We flew Etihad first class on their 787-9 as part of our Maldives trip in July 2021. We had already flown their business class seat before, so we were super excited to fly their first class product. Although they are no longer flying their A380 with their first class apartments hard product, we were expecting a fantastic soft product experience with first class, and we were not disappointed.
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Etihad Airways First Class Booking
I actually booked this flight back in August of 2020 through Aeroplan, and the original routing was from Male to New York JFK via Abu Dhabi, and on their A380 Apartments. I booked the flight prior to the devaluation, so the itinerary was only 105k Aeroplan (that I had purchased through their insane 1cpp promo) + $78.61 in taxes and fees. For Eric and me, it would be a total of 210k Aeroplan.
In May 2020, less than two months prior to the flight, I was given notice that the AUH-JFK leg was downgraded to business due to aircraft swap to a 2-class 787-9. At the time, Etihad had trimmed down their first class offerings to 787-9 flights consistently between Abu Dhabi and Washington DC, and London. Thus, I knew that I would have to call in to Aeroplan to initiate the change. Etihad was one of Aeroplan’s newer partners, so I was prepared to encounter issues with the Aeroplan agents.
When I called into Aeroplan, I let them know that my flight had been downgraded, and they gave me an option to either refund me the difference in points, or to attempt a rerouting. Any kind of rerouting would be honored as long as the end destination was within 500mi of the original destination. There was indeed first class award space between Abu Dhabi and Washington DC, however, there was no more award space between Washington DC and JFK. Luckily, their routing guidelines let me fly to LGA instead, while keeping the same award pricing prior to the devaluation! The conversation with the agent took almost two hours, but in the end, I managed to secure MLE-AUH-IAD-LGA for the original 105k Aeroplan.
Origin: Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH)
Destination: Washington Dulles International Airpot (IAD)
Flight Number: EY131
Date: Monday 12 July 2021
Scheduled Departure: 10:10am
Scheduled Arrival: 4:25pm
Duration: 14:15hr
Cabin: First
Aircraft: 787-9
Tail Number: A6-BLD
Etihad Airways Boarding
Our flight boarded from the section of the terminal after US Preclearance, in Terminal 3 Gate 60. Since the flight was still at the height of the pandemic, there were not that many customers flying between Abu Dhabi and Washington Dulles. Boarding was complete in approximately 20minutes, and first class customers were first to board.
Etihad Airways First Class Cabin & Seats
The copious amount of space offered to each passenger in first class cabins never ceases to get me excited. The seat is upholstered light brown leather. There are a total of eight first class suites with a width of 26in and bed length of 80in. We chose seats 1D and 1G so that we could sit next to each other.
There is a divider for privacy between the middle seats, and a suite door that closes completely for privacy. There is a large ottoman for you to place your feet, and also for a travel companion to sit on.
Since we were the only passengers in the first class cabin, we were offered to have our bed made on the adjacent seats by the window.
The amount of storage space was sufficient, and we left our carry-on bags in the overhead bin compartments. The cabin felt cozy, and the color scheme felt warm and comforting.
Etihad Airways Departure from Abu Dhabi
Once we were boarded, we were immediately offered a pre departure beverage of sparkling wine and some dates. Greetings us at our seats was an ACQUA DI PARMA amenity kit, containing Colonia lip balm, body lotion and cologne, eye masks, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, and a Covid-19 health kit containing hand sanitizer and masks. Masks would be required for the entirety of the flight, except when eating and drinking. There was also a bag containing the pillow and blanket, wrapped in plastic due to the pandemic.
We took off one minute early at 10:09am, and headed due west towards Washington Dulles.
I sat at the window during departure so that I could observe the airport in motion. The aircraft control tower is quite a looker, with a striking moon shaped silhouette.
Look at the gorgeous view of both the 787-9 wing, and Abu Dhabi International airport’s not yet opened terminal. Such a beautiful plane.
Etihad Airways First Class Meal Service
In flight service commenced shortly after take off, and we were offered drinks and some snacks, including warm nuts, selection of olives, small salad. For drinks, I elected to try the Jetlag Relief beer from Side Hustle Brew, and Eric tried the Peach Bellini. Complimentary wifi was handed out during this time, which included a paltry 50MB.
Once we were given some time to browse the lunch menu, the flight attendant came by and asked us for our order. Eric and I usually order different things so that we can swap halfway through our dishes, thus maximizing the number of items we get to try without getting too full and having too much overlap.
For appetizers, we started with the shorbay deyay (chicken and vermicelli soup), and the carrot and sweep potato soup with feta, leek scone, and coriander creme fraiche.
Of course, there was a classic service of mixed bread. I was happy that the bread was properly warmed. It came with a side of butter, olive oil with balsamic, salt, pepper, and my requested sparkling water with lemon and ice.
Caviar service was next, and this appetizer is one of the few that Eric and I do not share. We opted to get one serving each. There’s something extra luxurious about eating caviar up in the sky, and caviar service is one of my favorite parts of first class meal service on any airline. Just looking back at these pictures gives me so much joy!
