Etihad - Good service, or a con?

[Big Boy]

My wife is returning home today after a month in Thailand . We chose Etihad because of its cheap(ish) price (I could have purchased £60 cheaper), and more importantly, its advertised short stop over times at Abu Dhabi. Stop over times were advertised as 90 minites each way, which is just about right to stretch the legs.

Today's flight from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow has been delayed by 1 hour. When I looked at all other Etihad flights travelling anywhere from Abu Dhabi today, 1 hour is the minimum advertised delay. My wife was also delayed at Abu Dhabi for 90 minutes on the outbound journey.

I booked the flights because of the advertised stop over time, and I know several friends who have also boasted that their stop over is only 90 minutes with Etihad.

A 90 minute stopover is a good selling point, but I am wondering how honest Etihad are being. Does everybody travelling with Etihad have a similar experience, or has my wife been unlucky? Are Etihad mis-selling their product?

[London Boy]

The problem is that Abu Dhabi Airport is the hub for Etihad and any delay coming in or our just affects the next part of the journey, coming or going.
Delays in flights are becoming more frequent

[Big Boy]

Fair comment, but most Etihad flights actually landed early Abu Dhabi today. Sorry guys, I'm sat here with my anorack on today tracking my wife's progress home

[STEVE G]

I used them a few times and found them pretty good for the money but it was a couple of years ago.

[Big Boy]

How did you find them for punctuality?

[STEVE G]

I don't remember having a problem but as I said it was a couple of years ago.
Mind you, I had an eight hour delay with Kuwaiti in Kuwait City about five years ago that I haven't forgotten so it certainly wasn't that bad!

[lindosfan1]

Me and my wife have used Etihad a lot 90% of trips have landed on time or early only one hold up for 20 minutes.

[Dannie Boy]

I have lived in Abu Dhabi for more than 4 years so fly extensively with Etihad to many varied destinations. In my experience they are normally punctual for departures into and out of Abu Dhabi, although like all airlines they suffer from the occasional problem, sometimes from circumstances outside their control e.g. the ash cloud over Europe. I personally rate them very highly and they will be the airline of choice for me when I retire to Thailand later this year, unless any of the other airlines are offering particularly good deals.

[Big Boy]

I see the expected landing time at Heathrow is currently only 2 minutes late, so they must have a good tail wind. I still wonder if they are being less than honest with the truth regarding their stop over times. Are they advertising a compacted stop over time combined with an over exagerated flying time. 7hrs 45mis Abu Dhabi to Heathrow seems a bit long. The selling point is the compact stop over.

Dannie Boy, obviously you are talking with a wealth of experience, so maybe my wife (and every other Etihad passenger travelling anywhere today) has just been unlucky. Thank you for clarifying your experience.

[Lily]

I always use Etihad whenever possible for service. price and comfort. I flew with them twice last month and both times landed early so I think your wife was just unlucky. Hope this doesnt put you off using them.

[pharvey]

The problem is that Abu Dhabi Airport is the hub for Etihad and any delay coming in or our just affects the next part of the journey, coming or going.
Delays in flights are becoming more frequent

London the hub for BA, Amsterdam the hub for KLM, Hong Kong the hub for Cathay..... what are you trying to say???

[London Boy]

Living in Abu Dhabi now for 17 years and always use etihad but in the last 18 months have flown on 8 trips and only 4 were on schedule.
Many flights coming in from Saudi Arabia are late and it usually is this conectionthat holds things up and on the last delay (april) the flight was just waiting for 3 people from the Riyahd connection
Still think they are a good airline as I would not use them otherwise and gets lots of airmiles topped up.

[Dannie Boy]

Etihad offer 2 flights a day from BKK to AUH and for me the evening flight works well, leaving BKK at about 8.30 pm and arriving AUH at about midnight local time. The connecting flight to LHR departs about 2.30am, so two and a half hours which if it is on time is still not too long and leaves a bit of flexibility in case the flight is late. The plane lands at LHR at about 7am so early enough to reach most inland detinations before midday.

Service is 2nd to none and a great inlight entertainment system. May not be the cheapest if you are flying from BKK, but quite often very competitive if you are flying from LHR to BKK.

[Whaler]

I have used Etihad for over 9 years and can't recall any problems

As with any airline sometimes delays happen your wife was unlucky IMO

Personally I could not belive how shabby BA was after not using them for years, compared to Etihad

[Big Boy]

Mrs BB is back home now, and she says the entire homeward delay was spent sat on the plane with no air conditioning working - very uncomfortable.

That aside, she was very happy with all 4 flights, and would be content to use them again.