Emirates Vs Etihad

ballooba

I've a trip to Aus coming up soon and Emirates is looking a lot more reasonable than Etihad. A couple of hundred EUR per person. I have an Etihad Gold Card which is causing me to delay my purchase decision in the hope that Etihad fares come down. How does Emirates compare to Etihad?

charliehotel

ballooba wrote: »

I've a trip to Aus coming up soon and Emirates is looking a lot more reasonable than Etihad. A couple of hundred EUR per person. I have an Etihad Gold Card which is causing me to delay my purchase decision in the hope that Etihad fares come down. How does Emirates compare to Etihad?

Presuming you want economy seats, Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER has 10-abreast seating which is quite narrow and unpopular so Etihad would be the choice, more comfort.

If that difference is worth a few hundered on a trip to Australia is up to the individual to decide.


Emirates' ICE entertainment system is top notch however, so both airlines have their respective pros and cons.

ballooba

Wider seats and Gold benefits might do it for Etihad. How's the food and service on Emirates?

charliehotel

ballooba wrote: »

Wider seats and Gold benefits might do it for Etihad. How's the food and service on Emirates?

Food is on par with EY, but EY's service is generally better.

Going to Aus is a very long trek indeed, so choosing EY because of the wider seats should be worth it.

The Y class on EK's 77Ws is certainly 'cattle class' alright! (see link!)


http://www.airreview.com/Emirates/777-Seat-Econ-1.jpg

ballooba

Thanks, I'd heard rave reviews for EK from some people so just wasn't sure. They're cheaper than EY so maybe that's to be expected.

i71jskz5xu42pb

Etihad is a much nicer airline in my opinion.

The transit through Abu Dhabi is also a lot better than Dubai with Emirates: airport is more compact, last time I went through Dubai I had to clear security again.

I'm usually heading east and have found Etihad to generally be ~€100 cheaper.

ballooba

Carmen Handsome Van wrote: »

EK is a much nicer airline in my opinion.

The transit through AUH is also a lot better than DXB: airport is more compact, last time I went through DXB I had to clear security again.

I'm usually heading east and have found EY to generally be ~€100 cheaper.

EY is Etihad?

i71jskz5xu42pb

ballooba wrote: »

EY is Etihad?

OK fixed my post, in my defense it's well past beer o'clock and I am just leaving the office

bkehoe

Etihad all the way, Emirates seating on the 777 is extremely uncomfortable.

Stinicker

Etihad are a better airline, I've flown both Etihad and Emirates in the last year and Etihad's seating is alot better than Emirates.

I wrote this report here about my horrible trip on an Emirates Boeing 777 this year.

Pros and Cons:

Etihad seats are more spacious
Abu Dhabi airport is more civilised and not as busy
Only a 20KG baggage allowance with Etihad

Emirates Boeing 777 is horrible, cramped and claustrophobic
Dubai airport is mental busy at peak times
Dubai airport security are rude and rushed, massive queues
Emirates give you a 30KG baggage allowance in economy
Emirates Airbus A380 is a great plane with plenty space

For me I would never again fly on an Emirates Boeing 777 as they are too squashed so I'd choose Etihad over Emirates from Dublin anyday in that regard. However if the price was right I'd fly to Heathrow instead and take an Emirates A380 to Dubai and another A380 onwards if I was flying to Australia or somewhere long haul.

ballooba

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll wait a few weeks and see what happens.

cambridge7

Just my pennys worth...I flew Emirates from LHR to Brisbane last year. All legs served by 777's. As already said. Leg room was cramped. I got lucky on the Dubai-Brisbane flight. Had all three seats to myself. Food, inflight entertainment and cabin crew excellent. But when meals and cleaning up is done. They disappear never to be seen again untill the next meal. So if you want a drink. You have to go to the galley and ask for one if there is a F.A. there.They are not to keen on giving out alcohol. Dubai is a mecca for duty free hunters. Plenty of bargains for all. I got a bottle of Jemmy for €17. The same bottle costs €35 here in the offy. Scandalous. I can't say anything about Ethiad. But my girlfriend flew with them to Ireland two years ago. Never again she said. She flew with Emirates last year to Ireland and couldn't find any fault with the service. Even with the leg room. Well she is only 5'2". lol
Tell you one thing. The price of flights to Oz have sky rocketed since my journey last September.
Which ever service you take mate. Enjoy the journey.

NewSigGuy

I notice the general opinion is that EY is more roomy then EK because of the 3-4-3 seating in the Triple, But, I think the seats are the same with and with similar seat Pitch(leg room)

So I checked online..

The EK seats have a 34in Pitch and 17in width on the 777-300er
The EY seats have a 31.5in Pitch and a 17in Width on the A330-200 Three Class
(from seat guru.com)

EK put 10 across the 777 which is more then a lot of airlines, but the actual seat that you get is the same width and has at least the same pitch if not better..

Captain Commie

I have flown both airlines to/from UAE and can say without a doubt that Etihad is my favourite between the two.

Seats
The 10 abreast on the 777W that emirates use is not that comfortable, seats are slightly smaller than on the A330 of Etihad, and the aisles are must more narrow, i kept getting my shoulder/elbow banged when I flew Emirates from DUB to DXB. Have flown with Etihad, Dub AUH and return a couple of times and the seats are more comfortable by far, plus you have more space in general.

Food
I found that the food on both airlines was fairly high quality, for it being cattle class plane food, was tasty and satisfying for the most part.

Service
Etihad is a clear winner here, the staff are amazingly helpful and polite, not to say that the Emirates staff aren't, but the Etihad staff really do go way above and beyond. I flew about 2 months ago with Etihad AUH-DUB with my wife who was 5 months pregnant at the time and the Etihad staff could not do enough to look after us during the flight, even when they were not doing normal drinks rounds they kept coming to us about every 30 mins to see if we needed anything. We then flew back about 6 weeks ago with Emirates DUB-DXB and whilst they stil looked after us, there wasn't the same level of attention.

All in all, I find that Etihad are a better airline for my taste, never had an issue with them and they provide an excellent service, which you would expect considering the cost of flights.

If you have a Gold Guest card then I would recommend you to stick with Etihad, cant get much better really.