Hello and welcome for the 2nd part of this series.
This report will conclude my trip to Abu Dhabi.
Overview
EY004 MUC -> AUH Can be found here: 1st Part Abu Dhabi Trip
EY003 AUH -> MUC You are here!
EY003
First of all, let’s start with a short story.
Etihad is known for changing the flight equipment on their AUH-MUC route very often.
Sometimes it's like poker. You never know if you fly with that type of aircraft that is listed on their flight search or on flightradar the day before the actual departure.
When I booked the flight , I noticed, that EY003 on this day was scheduled to be operated by an A340-600.
After that exciting F1 Weekend at Yas Marina Circuit, I was still very excited on the bus to our remote gate.
We arrived between two A340-600 and that was the moment, when I knew “Yes A340-600 here I come”!
The Etihad F1 A340-600 was parked next to your bus, so I might thought we get that one – which would have been absolutely amazing BUT unfortunately the ground staff guided us to another A340-600 next to the F1 one.
Type: Airbus A340-600
Reg.: A6-EHH
First Flight: 2007-10-31 (just a little over 9 years old)
Paint scheme: The classic (old) "Etihad" paint scheme
Flight Times
- Scheduled Departure: 09:10am AUH Time
- Actual Departure: 09:15am AUH Time
- Scheduled Arrival: 01:10pm MUC Time
- Actual Arrival: 01:00pm MUC Time
Pre Flight @ AUH
Pictures taken before the flight.
EY003 Flight Ticket
A6-EHJ next to our A6-EHH at the remote gate in AUH
A6-EHH Engine - look at that <3
Boarding completed - another look to A6-EHJ
Some pictures taken during taxiing
I have to admit, I have no idea what airline that is!
Etihad A330 with the new paint scheme
Etihad A330 with the old paint scheme
More Etihad Aircrafts
And more
Alitalia B777 getting a new paint scheme
Etihad Hangar
A lot of UAE Aircrafts
Work is going on!
Flight
Pictures taken during the flight.
5min Takeoff Video from AUH in A340-600 (A6-EHH)
Pictures during Takeoff
Lineup
The iconic AUH Flight Control Tower
And Bye Bye Abu Dhabi
One last time a look back to Yas Marina Circuit, where history was made the day before
About 45min after takeoff drinks and a light snack (nuts) were served.
Pictures taken over Iran
(I love that wing view)
While heading north over Iran and about 2h into the flight, lunch was served.
Here is the Menu
And the tablet
Unfortunately only "Lamb bamia" was still for grabs.
I had no problem with that. The Lamb was very good - once again.
(Forgot to take a photo of the meal - sorry)
The UAE Emblem
More wing detail
Fuel dump nozzle
The reminder of the flight was uneventful. Once again very smooth and silent.
I killed the time and watched "Disneys Pets" and some other stuff on the entertainment system.
Finally, pictures from descending and landing
Watch out! Our friend from DXB is already landed
Post Flight @ MUC
Pictures taken after landing.
Parked next to Kuwait Airways A320WL and Aeroflog A321
The bird that you couldn't identify is a Deer Boeing 787-8 BBJ. It looks like a hotel presidential suite inside.
Thanks a lot!
I'd have never guessed that this was a BBJ 787-8.
Too bad you missed the F1 :-(
Nice lunch, but why wasn't there a snack before landing as the flight is longer in that direction ?
Ha, you got me there.
Actually there was a snack before landing but I was still full from lunch.
They offered the typical sandwich option. Chicken or cheese :)
Ha, you got me there.
Actually there was a snack before landing but I was still full from lunch.
They offered the typical sandwich option. Chicken or cheese :)
Thanks for sharing this report!
EY has a lovely product in Y from the looks of it :)
Yes - history was definitely being made at AUH! I was following the race at LAS airport. Pity he retired...
I was very pleased with the Economy product.
From my point of view - I think there is no big difference between EK and EY in Economy - maybe someone else won’t agree with me, but I felt comfortable in both.
It looks like that I might fly QR to DPS in August. At the moment, it looks like that I get the A350 on MUC-DOH and B787 or B777-300ER on DOH-DPS.
Let's see. If that happens, I can compare the economy product from the "three biggest Gulf Airlines".
Great FR - loved the photos what do you use to take them? EY A340s are gas guzzlers, won't be surprised if they get rid of them. Taking GVA to ABX which will be similar to your earlier report I guess :)
I recored the video and took the photos with my mobile phone - Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation.
Thank you for sharing this series with us!
Nice spotting shots at AUH, I am glad the equipment didn't change on this flight.
Stunning aerial shots!
I have not flown with EY but I have had similar experiences with QR where they almost always ran out of all but one of their meal options. You were seated at row 33, did they start serving from the front, back or from both ways?
Overall it looks like you had a good experience, thanks for sharing.
Have a good one, see you!
They started from both ways. The flight attendants communicated a lot, because more and more Chicken and Pasta meals were needed.
You mentioned QR. I am going to Denpasar in August with QR on MUC-DOH-DPS routing.
QR was the best option (flight time/schedule and price).
I am really looking forward to try QR.
It looks like I get the A350 on MUC-DOH route – another new aircraft type for me. On DOH-DPS - QR lists a B777-300ER – google flight listed a B787 a few days ago, when I booked. So let’s see