Review of Etihad Airways flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi in Business

This is my first flight report.
All photos are mine, except where notified.
There will be in fact 4 individual trip reports as my trip from SYD to GVA has four legs:
SYDAUH http://flight-report.com/en/report-9551.html
AUHGVA http://flight-report.com/en/report-9556.html
GVAAUH http://flight-report.com/en/report-9576.html
AUHSYD http://flight-report.com/en/share-9586.html
I am off to GVA. A quick trip.
Etihad has always be my carrier of choice. They offer the smoothest and fastest connection betwen SYD and GVA. They also offer the convenience and comfort of a late evening SYD departure which means an arrival in Europe early afternoon the next day. Jet lag is much easily managed that way I find.
This is my 29th sector on Etihad. And my 7th flight on their 777.
Today 777-3XFER A6-ETS operate my flights. It's the 30th 777 to join the fleet and the most recently delivered (Sep 2014). So I will be flying in a brand new aircraft.

Incidentally the inbound flight aircraft just flies over my house as I am waiting for the limousine service. It is a very dull evening in Sydney, with extreme low light condition.

A very courteous driver picks me up. Engaging but discreet. Just perfect. There is hardly any traffic. His car is an audi. Spotless.

I know much more about planes than car so I cannot tell you the model of this audi, but it is a beautiful car.

A quick look at the board, my flight is on time.

photo belongs to The Australian Business Traveller
The new Etihad First and Business Class is absolutely splendid. Check the great revue in The Australian Business Traveller
http://www.ausbt.com.au/etihad-airways-first-and-business-class-lounge-sydney
I had a big lunch that day so unfortunately I am not hungry enough to try the food but it looks devine. There is a lot of amenities. There is even a toilet attendant, just like in AUH !

One metal but many marketed carrier ! Beautiful digital display, replicating the wood of the wall. Clever! Every details counts it seems.

The first sign of Etihad flight re-imagined branding.

My seat is 9K. The seat configuration in Etihad business class is very unique, and has been so for a long while now. Etihad was one of the first airline to stagger seats, so that every seat has an unobstrcuted aisle access. Very smart. However Etihad seat map reproduction can be very misleading. The best seats are any A or K as they are window seat. C D G H are aisle seat and do not offer as much privacy. E and F are conducive to travelling along with someone.

However this is all about to change with Etihad having re-imagined the configuration in the A380 and 787
https://www.etihad.com/Documents/Experience-Etihad/flying-reimagined/Seatmap/A380-seatmap-1.jpg

My little private suite. This is the second generation Etihad Business Class product. Much more spacious and convenient than the first generation.

The Business Class Cabin

And again. The flight will be full in business class (and probably full all 3 classes)

Ready to go. 14hours flying time. The screen definition is extremely clear. The IFE works well, however it is sometime challenging to move the arrow on the remove control to get to where you want to go. The choice of movie is decent. There is a few European movie to choose from. Note to the French readers: I watch Mais qu'est-ce que l'on a fait au Bon Dieu et Le Petit Nicolas. French movies is one of the thing I miss the most not living in France any more so I catch up on French movie as much as I can when I travel.
The choice of movies overall is acceptable, but lack the variety and quantity of Singapore Airlines or Emirates for instance.

From SYD to the World of Etihad in Abu Dhabi :-)
I plan to stay awake for dinner and during the first part of the flight to start my way towards Europe time.
It is a quick taxiing to runway 16R. The aircraft rolls down the runway for just about one minute and lift off the ground gracefully. The 777 has used the whole length of the runway due to maximum take off weight. It is one of the most impressive take off. the 777 hardly shook or vibrated. Such a strong solid aircraft. My favorite aircraft.

This is my second ice cream! Well over the Red Center of Australia.

Avoiding a patch of bad weather south of Jakarta

Waking as weve just finished crossing India, after a very comfortable sleep

A very yummy breakfast a la carte is serve, on demand.

The Oman coast line in sight, well, only on the moving map. This is a night flight. Leaving at night, arriving at night, 14h later. Nothing to see through the window.

Preparing for landing

Nearly there.

Flight over any of the Gulf cities is always spectacular. The show of light display is lavish.

Just South of the airport now, before making a right turn for our final approach and landing.
The transit in Abu Dhabi will be covered in the second leg of my trip. To be continued soon…