After decades of flying long-haul business class, mostly for work, quite honestly the novelty has kind of worn off now. (I know, first-world problems… yada yada.)
So when I was booking a week away in Abu Dhabi for some toasty, warm relief from January in the UK and its endlessly dreary winter weather, the upgrade from business to First on Etihad’s A380 that kept fluttering its eyelashes at me during the online booking process at its special-offer price of £310/$400 seemed more of a “go on, why not” than “absolutely hell to the no”.
So I said yes.
Travelling solo, LHR–AUX–LHR. In an Etihad Apartment on my favourite plane OF ALL TIME. I’m easily tempted, clearly.
Table of Contents
Ok I realise this sounds like a flex, but bear with me, I’m trying for it not to be.
This isn’t a puff piece either.
It also isn’t a takedown because I love Etihad and I love me some A380 time.
This is just my experience of what actually happens when a self-directed traveller (who likes nice things and – quite obviously – has little resistance) spends their real, hard-earned coin on a bucket-list flight.
The Ground Experience: Abu Dhabi for the win
For those of us not starting our journey in Abu Dhabi, and therefore missing out on Etihad’s chauffeur services, checking-in the first real opportunity to notice that you have an upgrade to First. A dedicated check-in at Heathrow where there was no one in the queue ahead, combined with a delightfully friendly and professional agent who seemed actually pleased to see me, meant that my freshly minted boarding pass (nestling cozily in its very own sexy little gold-embossed black wallet) and I were through security and airside in less than 10 minutes.
At Heathrow, First Class pax share Etihad’s T4 lounge with not only everyone flying in business class, but also anyone who’s bought lounge access. It’s perfectly good as a lounge – arguably better than many Middle East carriers flying out of LHR. (Yes, Gulf Air Falcon Lounge Heathrow I’m talking about you) – but it’s really just that. It’s a lounge with helpful staff, a barman who can make a pretty Negroni, shower facilities, and an OK airport restaurant attached. And it can get busy.
A destination in its own right? Not really. But a step up from a 7 a.m. pint in Wetherspoons nonetheless.
However, the ground experience at Abu Dhabi is where the full Etihad First loungemaxxing experience (and everything else you get with your ticket) really starts to justify the price tag.
Because in AUX, Etihad First comes with its own dedicated private check-in area that feels more like the reception of a boujie 5-star hotel than an airport terminal.
45 minutes earlier, a uniformed chauffeur had picked me up from my hotel in an Audi limo (a nice touch, though only in Abu Dhabi thing. Unlike some rivals, Etihad doesn’t extend chauffeur service in London anymore – so on the LHR–AUX leg, you’re making your own way to Heathrow like a civilian. As we glided into the airport, I was met curb-side by my very own concierge, who ushered me into a comfy sofa and arranged to have both my checked luggage whisked away and… errr… checked; and my passport scanned and boarding pass issued. I’d never felt more like Joan Collins.
Etihad’s First Lounge at AUX is genuinely exceptional, with excellent views of the apron, but for me the restaurant is the standout. I sat down to eat and ended up chowing down on as excellent a steak and glass of red as I’ve had in many London restaurants.
And let’s be frank – if your dessert doesn’t come finished with gold flake sprinkles like all of mine did, are you even in your Joan Collins era?!? My advice is to give yourself an extra hour here just to have a proper sit-down meal and prepare to skip some of the plane food if you need to make the room.
(Spoiler alert: the onboard dessert selection is a bling-sprinkle free zone, so make wise food choices, people).
Baggage handling deserves a mention too: my bags genuinely did come off first, and the carry-on allowance is so generous I could probably have just skipped checking any of my hat boxes or trunks into the hold at all.
The Hard Product: the love child of a private jet and a luxury hotel
Etihad’s A380 First Apartment is the reason so many YouTubers post airline review videos. Video and after. So many videos. (Lucky for you, I’m not going to do that. The world doesn’t need another one). But to summarise, you get an enclosed suite, a proper bed rather than a seat that reclines flat into one, and (if you’re travelling with a companion, or just want to surprise the poor stranger in the next door apartment) a collapsible interconnecting partition that gives you the option of a double bed and a pair syncing TVs.
