Etihad or Emirates

Armin_Tamzarian

Amazon32 wrote: »

Don't know why theres a thread on this, just go with whoever are cheaper. I flew with Etihad and no problems, found it very pleasant.

Eh, it says in the first posts that both tickets are more or less the same price.
That's the point.

Batgurl

Emirates = 30kg checked baggage
Etihad = 23kg checked baggage

Emirates = generally stopover is 2-3 hours
Etihad = generally stopover is 3-4 hours

Emirates = A380 planes
Etihad = A340 or A330 planes

No brainer as far as I'm concerned

irishmover

If you get the A380 that is. Also there are times having longer periods between flights as a good thing. Rushing to get to the next plane isn't fun.

I'm yet to fly with Emirates so won't pass judgement. Cousin had a miserable time with them though. Enjoyed the Etihad flight over.

Might try emirates when I go home in July. Already booked flights for Christmas with other airlines.

Batgurl

Also, here is a discount code which will give you 10% off Emirates if your flying from Sydney "AUSSO01".

Finally, you can now claim Qantas FF points for Emirates flights booked from next March onwards.

Unfortunately, I'm booked to fly Etihad for my next trip home

In Exile

Batgurl wrote: »

Also, here is a discount code which will give you 10% off Emirates if your flying from Sydney "AUSSO01".

Finally, you can now claim Qantas FF points for Emirates flights booked from next March onwards.

Unfortunately, I'm booked to fly Etihad for my next trip home

Cheers Batgurl,

I have a code to get the 10% off as well through the VRC which brings it down to the same price as Etihad.

Thanks for all the replies. Had my mind all set on Etihad but the FF points for Qantas on Emirates has me all confused again!

Stinicker

Batgurl wrote: »

Emirates = 30kg checked baggage
Etihad = 23kg checked baggage

Emirates = generally stopover is 2-3 hours
Etihad = generally stopover is 3-4 hours

Emirates = A380 planes
Etihad = A340 or A330 planes

No brainer as far as I'm concerned

Emirates win on the A380 and baggage also however on the Dublin route it will be a sardines can 10 a-breast seating Boeing 777 and maybe a A380 onwards from Dubai, if you are going to spend another 14hrs going to Australia then they win due to higher baggage limit and having 14hrs on the A380.

However if you are going to Asia you maybe be on 777 for the entire route which is hellish.

Basically I'd choose Etihad over Emirates due to the Boeing 777 space issue and the real determining factor would be price, obviously if Emirates were cheaper I'd probably risk the Deep Vein Thrombosis on a Boeing 777. Also Dubai Airport is a chaotic mess overloaded with passengers and is in my opinion worse than Heathrow, Etihad's Abu Dhabi Airport by comparison is a breeze to go through. Both airlines have gotten much more expensive over the last year and for routings to South East Asia both airlines are far down the rank in terms of prices.

Armin_Tamzarian

Emirates are the best airline I've flown with but as the other pointed out, the 777 is pretty bad.
Usually when I book with Emirates you can see what type of plane you will be flying on.
If I had time flexibility I would definitely schedule it so I flew on the A380.

Amazon32

Stop overs times are not constant, they alter depending on the flights. Can't really compare the stop over times imo. I chose an Ethiad flight with a 2 hour wait rather than another that had a 10 hour stop. Obviously the less stop over the more expensive the flight will be.

Kiith

I'll be booking my flights in the next few days, and am trying to decide who to go with as well. Flying into Brisbane or Sydney (don't really mind which).

Emirates (to Sydney) - Dublin to Dubai, then a 9 hour stop over, and then onto Sydney - €742 (777, then A380)
Etihad (to Brisbane) - Dublin to Abu Dhabi, then a 3 hour stop over, and then onto Brisbane - €672 (A330)

Think i'll go with the Etihad one to be honest. 9 hours is quite a long layover.

Kiith

Sorry to bump this, just a quick question.

It looks like skyscanner has found me a much better flight route, via Heathrow with BA. Get into Heathrow at 19:50, and then flying straight to Sydney at 21:30. Total cost is €670. Seems very cheap, and it's even cheaper then on the BA site, which is surprising. Plus, it's direct from Heathrow to Sydney according to the site.

It's with BudgetAirIE...anyone ever used them? Also, is that enough time (1hr 40mins) in Heathrow for the connecting flights?

jackbhoy

Kiith wrote: »

Sorry to bump this, just a quick question.

