Review – Etihad A340 First Class Tokyo Narita To Abu Dhabi

by Zac George
a plane at an airport

As you can probably tell by now I am heavily obsessed with Etihad Airways. I’ve flown them 6 times in first and business all on their A380 and 787 however I hadn’t flown their older first class product or an A340 before so this was a perfect opportunity.

A6-EHJ Formula 1 Livery

A6-EHJ Formula 1 Livery

Booking

For this flight I used 60,000 AAdvantage miles. To find Etihad availability you go to Etihad Guest Availability Search. The seats you want to look for are ‘Guest Seats’. All Etihad redemption through American Airlines have to be done over the phone. If the agent can’t find it on the phone ring the Australian line on 02 9101 1948, For some strange reason the Australian line can find more Etihad first award space than others.

Etihad Guest Availability

Etihad Guest Availability

Lounge

For premium passengers Etihad uses the ANA business class lounge. Interestingly first class passengers cannot use the ANA first lounge.

a model airplane on display

a group of people in a room

people in a room with chairs and bags

The lounge was very crowded as all premium passengers on ANA, various Star Alliance airlines and Star Alliance gold members use the lounge.

I made my way to the gate to then find out we were delayed by 30 minutes. As I looked out the window I noticed the A340-600 operating my flight was the Formula 1 livery which looks amazing!

A6-EHJ Formula 1 Livery

A6-EHJ Formula 1 Livery

Soon after boarding started the excitement was getting pretty high. At check-in I checked the loads and saw I was the only passenger booked in First which was pretty cool however 3 more passengers arrived in the cabin just as the doors were about to close.

I was given seat 1A which I was very happy with.

Suite 1A

Suite 1A

As I sat down the cabin service manager Belinda came around and welcomed me onboard and introduced the crew who would be looking after me.

IFE Screen

IFE Screen

As with every first class flight on Etihad you get a welcome tray with dates, a hot towel and a signed welcome letter. A few minutes later the menu’s were handed out.

Dates, Hot Towel and Welcome Letter

Dates, Hot Towel and Welcome Letter

a tray of food on a table in an airplane

Etihad also provide Pyjamas, Slippers and a Le Labo styled Amenity kit.

a bag and a rolled blanket on a couch

The ottoman storage can hold my 22’’ suitcase and still has a lot of room to move around.

Underseat Storage

Underseat Ottoman Storage

The suite also has a minibar. The minibar drinks are warm not chilled, so it’s basically a storage compartment for water.

Minibar

Minibar

Etihad provide noise cancelling headphones however I prefer to use my personal Bose headsets.

Etihad Headphones

Etihad Headphones

a black headphones in a case

In Seat Power, IFE Controller

In Seat Power, IFE Controller

Light Controls Panel

Light Controls Panel

Seat Controls Panel

Seat Controls Panel

Each suite has sliding doors providing maximum privacy for passengers in first class. Interestingly these type of suites are fitted on 777-200LR, 777-300ER, A340-600/500 and selected A330 aircraft.

Coat Storage

Coat Storage

Sliding Doors

Sliding Doors

Closed Suite

Closed Suite

Mood Lighting

Mood Lighting

As our takeoff was at night I wasn’t able to grab good departure photo’s so I’ll skip to the dinner service.

Inflight Menu’s:

À LA CARTE – FROM THE GRILL – TASTE OF JAPAN – ALL DAY DINE – JAPANESE BREAKFAST – CHEESE – DESSERT – DESSERT WINE

a menu of a restaurant

a menu of a restaurant

a menu of a restaurant

a menu of a restaurant

a menu of a restaurant

Alcohol list. (Sorry for the Japanese menu, that what they handed me)

a menu with text on it

a menu with text on it

To start off I was given a tray containing Arabic coffee, Mixed nuts, Olives and Vegetables. I also had a ginger ale.

a tray with food and a fork on it

Arabic Coffee, Dates, Mixed Nuts, Olives And Vegetables

Amuse-Bouche

Amuse-Bouche

Spicy Arabic Bean And Tomato Soup

Spicy Arabic Bean And Tomato Soup

Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin

Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin

a tray of desserts on a table

Dessert Taster

Strawberry And Chocolate Ice-cream

Strawberry And Chocolate Ice-cream

After the beautiful food I wanted to get some sleep and the crew came and made the bed.

a bed with a pillow and a bag on the side of it

I managed to get around 9 hours of sleep which I was very happy with. Considering the age of the seat it’s extremely comfortable and find it on par with the bed in the A380 apartments. I woke around 2 o’clock and didn’t really feel like eating but ordered something just to fill me up slightly.

a plate of food on a table

Scrambled Eggs

One thing I love with mood lighting is the LED stars. They may be hard to see in the photo but it’s a pretty cool effect.

LED Stars

LED Stars

IMG_3862

I love the windows in the bathroom, what a view!

a toilet in a bathroom

I was surprised at the size of the bathroom, it’s quite spacious and a lot of space to move around if need be.

a white sink with a faucet

Sink

In first Etihad offer my favourite amenity brand Bergamote 22. I absolutely love the product and always keep the small tubes included in the amenity kits.

a group of bottles on a white plate

a black drawer with a tray of toiletries and a tray of toiletries

Unfortunately the flight was faster than usual and our decent started as I finished taking pictures of the washroom. At 3 in the morning there isn’t too much to see in Abu Dhabi however I do love looking out at the lights and seeing how different the scenery is to other cities I’ve flown into. As we arrived in Abu Dhabi we taxied to a hard stand as gates were taken. I was hoping for a BMW tarmac transfer which they do sometimes for first passengers, platinum and exclusive members however not this time.

a seat in a plane

a seat in a plane

The best thing about the hard stand is the view, what an amazing aircraft!

an airplane on the runway at night

Summary 

I absolutely loved my time on the A340 and cannot wait for another opportunity to fly on one. I was very satisfied with the onboard service by the crew and how comfortable the seat was. I find Etihad to be constantly consistent and amazing in first class.

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[…] far I’ve reviewed the Etihad A340 first class and the Cathay Pacific first class flights. The rest should be done over the next few days. The […]

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