Review of Etihad Airways flight Madrid Abu Dhabi in Economy

Airline Etihad Airways
Flight EY76
Class Economy
Seat --
Aircraft Airbus A330-200
Flight time 06:30
Take-off 05 Nov 16, 09:30
Arrival at 05 Nov 16, 19:45
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
Chibcha
By SILVER 1680
Published on 24th November 2019

INTRO


¡Hola amigos!

This is Part II of my trip from Bogotá to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

This entry reveals my not to straight forward routing that I kept silent in the previous entry…so this was the routing:
 


Routing


connecting at mad


From what I've read and heard MAD was a nightmare for connections before the T4 complex was built. As long as you connect over there, it is a very efficient hub IMO, the only issue may be that your food, shopping and entertainment options may be a bit scarce.

But in my case, since AV arrives to T4S and EY operates from T1, I would need to transit between terminals. Fortunately AENA had thought about this possibility and arranged for connections between these two terminals without need to enter the Schengen Zone or having to go landside.

The problem is that not too many people use the service, so it is "on demand", meaning that when they have enough people to move they'll send a minibus. I ended up waiting around 30 minutes or more for the minibus to arrive. And thus begun one of the longest airport rides I've ever taken… MAD is so huge it's got a motorway inside and all!



Since all of my previous times in MAD I had used T4, I was not aware of the sheer size of the platform in front of T1,2,3. It was quite empty this cold morning, and that made it look even larger.



All in all the ride took around 20 minutes…we were safe and sound in T1



Once we were dropped on the ground floor, you go up to what it seems an improvised mezzanine (the ceilings felt awkwardly low!) and then I could clear security before being let into the 1st floor for departures.

I had planned to spend this time at the VIP which I read had a cool terrace…but having lost my card, I had to settle with BK and see my plane arrive. AC's 763 from YYZ arrived soon after.



BOARDING


I waited till the last minute in the BK. The waiting room by the gate didn't afford decent views and was crowded with Korean tourists on a tour.

I showed up at the counter and my boarding passes were changed from AV stock to EY boarding passes, along with the one for the next sector ( I was only given BPs for BOG-MAD and MAD-AUH). 

Boarding was called, and so I entered my third EY flight in a year (2016 was my year in the Middle East). 

I was kindly greeted by the crew. The plane looked well appointed and in perfect shape, in contrast to the A346 and 77W that felt battered (maybe because I boarded them at night). The seats were comfortable and pitch was more than enough.

The awesome EY pillows, blackets and headphones were provided. I don't recall being offered a vanity kit as in the flights I took between CDG and AUH earlier that yeer. 



en route to Abu Dhabi


Boarding took its while to be completed. There were language barriers between the european crew and the Korean tour…but we left on time.

What had always struck me about EY is the theme park music when boarding. It makes it all feel fake for me…sorry.
On the other hand, I find the prayer before the flight begins so cool!



 It was a very rainy day in Spain. We took off from RWY 15R towards the south, views were scarce as soon as we took off…



We were provided menus while we gingerly cruised towards the east…


photo dscn1365photo dscn1366photo dscn1378

A drinks run passed first, I had some Apple Juice


photo dscn1379photo dscn1380photo dscn1381

Then the lunch service, I went for the Lamb. I don't remember it being remarkable. But I cannot say we well better fed than in AV.


photo dscn1382photo dscn1383

I dozed off soon after… I basically woke up upon arrival.

We reached a hard stand and were bussed to the terminal building. 


photo dscn1385
See more

Verdict

Etihad Airways

9.2/10
Cabin10.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Meal/catering9.0

Madrid - MAD

7.4/10
Efficiency7.0
Access5.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness10.0

Abu Dhabi - AUH

7.0/10
Efficiency5.0
Access5.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

This FR may be now a retro-FR considering the scaling back EY has carried out lately. I felt EY had a great service for Y class and the length of the flight.

MAD: Transit between T4S and T1 takes too long because of the huge distance between terminals, take this into account when planning! Other than that, the security check was quick and painless. Food, shopping and entertainment options are scarce.

EY: Can't complain about anything. It was good as expected.

AUH: I will address it on the next report.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for our next episode, ¡saludos!

Related

0 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.