It looks like skyscanner has found me a much better flight route, via Heathrow with BA. Get into Heathrow at 19:50, and then flying straight to Sydney at 21:30. Total cost is €670. Seems very cheap, and it's even cheaper then on the BA site, which is surprising. Plus, it's direct from Heathrow to Sydney according to the site.

It's with BudgetAirIE...anyone ever used them? Also, is that enough time (1hr 40mins) in Heathrow for the connecting flights?

Never heard of that company, worth checking a few sites like Zuji if you are unsure. Also, make sure you click through to booking process from skyscanner as prices can be bit out of date sometimes.

I hate Heathrow and have had several delays going through it so 1hr 40m is very doable but would be tight if any delay at all on inbound flight.

The flight from London won't be direct to Sydney, that distance is way beyond any aircraft's range. If it's BA I'd expect you'll have stopover in Hong Kong or maybe Singapore but have never flown that route with them so not sure of their stopovers.

Kiith

jackbhoy wrote: »

The flight from London won't be direct to Sydney, that distance is way beyond any aircraft's range. If it's BA I'd expect you'll have stopover in Hong Kong or maybe Singapore but have never flown that route with them so not sure of their stopovers.

That's what i had thought, but it shows up as only 1 stop (in Heathrow), where as any other selection shows 2 stops (AD, Dubai etc...). Also, when i check the BA site for flights to Sydney, it says it's only 1 stop (it's a 747 if that makes any difference), and takes 22 hours, so i was a little confused.

sponge_bob

Kiith wrote: »

That's what i had thought, but it shows up as only 1 stop (in Heathrow), where as any other selection shows 2 stops (AD, Dubai etc...). Also, when i check the BA site for flights to Sydney, it says it's only 1 stop (it's a 747 if that makes any difference), and takes 22 hours, so i was a little confused.

there will definetly a feuling stop somewhere probably singapore.

jackbhoy

That is strange. I have heard of people flying with just a refuel stop and then boarding same plane for second leg, maybe it's something like that. I haven't seen it before tbh.

Kiith

sponge_bob wrote: »

there will definetly a feuling stop somewhere probably singapore.

Yeah, i was thinking something like that. In refueling stops, do we get to stay on the plane?

kdevitt

I did BA to Sydney a few years back - it stops off in Singapore. You need to get off and have your hand luggage re-checked. Its not a bad flight, except for stopping in Heathrow - which I'd personally avoid like the plague.

Theres really no need to do it unless you fancy a few days in SG - Emirates and Etihad are both offering easier flights.

Baf50361

I was on the BA Hrow to Sydney last week - does sto nin Singapore for 2 hours, all off & reboard and check hand luggage - no issue

Heathrow security is a dose at 5 am though on connecting with flight to Ire. Not doing again!

Stinicker

Etihad have upped the ante alot and are now well ahead of Emirates on the Dublin route.

Etihad have recently increased their economy baggage allowance from 20kgs to 30kgs. This makes all the difference especially on long haul flights. 20kgs is far too little imo for the long haul.

http://www.etihadairways.com/sites/Etihad/global/en/aboutetihad/mediacenter/newslisting/newsdetails/Pages/etihad-airways-increases-coral-economy-baggage-allowance-Nov12.aspx?fromNewsListing=false

Etihad are also sending their Boeing 777-300ER into Dublin which is a far bigger plane but more importantly it has 9 a-breast seating (3-3-3) config. This makes a big difference compared to the 10 a-breast seating (3-4-3) config used by Emirates and I have flown on Etihad before and their 777 service is grand the same cannot be said for Emirates where it is too packed and you have very little room.

http://www.ittn.ie/bulletins/etihad-airways-to-increase-capacity-from-dublin/

So for Etihad you have the same baggage allowance now, more spacious planes on the Dublin route and a far less chaotic airport in Abu Dhabi compared to the overcrowded mess that is Dubai airport.

Etihad don't have the A380 but considering Etihad's recent improvement it is not worth flying Emirates for the A380 alone unless you get a really cheap airfare and Etihad have been beating Emirates hands down recently on pricing too.

Kiith

I booked through a booking site, and got an Etihad flight to Brisbane for €638. It's Dub --> Abu Dhabi --> Sing --> Brisbane, but it's cheap so i didn't mind. Looking forward to not flying with Ryanair :P

Stinicker

Kiith wrote: »

I booked through a booking site, and got an Etihad flight to Brisbane for €638. It's Dub --> Abu Dhabi --> Sing --> Brisbane, but it's cheap so i didn't mind. Looking forward to not flying with Ryanair :P

One way or return?

Kiith

One way.

RIALTO1

Apologies for bumping this but not sure where else to put it.