And of course, it wouldn’t be a middle eastern meal without a selection of Arabic mezzes! This mezze included chicken lollipop, hummus, muhammara, and tabbouleh. Beautiful presentation, and very enjoyable.
The finally appetizer was a plate of burrata, heirloom tomato, basil, and aged balsamic. It is so easy to forget that you are on airplane with this kind of quality of food being served. The freshness of this specific dish was greatly appreciated after the slightly heavier appetizers that came before.
Finally, we arrived to the main course, to which we chose to get the lamb thareed with ruqaq bread, as well as a salmon with cauliflower puree, eggplant, kumquats, and salsa verde. Meats are often hit or miss on flights, and Etihad Airways did an exceptional job not overcooking these meats. The lamb was very tender, and salmon still very flakey.
Finally, the meal service was wrapped up by the two desserts, including the date and fig pudding with raspberry sauce, honeycomb, and strawberry ice cream, as well as the passion fruit bavarois with berries, mango, and nut tuille (that Eric fell in love with).
Etihad Airways First Class Anytime Dining
Since the flight to Washington Dulles was a long one, there is no formal second meal. Instead, there is a dine anytime service from their “grill” which allowed us to mix and match and create our own custom combination of dishes. We started with some drinks, including dry ginger ale, and pommemade.
We fell in love with the Etihad Airway steak sandwich on their business flights, so we were very excited to see the dish being offered as a snack on first class as well, and of course we had to order it. Yes, it was just as delicious as I had remembered, and I would gladly eat this dish on the ground any time. The steak sandwich contains slices of beef tenderloin with Emmental cheese, a red onion chutney, and leafy greens. How great is that?
We also ordered a medium rare steak frites served with béarnaise sauce, and a side of seasonal veggies. I was not joking when I say the steak was medium rare, it was perfectly medium rare. The side of roasted garlic was a perfect addition, as well as the caramelized onions, grilled tomatoes, and perfectly stacked potatoes. The effort they place in the plating cannot be understated. Even the veggies were beautifully selected and presented.
We ended our snack with a scoop of Haagen-Dazs cookies and cream ice cream, and Eric got another passionfruit bavarois.
After eating the second meal, I asked to be served some small finger snacks to eat while lounging in the day bed set up for me by the window. There were dates, baklava, and Arabic coffee. Having these snacks while lying on a flat bed over 30000 feet in the air felt super luxurious, and I savored every moment enjoying Etihad first class with Eric. Eric and I ended up hanging out together in the same seat while he watched something on the IFE, I read on my Kindle, and we ate snacks together.
Etihad Airways First Class Breakfast
Around two hours prior to landing, we requested for breakfast. Breakfast started with some more drinks, the pommemade again, and a mimosa!
Main course was chicken breast with crushed potatoes and chives, seasonal veggies, and creamy mushroom sauce. The chicken breast was too dry, but you can be sure that I devoured every bit of the baby carrots and zucchinis. Such beautiful selection of vegetables.
To be able to order a burger on the plane is a novelty that I could not miss. The burger was Arabic spiced with chami cheese, date ketchup, sourdough bread, a side of Shirazi salad, and spiced potato wedges. The spices were a little too pungent, and burger was a little dry. Overall, I definitely wouldn’t skip on this adorably presented dish regardless!
Dessert was a selection of cheeses and dried fruit, served with some crackers. I didn’t have as much interest to eat this dish, but I had to order it for the picture and just to have a small taste of their selection.
Finally, the last dessert was the Victoria sponge, that actually tasted quite well balanced, and moist. The fruit platter was also colorful and inviting.
At this point, we had already started flying over North America, and I knew that our amazing experience would be ending soon.
Etihad Airways First Class Service
The service on this flight was perfect and attentive. Our flight attendants Laura and Bojana took really great care of us for this 14hr flight. The bathrooms were well maintained, the beds were made when we requested it. They anticipated our needs, such as offering sparkling water with lemon and ice with every meal, and were excited to have us try almost every single dish on their menu.
Summary
Etihad Airways has recently gained a reputation of compromising on their first class product ever since they retired their A380s and the Apartments/Residences. First class remained only on their routes to Washington Dulles, and London. I was worried that we wouldn’t get the full first class experience during the pandemic, but the food and drinks on board were the best we have ever had on the first class product we have tried thus far. We already had high expectations for the food since Etihad Airways business class food had been amazing. There were many dishes I would gladly eat if it was served at a restaurant on the ground.
We had sunlight throughout the entire flight, which made photographing the food and the enjoyment of the flight even better. There was no night skies outside the window to lull us to sleep, just beautiful sunny views for us to enjoy.
Etihad Airways is truly a phenomenal airline, even during the thick of the pandemic. We felt safe, well taken cared of, and the food was especially amazing. I would gladly fly with Etihad Airways on first class again, and highly recommend it to anyone.
