Review of Etihad Airways flight Abu Dhabi Melbourne in Economy

Airline Etihad Airways
Flight EY462
Class Economy
Seat 38A
Aircraft Boeing 787-9
Flight time 13:06
Take-off 19 Mar 18, 09:53
Arrival at 20 Mar 18, 05:59
EY   #6 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 278 reviews
Rob777ER
By 4171
Published on 8th May 2018

Flight Review EY462 from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne



Hi everyone for the 2nd part.
This report will cover my flight from AUH to MEL - Down Under - with some bonus pictures of Melbourne.


Trip Overview



1st Segment: MUC > AUH – EY004
2nd Segment: AUH > MEL – YOU ARE HERE
3rd Segment: MEL > AUH – EY463
4th Segment: AUH > MUC – EY003


Pre Flight @ AUH



After my connecting flight from MUC was perfectly on time (even a few minutes early) there was no rush for me to get my next flight to MEL.
I really enjoyed to walk around AUH in the morning and proceeded to the gate early as I read that there were some special security controls for flights to Australia.
They checked my bag and wanted to know how many devices with a battery I have (Notebook, Tablet, Mobile Phone, etc.).

Gate 34 for my longest flight up to that point!
photo 20180319_043500


I have not mentioned the aircraft type for that route.
Well … yes … it was a B787-9!
My first time flying with that type and I was really looking forward to it since I booked my flights back in January.


View of my B787-9 from gate.
Doesn't she look pretty? Especially in that morning light!! ;)
photo 20180319_044015photo 20180319_045917


General Flight Information EY462



Aircraft Type: B787-9
Aircraft Registration: A6-BLK
Boarding (planed): 08:10 am
Boarding (actual): 08:25 am
Push Back: 09:26 am
Departure (planed): 09:10 am
Departure (actual): 09:53 am
Arrival (planed): 05:20 am
Arrival (actual): 05:59 am
Arrival Gate: 06:03 am


Ticket for flight EY462


photo ey462


Flight EY462



When boarding started a few minutes late, the aircraft was still refuelled.
photo 20180319_053343


My seat for my flight to Melbourne - once again 38A.
photo 20180319_053837


The seat pitch and width was a little bit smaller than on the EY B777 in my opinion.
Overal the seat was okay, but it was not that comfortable than on the B777.
photo 20180319_053834photo 20180319_054810


Refuelling still ongoing.
photo 20180319_054217


View from my seat across the gates at AUH.
photo 20180319_053840


Bonus: Headphones connection in EY B787-9


Bonus : Click here display



Push back was about 30min late and the delay rose even more as we had to wait some time to get a new departure time because of that much traffic in AUH.
Thank god the view during taxiing and waiting was not too bad.



Finally with a delay of about 50min we lined up and our heavy heavy B787-9 roared away.
Take off was pretty amazing, you could really feel all the kerosin and heavy load of the aircraft.
photo 20180319_065340photo 20180319_065401photo 20180319_065420


Air France A380 at AUH (for service …?).
photo 20180319_065425


Some other aircrafts at AUH (for service …?).
photo 20180319_065431photo 20180319_065441


Aerial view of beautiful AUH shortly after departure.
Weather was amazing … and that wing?
I fell in love when I saw it flexing during take off <3
Boeing makes by far the most beautiful wings ever!



Wing detail with blue sky as background <3
photo 20180319_065645


We departed in western direction, so we had to make a sharp U turn to get on course to MEL.
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30min into the flight, a light snack and drinks were served.
photo 20180319_071227


When we left the Arabian Peninsula and entered the Arabian Sea, lunch was served.
Starter was some bean and cucumber salad, followed by spicy chicken with rice.
Dessert was some kind of pudding or something like that, to be honest - I have no idea how it is called, but it tasted okay.
photo 20180319_075823photo 20180319_080209photo 20180319_081032


Our route was slightly south of India and passing over Sri Lanka.
There wer no bumps over the Arabian Sea, but when we crossed Sri Lanka it started to shaking quite a lot for about half an hour.
No surprise as there were thick clouds outside on cruising altitude.
photo 20180319_110205


EY's entertainment system is very good (nothing new ;)), lots of new movies as well as old and well known movies.
I choose the new version of "It" … definitely worth to watch it.
photo 20180319_104824


The part between India / Sri Lanka and Australia is by far the most exhausting part of the whole flight.
It takes hours and hours to cover the distance and there is only water underneath …
Weather outside got thankfully better, just some fluffy clouds.
photo 20180319_075345photo 20180319_103332photo 20180319_122208


About half way between India / Sri Lanka and Australia, another snack was served.
Two buns with cheese and ham and it got dark as we headed into the night.
photo 20180319_122159photo 20180319_134047photo 20180319_134100


During the flight I made already some plans for MEL after arrival and slept a little bit.
Surprisingly I slept a few hours and felt refresh when I woke up anywhere above Australia.
photo 20180319_181700


Just a few minutes after I woke up - about 2h until MEL - breakfast was served.
There was only one option - vanilla bread.
Taste was good and filling.
photo 20180319_182705photo 20180319_182727photo 20180319_183257


Flight path and almost in Melbourne … the other side of the world!! :)
photo 20180319_190123


It felt that landing was not easy as there were some gusts that early morning in MEL.
But the pilot did a great job and tried to touch down as smooth as possible.
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Finally … Down Under!!!
After a total travel time of 22h from departure in MUC to landing in MEL.
photo 20180319_195939


Post Flight @ MEL



After the flight, it took a while to get of the aircraft as there were some minor problems with the bridge at the gate.
Imigration was very good … maybe one of the most friendliest staff I have ever had at an immigration point!

I bought a SIM CARD for my mobile phone imideately after the exit and then walked to the SKY BUS Terminal which connects MEL Airport with MEL Downtown 24h a day and 7 days a week.
If you plan to go to MEL, book your tickets in advanced via the website! I really recommend that and you can save some money as well.


Bonus: Pictures from Melbourne and Phillip Island


Bonus : Click here display
See more

Verdict

Etihad Airways

8.3/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering8.5

Abu Dhabi - AUH

7.4/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.0

Melbourne - MEL

8.9/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

Information on the route Abu Dhabi (AUH) Melbourne (MEL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 5 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Abu Dhabi (AUH) → Melbourne (MEL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Etihad Airways avec 8.3/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 13 heures et 27 minutes.

  More information

5 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 444192 by
    Thib98 93 Comments
    Thank you for that report.
    Etihad is a pretty good airline to fly to Australia, even more when you are flying in a brand new aircraft such as the 787/380.
    Hope you enjoyed Australia
  • Comment 444278 by
    KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments
    Thanks for this FR.
    Catering looks decent but a choice should be offered for breakfast.
    No eyemask or toothbursh anymore? An exception should be made for flights to Australia.
    Nice bonus of Melbourne.
  • Comment 444520 by
    Thurya 79 Comments
    Thanks for the trip report. The dessert you had was sago pudding :) Enjoyed the bonus as well. Indeed MCG is huge, it has even hosted athletic events for Olympic and Commonwealth games, which is very unusual for a cricketing venue.
    • Comment 444545 by
      Rob777ER AUTHOR 42 Comments
      Thanks for leting me know what kind of dessert it was! I had this two times so far - on my way to KUL last year with EY and this time again!
      I really like the tast, completly different compared what we have here in Europe as pudding :D

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