Looking at flying Etihad from Dublin to Ho Chi Ming, with a stop-over in Abu Dhabi. My question is around a stopover time of 1hr 10mins in Abu Dhabi. Is this do-able, assuming flight departs on time?

Cheers

ballooba

RIALTO1 wrote: »

Apologies for bumping this but not sure where else to put it.

Looking at flying Etihad from Dublin to Ho Chi Ming, with a stop-over in Abu Dhabi. My question is around a stopover time of 1hr 10mins in Abu Dhabi. Is this do-able, assuming flight departs on time?

Cheers

If Etihad offer that as a a single booking then that is their responsibility. That is what is called a "guaranteed connection". If it were two separate bookings then that would be different.

RIALTO1

ballooba wrote: »

If Etihad offer that as a a single booking then that is their responsibility. That is what is called a "guaranteed connection". If it were two separate bookings then that would be different.

Yeah it's Etihad offering it themselves. In and out of same terminal in Abu Dhabi. Just don't want to start my holiday hanging around there for another flight if it's a gamble.

ballooba

RIALTO1 wrote: »

Yeah it's Etihad offering it themselves. In and out of same terminal in Abu Dhabi. Just don't want to start my holiday hanging around there for another flight if it's a gamble.

I know in Singapore it would be doable, I don't know AUH as well. This was the google search I tried though...
https://www.google.ie/search?q=min+connection+auh

Hopefully it helps!

brandon_flowers

When is the flight Rialto? Ho Chi Minh is not listed as a destination yet at AUH so no gate information but it will be in the same terminal as the Dublin flight if Etihad are operating. They only use terminal 3.

Without delays you'll make a 1h10min connection no problem, even with 10-15 min delays you will make it.

Stinicker

RIALTO1 wrote: »

Apologies for bumping this but not sure where else to put it.

Looking at flying Etihad from Dublin to Ho Chi Ming, with a stop-over in Abu Dhabi. My question is around a stopover time of 1hr 10mins in Abu Dhabi. Is this do-able, assuming flight departs on time?

Cheers

I had a 1hr 20 mins connection at Abu Dhabi in July and I went from plane to plane in under 25mins so it is very doable; providing everything runs on schedule. DUB-AUH-BKK. Security queues are not that bad in Abu Dhabi either.

On my return flight back the flight was delayed by over 4 hours, missed connecting flight for Dublin, no problems, put me up in a hotel, free food and and personal chauffeur (limo) into Yas Island to the Hotel as I had 17 hour wait until the next flight back to Dublin at 2am the following morning. Return Etihad chauffeur back to Abu Dhabi airport and everything was spot on,

Etihad are an excellent airline to fly with and I was a actually delighted for to have a delay as it gave me a free stop-over which was badly needed as I was well wrecked having flown in from Manilla for 9 hours before that.

The stop-over will be fine and there is nothing to worry about, worst case scenario you get delayed and you get loads of freebies instead!

RIALTO1

Thanks all for the feedback. Yeah the flights are both in and out of Terminal 3. I am pretty cool with the tight schedule, and it is saving a good few quid. Just the girlfriend would be of a more nervous disposition.

I would just be keen to make sure I am not in Abu Dhabi too long, as only going for 3 weeks so every day feels precious.

@Stinicker - I assume you had no issues with a visa for Abu Dhabi considering you had not planned on being there?

Stinicker

RIALTO1 wrote: »

@Stinicker - I assume you had no issues with a visa for Abu Dhabi considering you had not planned on being there?

No problems no, Irish passport holders get 30 days visa on arrival free of charge, they just stamp your passport upon entry and again upon leaving. There is no passport stamps when you are just simply transiting through the airport and officially you do not enter the United Arab Emirates unless you have to go outside the airport transit area like I had on my unexpected stopover.

melonstar

RIALTO1 wrote: »

Thanks all for the feedback. Yeah the flights are both in and out of Terminal 3. I am pretty cool with the tight schedule, and it is saving a good few quid. Just the girlfriend would be of a more nervous disposition.

I would just be keen to make sure I am not in Abu Dhabi too long, as only going for 3 weeks so every day feels precious.

@Stinicker - I assume you had no issues with a visa for Abu Dhabi considering you had not planned on being there?

I flew from Melbourne to Dublin via Abu Dhabi with Etihad last Friday. I arrived in Terminal 3 and had to fly out of Terminal 1 (which was a change). I had about 3 hours of a stopover which was fine. They are close to each other, about a 15-20 min walk so you should be fine if there is a change of terminal. I did see airport staff at gates moving people quickly if they had a connecting flight which was boarding.