Back in March 2015, I wrote about how to book partner award flights on Etihad Airways.  We originally booked First Apartments both to Abu Dhabi from London and from Abu Dhabi back to London over the Thanksgiving 2015 holiday, but unfortunately, the airplane for our flight from London was switched from an A380 (which has First Apartments) to an A340 (which has Etihad's standard First Class). The airplane switch was somewhat devastating, but at least we will still experience the Apartments on our way home. We planned a whirlwind luxury long weekend in Dubai around these flights and I'll be covering all the details in upcoming posts. 

Review: British Airways Club World SFO - LHR
Review: LHR Etihad Airways First & Business Class Lounge
Review: Etihad Airways First Class LHR - AUH
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
​Review: Afternoon Tea at At.mosphere Burj Khalifa
​Review: Burj al Arab Part I: One Bedroom Suite
Review: Burj al Arab Part II: Grounds and Amenities
Review: AUH Etihad Airways Premium Lounge 
Review: Etihad Airways First Apartments AUH - LHR


The Flight

Etihad Airways (EY) #11
Abu Dhabi (AUH) - London (LHR)
Sunday, November 29th, 2015
2:35 AM - 6:35 AM, Duration: 8 hrs
Airbus A380-800 First Class Apartment, Seat 4K

After leaving the lounge we headed straight to the gate area since we were eager to be first on board the airplane. The gate was separated into two areas due to an additional security screening that was required prior to boarding. No one had been allowed through the screening yet, but we were able to be the first ones through after showing our First class boarding passes. The Etihad staff checked our carry on bags and asked us to turn on all electronic devices so they could be sure they worked as intended. We made it through and waited for about 25 minutes until it was time to board.

Finally, it was time to see what all the hype was about as they began boarding. I bounded down the jetway and was first on board and I really could not have been more excited. The First Apartments and The Residence are situated on the upper deck of the A380 in the nose of the aircraft, so when we boarded, we did so through the galley between Business and First and turned left. The first thing you'll notice is how gorgeous the cabin is. The single aisle makes a huge impression as does the lighting and thoughtful design features. ​

The Apartments themselves are truly incredible. They were so spacious and tastefully decorated and I loved nearly every single detail. The apartments alternate between passengers facing forward or backward, and some have seats closest to the aisle while others have seats closest to the window. Apartment 4K was ideal for me since it had a window seat, which is more private than sitting next to the aisle when the doors are open, and the seat was facing forward, which is just more traditional.

The Apartments each have a small closet near the aisle, a full vanity with a refrigerator below, then the main seat all along one side, while the other side of the apartment has a full length bench seat, which converts into your bed, with storage space below the seat and a very large television directly in front of the seat. The television can also swing out so you can watch easily while laying in bed. The Apartments also have a divider between each set of seats, so if you are traveling with another person, you can have a bit of a shared space and sleep next to each other. 

Seat controls are thoughtfully laid out throughout the Apartment in all areas you might need them. There is a remote control for the TV both next to the seat and next to the bed, so you can control it from either position. There are also full seat controls on either a panel of buttons or on a touch screen next to the seat, and lighting and divider controls next to the bed. The area next to the seat has two USB ports, an HDMI port, and a magnetic headphone connector. While I appreciated the thought of the headphone connector being magnetic, I didn't like it in practice because my headphones kept disconnecting when I was watching a movie in bed later in the flight (#apartmentproblems).

We were greeted at the entrance desk by an agent, who offered to give us a tour of the lounge once she saw that we were flying in first class. She explained the services and facilities available, and apologized that there was no first class lounge and that the lounge may get crowded. As a consolation, she explained that they had cordoned off a section for first class passengers, and dropped us off there.

The first class area didn't look any different from the rest of the lounge, but it was behind a rope, so I guess that made it special. One disadvantage is that there weren't many power outlets in this section - we were lucky to snag one of the few sets of seats that had a nearby plug. A waiter came by to ask whether we wanted anything to drink, and I ordered a sparkling water.

Back in March, I wrote about how to book partner award flights on Etihad Airways.  We originally booked First Apartments both to Abu Dhabi from London and from Abu Dhabi back to London over the Thanksgiving holiday, but unfortunately, the airplane for our flight from London was switched from an A380 (which has First Apartments) to an A340 (which has Etihad's standard First Class). The airplane switch was somewhat devastating, but at least we will still experience the Apartments on our way home. We planned a whirlwind luxury long weekend in Dubai around these flights and I'll be covering all the details in upcoming posts. 

