Experience flying Etihad
Best to arrive at the airport early. There are no kiosks for boarding passes and baggage tags and so it is a long and endless line. There were two lines, one for check in and the other for baggage drop. When the latter did not move, we switched to the former which appeared to move a little faster. After that it was a cinch. The carry on had a 7 kg limit so I had to take some stuff out for Suku to bring with him.
Boarding was at C35 which was a trek. However the lounges were in C33 just above it. And there were both KLM AirFrance and Priority lounges (2 of them - one was closed and the end there bifurcated to Bus Class and First Class). I went to the PL and to the Bus Class side though no one was noticing really.
The flight was alright. 33C was only 7 rows behind Premium Economy. The seats had leg room. Dinner was served after we boarded at 10. (Bindi masala, paneer, rice, cheese and crackers, bread and butter, kitkat, chocolate mousse). Then there was a snack (cream cheese sandwich after 5 hours). They came around for coffee and tea. Then there was ice cream. Before landing, dinner again (daal makhni, Gobi masala, roti and rice with fruit, bread and butter). Again drinks - at all times with coffee, tea options. Water was constantly served,
The entertainment was awesome with a wide selection. I watched - documentaries- Jane, the 250 million dollar cure, the Netscape story; movie based on the story of Tolkien and TV shows called The Good Doctor and Big Little Lies.
When I got off, I had go through security to Terminal 3, 44, which was a trek. I passed the lounges in a Terminal headed straight to my gate. There was just enough time. I had an hour and a half by the time I boarded.
The flight to India was unremarkable. It was in an old plane with no in-flight entertainment. I slept, having eaten in the lounge. My bags arrived very fast and I was out within half hour of landing.
For the last leg of my journey to Toronto, I was invited to bid for a seat in Business Class. I put in the minimum bid of $1130 and won. It was meant as an experiment. Given the length of the flight, I am quite thrilled I won! I boarded the flight ✈️ n Terminal 3. Business Class is a different experience. They have a separate entrance, guys who will help you load your luggage on to a cart outside and whisk you in. There are a number of counters and so you are issued a baggage tag with no delay. There are liveried helpers, once again, to load your bags on to the scales. Then there are the E-gates and security goes by in a jiffy! Once again, the security channels are exclusive and things go by in bare minutes. From there, it’s a 10 minute walk to the business class lounge / which is humongous. Poor features, just four toilets for such a large lounge. Offering you all the indulgences of the East, there is a spa and several breakfast stations, besides breakfast on demand. It was all very overindulgent. I tried a little bit of almost everything- a lingering case of FOMO. Fresh cheese omelette, toast and butter, croissant and jam, pita with hummus, labneh, belcher granola. Then fruit and half of my second granola parfait. I noticed the coffee station guy serve the white woman her flat white, before he served me my latte even though I had gotten there first - still a colonial hangover?! Maybe! Or maybe flat whites are less elaborate than my floral topped latte!
Boarding was easy. There was champagne, hot towels, magazines and then before take off, orders for post take off drinks. I mistakenly and greedily took the champagne, which I returned since it was cold and I knew it would not suit my sore throat. I ordered a Morroccan mint tea and settled down to write this journal.
I watched a wonderful British 3 part true crime series (itv). Had the Asian vegetarian meal which was pretty crappy - beetroot mince, broccoli, coconut rice, Kala chAna made like a puli kozhambu, a potato patty, besides bread and butter. I had camomile tea before the meal and black tea after. A few hours later had a latte which was served with cookies and then at 8 pm dinner consisting of kale soup, masala dosa, Kancheepuram idli and Vada served with just gotsu. It was pretty bad - I ate the dosa, a little vada and a tiny portion of the chutney but ate all of the raspberry mousse dessert they served after. Drank about 4 bottles of water. Watched 7 episodes of Big little lies. Drank a glass of red wine and slept a total of 4 hours.
It’s a long flight and business class eases it greatly. However, meals are at your own whim, which means you have to ask for it. They are responsive but you don’t want to appear demanding or greedy and you wonder if they are gritting their teeth behind their forced smile for having been given the unfortunate task of serving you. And with my voice still hoarse my assertiveness flagged a little - how odd! So when I woke up from my sleep I could have ordered a coffee, but did not! Was business class worth it?! Maybe.
Feb 1, 2020
So this time it was marked with adventure. What with the corona virus looming large as a threat for global travellers. My flight was delayed by a day. The next day at 9 I received an email that the departure time had been fixed as 7:45 pm. The crowd at the airport was horrible with passengers from our flight and a later one trying to board. Etihad at the best of times is extremely disorganized at the boarding end (for economy passengers). The difference flying business starts right there, making it worthwhile! We stood 2 hours in the line up to drop bags off. I got boarding passes for both flights (unlike some others). It was eerily quiet in the rest of the airport. Security was a breeze and there were 5 people in the KLM lounge. The flight itself was alright - unremarkable- but ok. I ate some dinner and slept. Then watched a couple of movies, listened to my audiobook and the time went by. I ate my chutney sandwich and croissant with coffee (great idea) as well as the bowl of pomegranate. I had packed some Murrukku as well which I nibbled on. I passed up on all other offerings and stayed clear of the sweets. On arriving in AUH I made for security which was straight out of a sci-fi movie - vast masses transiting through, mainly getting out of the Far East for fear of contracting this new monster virus. I felt suffocated and a tad vulnerable. This is not a pleasant time if you look Chinese and are wearing a mask. They have a look which says “ please don’t blame me or hold me responsible”. Even I felt self conscious when coughing to ease an itchy throat. Strange times. I sought refuge in the Terminal 1 Al Dhabi lounge - there was lots to eat and drink and there were comfortable seats, besides plenty of bottled water. I dialed down feasting on spinach soup, fresh hummus shaped like a small crater which was filled to the brim with the choicest olive oil, delicious fatoush salad, a spoonful of vegetable biryani with cucumber mint raita and some pesto pasta with sun dried tomatoes. No alcohol, no sweets and lots of water. I toddled out at about 1, bought some candy at the duty free and got to the Gate at 2 pm just in time to board. My audio book kept me company. I tasted a small piece of masala dosa and some pongal gotsu on the plane, tucked away the croissant and yoghurt to give to Ezhil our driver who would pick me up and slept till landing time. The knees were feeling the strain of long hours of sitting. I called Ezhil’s phone and Amma picked up. They were making their way to the airport. I mistakenly stood in the foreign passports line instead of OCI and so was delayed a bit. My bags were already off the belt and waiting for me and an hour after landing I found myself winding my way along the path with crowds of awaiting relatives, flanking both sides to reach Amma and Ezhil.
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