Etihad Business Class Review: A320-200 (CAI-AUH)
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which earn me a small commission from bookings at no extra cost to you. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
A great taste of luxury on a short flight from Cairo to Abu Dhabi with Etihad Business Class. While not a lie flat seat, this was a very comfortable way to travel with great service and food. This flight was part of a larger itinerary I booked using Air Canada Aeroplan points. The business class cabin is arranged in a 2-2 configuration with only a few rows. This configuration means you'll have to decide if you want a window or aisle seat, but the small cabin ensures attentive service
After an eventful day visiting the Giza pyramids in Cairo on a layover, I rested at the Ahlein lounge in Cairo airport. It had a variety of middle eastern food options in a clean and modern setting. Nothing too exciting but definitely beats the other options in Cairo airport.
I was in window seat 2A for the 3.5 hour journey from Cairo to Abu Dhabi. The seat was comfortable, with good legroom, a footrest, and plenty of recline. I actually fell asleep on this flight, which is rare for me. This speaks to either the comfort of the seat, how tired I was, or how dull it got watching Lord of the Rings. The armrests held the entertainment system and the tray table, along with seat controls.
I was promptly offered champagne and even refills once boarding and waiting for takeoff. Once we were on our way I could select from a variety of beverages and alcohol. I went with a gin and tonic since I was happy to see they were serving one of my favorite gins, The Botanist. This was served along with nuts.
Business class passengers on Etihad are offered a menu with a variety of options for a three course meal. For my starter I chose the Arabic mezze, followed by the lamb shank mandi as my main, and finishing off with the raspberry mousse cake.
The mezze was alright, but I have had better. I had the shrimp starter on my next flight with Etihad and I definitely preferred that. The lamb main course was the highlight with middle eastern flavors and perfectly cooked rice. The dessert was beautiful but not very interesting in taste.
Overall it was very smooth flight, with a nice three course meal, a variety of beverages, and I was even able to take a quick nap and start a movie. The friendly service was the real highlight, especially in contrast with stress of Cairo and the nonchalance of the service on EgyptAir. I would happily fly Etihad business class on the A320-200 again for a short haul flight. Abu Dhabi is quite accessible from various airports, and I only scraped the surface on my layover there, so I am sure I'll be back!
