Saving my memories – trying 1st class on Etihad A380 in 2015.

This is a trip I did in 2015, long before I thought about any kind of blogging or similar, so this post is just to preserve my own memories and photos. Photos are all low quality, taken by my cellphone at the time, so feel free to skip this post unless you have any special interest in me or my travels 😀

I made this flight on September 28 in 2015, traveling home from Norway to The UAE where I lived at the time, after a high-school reunion. I booked the flight using Etihad Guest miles, and I paid 70.000 miles for a one way ticket from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi International Airport. A business class ticket was 50.000 at the time, so it made a lot of sense to try first class instead 🙂

If my memory serves me correctly, I had choosen seat 4K, one of only 2 foreward facing true window seats on this place. The configuration is 1-1, and a total of 9 first class suites, giving you more space than I have ever had before on a plane. I guess it is around 3.5 square meters, so plenty of space to stretch out.

I was very excited to board (and a bit disappointed that 1st class passengers were the last ones to be called for boarding, this reduced the time I got to spend and enjoy the luxury. Boarding was directly from the lounge as far as I remember, so I guess that was ok…)

Oh well, enough rambelings for now, time to get to the low quality pictures, so I can try to preserve my memories from the trip. I boarded directly to the 2nd floor, and a friendly cabin crew member showed me to the suite. I had high expectations for this, but it was even better than expected. The suite, as I entered, had a storage cabinet and vanity area with a mirror and a welcome toletries bag on the right, and after that an oversized ottoman. Opposite that there were a large sofa, which could easily fit 3 people, as well as a huge wide screen TV.

My only complaint would be that the ottoman was actually too wide, I could not comfortable sit and rest both arms at the same time, one would not reach the armrest. First world problems I guess.

After settling in, I was offered champagne for a welcome drink, which I happily accepted, as well as warm towels.

Soon after getting airborne it was again time for a drink, and I continued with another glass of Champagne, as well as some light snacks.

Unfortunately the flight from London to Abu Dhabi is only slightly more than 6 hours, and with this being an overnight flight I had a lot to do and check out, and not enough time to enjoy – for example the sofa folds out, becoming a full sized bed when you want to sleep, but I was too busy too sample everything else to have much time for sleep.

Legspace was plenty thouhg, obviously, and one could also use the sofa opposite the ottoman to rest the legs on.

The suites comes with fully closing doors, given you lots of privacy, but even with the doors open you didn’t have to worry about your neighbours observing you too much.

At the vanity mirror there was also a small indivudual cooling fridge, which offered a selection of soft drinks, I guess this comes in handy during turbulence or other times when service is suspended.

As soon as we reached cruising altitude I ordered my dinner, but I have no recollection of what I actually ate, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themself.

It seems lke I must have gotten full after this, becuase there is no pictures of any deserts, so I might have skipped that.

Not that I really needed it, but since it was offered, I decided to have a shower, and then changed into my pyjamas. I must say that having a shower onboard a plane is one of the most bizzare experiences I’ve had, and it felt just weird, but also the thing I remember most about the flight. I highly recommend anyone who has the oportunity to do this to try it out.

After I returned from the shower, the crew had prepared the bed for me, and it was time to crawl into bed with another glass of champange and watch a movie. Also having a bed on a plane is just weird, but really the best way to travel. I would do my best to stay awake though, didn’t want to waste any time sleeping.

As you can see from the picture further above, the tv folds out, so you can also watch movies while laying down in bed.

After the movie was finished, there were only an hour or two left of the flight, so I decided it was time to get out of bed and get some breakfast. I was still full from dinner, but again, had to try it out.

This was the end of the flight for me, we landed in Abu Dhabi not too long after I had finished my breakfast. I must say this is one of the most memorable flights I’ve ever had, going back to business class after this feels very crowded and lack of space, but again, I guess that is a first world problem 😀

Read my reviews of some of my other flights here.