Review: British Airways Club World SFO - LHR
Review: LHR Etihad Airways First & Business Class Lounge
Review: Etihad Airways First Class LHR - AUH
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
​Review: Afternoon Tea at At.mosphere Burj Khalifa
​Review: Burj al Arab Part I: One Bedroom Suite
Review: Burj al Arab Part II: Grounds and Amenities
Review: AUH Etihad Airways Premium Lounge 
​Review: Etihad Airways First Apartments AUH - LHR 
​

We arrived in London at 1:52 PM after flying British Airways Club World from SFO - LHR, which we had booked separately from this flight. This meant we had quite a bit of time to kill between flights and unfortunately had to exit terminal 5 and transfer to terminal 4 to check in for our Etihad flight. Because of this, and the fact that check in doesn't open until four hours prior to boarding, we had to spend a long while waiting around the Etihad check in area. We were first in line to check in and finally made it through to Eithad's First and Business class lounge for a rest prior to the flight. Before we knew it, it was time to board.

The Flight

Etihad Airways (EY) #18
London (LHR) - Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Wednesday, November 25th, 2015
8:05 PM - 7:15 AM (+1)
Airbus A340-500 Diamond First Class

The boarding gate was conveniently located just across from the lounge entrance and we made sure to be the first to board so I could get some photos of the cabin without disturbing the other passengers. As I mentioned above, I was pretty devastated to have the equipment change, which resulted in losing the chance to fly in First Apartments out of London, but in the end, it was helpful to compare the two products.

On the A340, Etihad offers their "Diamond" First Class, which has a very similar layout and feel to Singapore Airlines "Suites" Class (I reviewed that here). The first class cabin has three rows of 1-2-1 configuration, with the seats designed very similarly to Singapore Suites, which offers doors that fully close and make your own private suite. We chose two middle seats so that we could lower the center divider and talk to each other during the flight. However, if I was flying solo, I would definitely prefer a window seat for maximum privacy and views. 

The cabin is beautiful with very understated, neutral decor in shades of brown. As opposed to Emirates, which goes completely over the top with bling and gold, Etihad's only extravagances came in the form of signature brightly colored pillows on each seat and a large diamond on the center bulkhead (lest you forget you're flying Diamond First Class).

The seats themselves are very spacious and private with wide leather recliners and a foot rest that doubles as a second seat if you wanted to dine with a companion. Waiting on the ottoman was a fuzzy blanket, which could be used in addition to bedding or until the bed is made up. The television is large and stretches the length of the seat, which is excellent. Next to the television, there is also a small minibar, which was stocked with mixed nuts and water. The minibar seems to be mostly for show and wasn't something I used, but it's an extra feature that Singapore Suites didn't offer. Just under the right arm rest, a compartment opens which contains the television remote, two USB ports, the headphone jack, and a few other adapters. There's also a small screen in front of the compartment which allows you to control the seat position, control the massage options (also not offered on Singapore Suites), and control the lighting. Of course, Etihad also provides over-ear noise-cancelling headphones to use during the flight. Finally, each seat offers a closet to place your clothes in and the closet door has a mirror on it in case you need to straighten up. 

Immediately after we boarded, a crew member came by to offer a "welcome drink". Chris, as usual, went for the champagne, which was Billecart-Salmon. Right after our drink orders were taken, the Cabin Manager came by and after finding out it was our first Etihad flight, showed us all the bells and whistles of our "suite", which was very nice. She was genuinely excited for us to experience our first flight and the sentiment was echoed by the rest of the staff, who all assured us we would have an amazing time.

The welcome drink was served along with Arabic dates, a hot towel, and a welcome note, all on a silver tray, which was a very nice presentation.

Back in March, I wrote about how to book partner award flights on Etihad Airways.  We originally booked First Apartments both to Abu Dhabi from London and from Abu Dhabi back to London over the Thanksgiving holiday, but unfortunately, the airplane for our flight from London was switched from an A380 (which has First Apartments) to an A340 (which has Etihad's standard First Class). The airplane switch was somewhat devastating, but at least we will still experience the Apartments on our way home. We planned a whirlwind luxury long weekend in Dubai around these flights and I'll be covering all the details in upcoming posts. 