There’s an onboard shower, and as this isn’t OF, you’re not getting any of *those* pics here! Instead, you can see the hairdryer that I found tucked into a cupboard next to the loo. Yes, the onboard toilet comes with it’s very own hairdryer!
You’re very welcome.
I do have to make one caveat though: the Etihad A380 fleet itself is starting to show its age. The hard product is still special (I won’t hear a bad word about that beautiful plane) but years of wear and tear is starting to get ever-noticeable, even upstairs at the front. It’s probably due the same love they are showing their fleet of 787s or new A321LRs
But there’s a weird trade-off travelling in an Etihad A380 in First which even I started to clock after a while. Back in business class (yes, I said that. Sorry) on the same A380, you feel the scale of the aircraft: that sense of travelling on an enormous double-decker voluptuous beast of a plane. And glancing around you, you get to see just how many other passengers are on the same journey with you (up to 485 others, for you plane nerds). But cosseted away, in the seclusion of a private First Apartment, that sense of being in such an awesome aircraft almost totally disappears. You gain a private little mahogany brown and amber leather cocoon, but you lose the sense of “plane”.
And being a bit of an avgeek, I really missed the plane!
The Soft Product: genuinely outstanding if you love caviar and fluffy designer pyjamas
Here, there’s not much to caveat. The service and staff are excellent. Everyone I met at Etihad on my journey – from check-in to purser – was attentive without hovering, polished without being stiff. The swag-bag of amenities is a cut above business (as is the pair of fluffy Armani Jimmy Jams you get to yoink home with you), and the food is pretty good for 40,000 feet. And yes, I’m proud to say I managed to demolish
£300 worth of caviar and champagne on EACH LEG OF MY TRIP, so I actually saved money on the upgrade. (Boy maths for the win). But for the rest? Well, it’s not quite at the level some reviewers reserve for Singapore Airlines, but after nose-bagging that much caviar, I’m really not going to complain too much.
A couple of minor gaps worth flagging (though none are really deal-breakers):
- there’s no pre-order capability for regular meals, so you’re choosing on the day from the menu you get (rather than planning ahead)
- the in-flight entertainment system feels dated, with a selection of movies and TV shows that doesn’t match the competition.
- Wi-Fi was patchy. Not what you’d expect at this price point, especially when flying mostly over Europe.
Flying First: alone can feel like solitary confinement
One honest note for anyone considering doing this trip on their own. Etihad First is quiet and extra-private by design. I think this is likely a plus for local Emirati travellers (and probably Joan Collins too), but for me, that privacy started to tip into isolation. Like I was on some posh time-out from the rest of the plane.
On my AUX-LHR flight for instance, the only people I spoke to for the entire journey were the two lovely crew members serving in First. So if like me you’re the kind of traveller who enjoys people-watching, or having the odd interaction with fellow travellers, First doesn’t really accommodate this. Ok, there is an onboard bar of sorts in every Etihad A380, but it’s rarely populated, and it’s not really a feature (or Instagrammable selfie moment) like the one in Emirates.
The Verdict: do it once, but it’s likely not a habit
Compared to business, the upgrade price was definitely worth paying.
- The hard product, the ground experience, the sheer occasion of it all deliver more than just the incremental cost.
- I know I got more in service, food, transfers, and extra rehomeable swag than the £300 upgrade cost me.
- Caviar! So much delicious caviar. (Did I mention the caviar? I probably should….)
But for me, it was an indulgence rather than a new baseline. The feeling of super-isolation, the cabin that’s clearly been around for a while, the relatively thin entertainment offering, and the fact that the best parts of the experience (the AUX lounge, the chauffeur, the caviar, the edible gold flakes) only really shine in one direction tell me that this is a one-off special, rather than a “now I must have this every time I fly” kind of event.
If you’re marking a big birthday, an anniversary, a divorce, or you snaffle a sneaky cheap upgrade like I did, my advice is to do it. Obviously. And ideally outbound from Abu Dhabi, where the ground experience is at its best. Will it spoil you for other flights? Probably not.
Would I do it again? Let me check the price of caviar and Audi private limo services, and I’ll let you know. But definitely probably “hell to the yes” – just not quite so soon after this one.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.