A340 made such a quiet job of everything, one of the things I liked about it. We touched down smoothly on 26L and exited quietly at the far end of the runway.

We pulled up on stand exactly were we had left a few days ago. Thankfully EY and BA use the same terminal so once we had gotten through passport control and reclaimed our luggage, of which one bag was damaged, we headed out into arrivals and then back upstairs to the BA check-in area.

British Airways
BA2904
Dep 0900
Arr 1005
A319-131
G-EUPZ
1st September 2005

Our booking with BA had been a bit messed up which required us to go to a check-in desk instead of a self service machine, a bit of a queue but c’est la vie. We got given our boarding cards, sent our luggage off again and headed off into the departures lounge. Our domestic flight thankfully wasn’t too long away as the EY flight was now starting to take the toll on me.

The scheduled aircraft was an A319 which is a bit of an oddball for LGW. Anyway, it provides a nicer cabin than the B737 fleet of BA so I was happy.


Note G-VIIO still in the Chelsea Rose colours

We pushed on time and headed for 26L for departure. A slight queue owing to it being the morning time and then we were off up to FL240. The route from LGW took us straight ahead and then pretty much a 180 degree turn to take us east and then left taking us over LCY and above the LHR traffic. It’s the norm I’ve found.





The best thing about this flight had to be the Full English Breakfast that was served thanks to the flight being before 1000! I’ve had it numerous times now and I got lucky in that Dylan was sound asleep when the food got around to us; so I had his too, result! I was starved.


Hmmmm

The weather steadily deteriorated as we headed further north, clear blue skies becoming white fluffy clouds, then thick white clouds, moving on to grey and overcast clouds with a hint of turbulence and then boom, we descended through those and emerged over Stockport into the pouring rain. Alas, welcome home.


Is that rain?


Why yes it is. TCX B752 getting ready to go from T1

We touched down on time and sound as a pound just 40 minutes after takeoff and taxied toward Terminal 3, British Airways. It was depressing to be back, it was cold at just 18c compared to 56c and it was overcast. I hate this place at times.


Balkans TU154 at T1 as we taxi into T3

We all shuffled off the Airbus and headed off around to the luggage belt to reclaim our luggage, hazar it arrived undamaged this time. Now feeling pretty tired we exited T3 into arrivals to be greeted by the retarded looking taxi drivers that are always there holding up their name cards as well as the odd depressed looking person waiting for their relative from Aberdeen to arrive.
Our car was still at Premier car park so we boarded the shuttle bus and headed to the car park getting soaked in the process. Again, c’est la vie. 40 miles and 35 minutes later we were home, journey and holiday over. Time to read the mountain of mail that awaited us.

Overall I have to say I had an amazing time out there, the United Arab Emirates is a great place to visit and Abu Dhabi was seriously like no place I’d been to before, I’d love to go back. The guys at Etihad performed a valiant service with their ex SQ aircraft and now they utilise the B77W on the route, I can only imagine things have gotten even better. Comparing my flights on EK to EY I’d say Emirates have a more western feel to them whilst Etihad have more of an Arabian hint to their product but the onboard service is fairly identical. At the end of the day though I felt Etihad did a fine job and I wouldn’t hesitate to fly them again in the future if my plans require or allow me to do so.