Super giddy to try this even if its not The Apartments!

Etihad ‘E’dventure 2026

• Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
• The Coral First Class Lounge, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
• EY405 Bangkok to Abu Dhabi – First
• Conrad Abu Dhabi
• Etihad First Class Lounge, Zayed International Airport
• EY404 Abu Dhabi to Bangkok – First
• Going through multiple hotels and flights in the chaos and eventually making it to safety

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• Flight: EY405
• Route: Depart Bangkok 1440 arrive Abu Dhabi 1905
• Flight time: 7hrs 25mins
• Seat: 2A

I initially picked 1A before I realized that row 2 was a much better choice being front facing and further away from the lavatory. I also stalked the seating daily just to see how much of the cabin was filling up – and it went from me alone, to another pax in 2F, then another couple in 1D and 1C.

Boarding Experience

I didn’t make it to pre-board of course, so I trickled in together with the business class passengers. But the staff validating boarding passes to the boarding gate itself must have comm-ed someone at the gate after scanning my boarding pass as the staff wasexpecting me when I made my way down, and she escorted me from the gate to the jet bridge before handing me over to the crew.

Cabin

I was warmly welcomed by GG and later Marcel who took great care of me during the entire flight – they said there’s only 2pax in First Class today so yayy to personalized service. This meant I have my own lavatory too! I wondered what happened to the couple who was in 1C/D but oh wells. Marcel also said they changed the aircraft due to too much demand for the flight.

Also just realized that I didn’t actually take a proper picture of the cabin opps but it is a lovely sight (any First Class should be!).

Seat

I thought my seat 2A, was super spacious, and even though a little tired looking, was a great space for a medium haul flight.

I spent a good few minutes checking out the storage spaces around the seat along the window length, including the mini bar which contained still and sparkling Voss water (atas!). The storage was sufficient for small items and has a charging port right at the end too.

To the right side of the seat are my seat controls and a reading lamp of varying brightness options, including a bigger slot compartment for in-flight magazines and safety card etc.

The seat controls have a couple of pre-set options which was fun to play with, including a massage function which was a novelty. The ‘massage’ is actually more akin to vibrations but hey its still fun. It was only later in the flight that I realized the massage function was not working, but it was fine after GG reset it.

There is also a thin wardrobe as well as an under-seat luggage compartment which my fat cabin bag couldn’t fit into so GG kindly kept it for me in their closet.

But I soon found that my seat was erm literally falling apart – and I meant quite the entire panel. I flagged it to Marcel and while we were still on the ground, the ground crew came to fix it – with industrial black tape no less. I wondered if it is too much to expect that everything in a First Class seat should be working BEFORE passengers arrived?

I also had the chance to see the difference between the electronic shades being deployed or not – huge difference it made!

Amenities

First up, the premium noise cancelling headphones as well as the really comfy fluffy slippers which were passed to me personally since ‘since there is only 2paxin First Class’ as I was explained.

On arrival, the First Class amenity kit, alongside the signature Etihad pillow and blanket were placed on the ottoman. The amenity kit contained silky smooth Giogio Armani pajamas (though S was still so big for me!) with Espa skincare and a eye mask.

There was also a basket of snacks for me, and more Etihad amenities which GG brought – these amenities are listed in the menu and I think was supposed to be on demand but I got offered one of everything since the load was so light today.

Amenity haul indeed!

In-flight Entertainment

Again, I of course didn’t remember to take pics of the IFE but it felt like it wasn’t the newest and there was no touch screen (not that I can reach that far) and the remote control was quite old-school and wasn’t the most sensitive to touch. But it worked okay with a bit of thumb work.

Food & Beverage

I was very excited about this part of my flight!

A glass of Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame to start!

Then the quintessential Arabic coffee and welcome nuts served on a tray, alongside a cold fresh glass of Rose poured at the seat. Fantastic start!

The table was then set for lunch and the multi eating began, starting from caviar, great seafood soup, a beef main, then a dessert just because.

And of course, some wine tastings (liked some, didn’t like some) and on hindsight, should have taken better pics of the bottles themselves…

Lavatories

I checked out the lavatory at the start of the flight and whilst not as big as those on the A380, it was more than sufficient as I had one lavatory to myself throughout the flight, so it was spotless every time. It was stocked with Espa toiletries and came equipped more than enough hand towels I need.

Marcel helped me to turn down my seat after the meal and it was a such a cosy enclave to continue stoning on the IFE and looking out the windows. The bed I thought was awesome, accompanied by their signature Sweet Dreams note.

About 1.5hrs to landing, I decided to try the crabcakes from the Grill menu and of course more wines

Closer to end of flight, Marcel came by to present me with some chocolates, a towel, and a little souvenir cup – apparently its their collectible limited edition, numbered cups highlighting 15 destinations. Mine was Prague because that’s where Marcel came from.

Service

GG and Marcel were excellent and super attentive – the light load helped and I’d like to think I was not high touch too. They always knocked on my door before opening it and nothing was too much trouble for them. When I was too lazy to change out of my pajamas before landing, I asked Marcel if it’s okay to head out in the pajamas, and he said “you are in First Class, you can do anything you want”. So sweet.

Could not have asked for a better crew (Marcel and GG I hope both of you are safe!)

Etihad Chauffeur

My flight ended with a walk to the Etihad Chauffeur desk behind Belt 10 where my booking was checked, then led off to a grand sight of an entire fleet of waiting Etihad cars before getting into one of them bound for Conrad Abu Dhabi. I wish all airport arrival pick ups feel like this!

In summary,

Definitely a fantastic way to fly and being in First Class on Etihad was such a crazy experience for me. My first experience in First was on SQ Suites pre-COVID but that was a different level as well.

And little did I know this was my last ‘normal’ night of the trip.

To be continued………….