Review: British Airways Club World SFO - LHR
Review: LHR Etihad Airways First & Business Class Lounge
Review: Etihad Airways First Class LHR - AUH
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
​Review: Afternoon Tea at At.mosphere Burj Khalifa
​Review: Burj al Arab Part I: One Bedroom Suite
Review: Burj al Arab Part II: Grounds and Amenities​
Review: AUH Etihad Airways Premium Lounge 
​Review: Etihad Airways First Apartments AUH - LHR 
​

Etihad flies out of London Heathrow Terminal 4. We arrived at Heathrow about 5.5 hours prior to our flight to Abu Dhabi after flying in on British Airways from San Francisco, so we had a bit of time to kill before being able to check in for our Etihad flight. Luckily, Etihad allows check in 4 hours prior to the flight, so we didn't have to wait an extremely long time. Check in was fairly quick, since we were first in line and off we were to the lounge. Once we cleared security, we headed towards gate A10, which the Etihad First and Business Class lounge is located across from. 

Last year, we flew first class on what have consistently been named the number one and number two best first class products in the world - Singapore Airlines (Suites) and Cathay Pacific. However, as of December of last year, there is a new "best" product in the air giving these two a run for their money. 

Etihad Airways revealed "The Residence" and "First Apartments" last year and they are revolutionary, to say the least. The Residence is literally a 3 room suite on the airplane with a living room, bedroom and private bathroom. It also comes with your very own butler. The First Apartment is most similar to a Suite on Singapore Airlines, but there is really no comparison since it's much bigger. Flights with The Residence and First Apartments debuted in late December of last year and are currently only operating between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow.

While The Residence is still a bit out of our reach since you can't book it with miles, we knew that we had to try a First Apartment as soon as possible. We thought about when might be the best time to visit the UAE and determined that winter is absolutely our best bet since I'm not a fan of anything over 85 degrees, so Thanksgiving 2015 it is! On a whim, we checked for award availability around Thanksgiving between London and Abu Dhabi and there it was. We couldn't pass it up! Read on for Chris' experience booking the award and tips for how you can do it too for as little as 40,000 AAdvantage miles!
...

Etihad is not a member of any of the three major airline alliances, but luckily it is a partner with American Airlines, so it's possible to book flights using AAdvantage miles. The downside is that award tickets can't be booked online, so a phone call is required. As of the latest AAdvantage award chart, a one-way flight from the Middle East to Europe is only 40,000 miles in first class, which is quite a bargain.

To find award availability, the easiest way is to check Etihad's site. After entering your travel details and performing a search, you want to make sure there's "Guest First" availability - if there is, you should be able to book it with AAdvantage miles. Ignore the number of miles stated in the search results; those only apply if you choose to use Etihad miles to book the flight.

When Jen and I floated the idea of traveling to Dubai for Thanksgiving, I ran a quick search on Etihad's site and saw that there were two "Guest First" seats available from Abu Dhabi to London on November 29th. We got pretty excited at the prospect of experiencing the First Apartment, so despite not having any idea how to get to Abu Dhabi or from London, I called American to book the tickets. Unfortunately, there was a two hour wait (despite calling the Executive Platinum line), due to a ton of cancelled flights in Dallas. Eventually I got through, and asked to book a first class award for two from Abu Dhabi to London.


That's when I got some unexpected bad news from the agent - "I'm sorry, sir. There is no award availability from Abu Dhabi to London on November 29th. I checked both Etihad and Jet Airways for you." I didn't know how to react to this statement. There clearly was award availability, but the AA agent wasn't seeing it. I figured I'd try the good old technique of "hang up, call again", so I did and was faced with another two hour wait. Not to be deterred, I used Google Voice to call the Australian call center, and was connected to another agent within 15 minutes.

The new agent was not much help either. He saw that there was one first class seat available, but not two. I hung up and went to bed, ready to give up on my dream of experiencing a luxury apartment in the skies.

The next day, I figured I'd give it a third and final shot. I'd read on FlyerTalk that sometimes American can only see Etihad inventory "one at a time", even though there are multiple seats available. I called the reservation desk and again was told that there was only one seat available. This time, though, I was more persistent and told the agent that I was quite sure there were two seats available, and that I had heard of a glitch where Etihad only lets one seat be pulled at a time. She did some more investigating, and eventually admitted that I was right - there were indeed two first class seats available! It took a while, but she managed to find a way to book them for us, and our Etihad First Apartment tickets were confirmed.

The lesson learned is to be persistent when trying to book award tickets - sometimes it takes a few tries, and sometimes it requires mentioning a special trick. You won't be able to magically open up award availability for flights that don't have any, but you might be able to convince agents to to double-check if you know there are award seats available.

Stay tuned for our review of the Etihad First Apartment (in about nine months or so)!