I wasn’t expecting to be sitting in the first class cabin again so soon after the Emirates Suite, but here I am flying from Abu Dhabi to London on Etihad. Unfortunately it was just several months before Etihad resumed its First Apartment service on this route, otherwise it would have been a very different experience.

After visiting the very underwhelming first class lounge, I am ready to board the plane. First and business class passengers are invited to board together, but the flight attendant is vigilant when a first class passenger arrives and guides them to the seat.

In business class they have the Business Studio which I very much liked.

Back to business, oh I mean first 😛 There are two rows and eight seats in total. Oddly half of them are backward facing which you don’t normally anticipate in premium cabins.

The first class cabin is very empty today. From the conversations I picked up one of the passengers was upgraded, probably due to his elite status in Etihad Guest.

Etihad’s first class seat is rather industry standard. It is a long rectangular-shaped private suite. When I say suite, it’s obviously not on a par with Emirates, but still quite spacious otherwise.

The sofa chair and IFE screen are fixed to either end of the suite. If you are travelling with someone, they could sit down on the foot rest for a paired dinner.

There’s a mini-bar under the arm rest, which contains some soft drinks.

There are a remote control and small screen on the other side. It might sound counter intuitive but the seat a bit too wide for me to be comfortable, as my arms cannot rest on both sides at the same time.

Like in business class the amenity bag is produced by Acqua di Parma. Don’t forget to take your pyjamas!

This is when the suite is switched to sleeping mode.

I find it private and cosy enough. One big problem though is the lack of storage space. Not sure if you have noticed but there’s NO overhead locker in first class. The only place where you can leave you stuff is under the foot rest.

Fortunately the seat next to me is empty so I just put my bags there. I’m not sure where people store their personal items when the cabin is full.

The IFE system is the same across all cabins, as I have also travelled in Etihad’s business and economy class recently.

Time to eat something! A collection of amuse-bouches before the meal:

The menus:

The selection of food is similar to what Emirates offers. It goes without saying that I need to order the caviars first:

It’s nice but I’d love to have more than just 20 grams.

Followed by the Arabic mezze and lamb shank mandi. The latter is braised lamb with rice, which tastes really good and reminds me of a delicacy in China’s Uighurs region.

But the most amazing dish has be to the chocolate fondant, and I’m not even a chocolate person! On the whole I think Etihad’s first class wins against Emirates on catering.

It’s very poor of them to offer first class passengers only 200MB free wifi though. Remember to create a Boingo account beforehand for your free wifi.

Finally, the bathroom:

Etihad’s first class on Boeing 787 is good but nothing spectacular, and the next time I’ll probably lean towards its Business Studio as the experiences aren’t so different and the latter costs a lot less. Etihad’s First Apartment will be of course, a totally different story and I hope to try it out soon.

Most international routes were still suspended or reduced when I was in China last year. Fortunately Etihad had already resumed weekly flights from Shanghai and Guangzhou, which connects perfectly with my layover in Dubai. I redeemed 60,000 Aeroplan points for a business class ticket from Shanghai to Abu Dhabi.

Passenger volume is very low at Shanghai Pudong, despite it being one of the largest airports in China.

Etihad uses China Eastern’s No 77 First Class Lounge, which also welcomes American Platinum cardholders.

Etihad’s China routes are all operated by Boeing 787 at the moment, with the two-class setup. In business class, you’ll find the four staggered Business Studios in each row.

Forward-facing window seats are semi-enclosed thus more preferred, whereas the rear-facing ones are less private.

Forward-facing middle seats are quite intimate, as it’s very easy talking to each other.

Boeing 787 makes up the majority of Etihad’s current fleet. Business Studio also features on their Boeing 777 and Airbus 380 aircrafts. On Airbus 350 however, they’ve got the reverse herringbone seats.

I’m not sure about your preference, but I LOVE Etihad’s Business Studio! I always find angled seats a bit awkward no matter how big the room is, and it’s refreshing to see a straight seat instead.

The screen is fixed in front of you, so that you can enjoy the programs while take-off and landing. The tray is hidden on the side, and you can easily pull it out by a gentle tap. I love both designs.

There’s a small storage cabinet next to the seat.

The amenity bag is made by Acqua di Parma, and it looks pretty.

The IFE has six live channels. I watched Vengeance and really liked it.

I used to fly with Etihad once, in economy class, but that was many years ago. I was really impressed by their catering and still remember the fruit plate was very tasty. This is today’s menu:

The Arabic Mezze is good:

The spiced beef is really impressive! To be honest I’m not sure it’s a real Chinese dish, but the way of cooking and seasoning are truly authentic. The quality is great especially for plane food.

Dim sums are nice too.

Even the coffee is presented with a classy tray and cutlery.

The seat in flat mode:

The seat is not very wide, and there’s no arm support. I’m more on the slim end but still find it slightly uncomfortable, which could be a concern.

My only major complaint is about their wifi packages. The whole-flight package (24 hours) costs $30, which is a bit steep, but more importantly limited to 350MB data only. Seriously what can 350MB of data do? Remember that an image nowadays could easily be a few megabytes in size.

Invitation for fast track immigration is handed out before landing. There is an arrival lounge for business class passengers at the arrival hall – if you are on a revenue ticket, you can wait here until your complimentary chauffeur service is ready.

I am genuinely impressed by Etihad’s Business Studio. They could have been more generous on wifi but otherwise it’s one of the best business class products I’ve seen in the last couple of years. Etihad’s First Apartments is also set to return to the sky soon, and I can’t wait to try it out!