An Evaluation of a New First Class; a Strategy to Save Up to 62%; and How to Catch it on U.S.-Originating Itineraries…
The media justifiably went ape over Etihad’s December 27 introduction of The Residence on London-Abu Dhabi. The 125-square-foot mini-cabin in the nose of its newest A380 includes Three Separate Rooms: a living room, separate en-suite bathroom with shower, and separate bedroom.
Still, it was funny to see the people who’ve been proclaiming “First Class is Dead” come to life and trip over each other with superlatives. And it’s true! There’s nothing like The Residence. It’s the largest suite in the air (sleeps two) and it comes with a sticker to match: London-Abu Dhabi costs $20,000 or 2,115,578 miles one-way—but that’s for one or two passengers.
The Real Deal
There is a bigger story here, though: It’s The Residence’s little brother, First Apartment. It’s still— technically—First Class. But if The Residence surpasses all classes, First Apartment, which I flew a couple of weeks ago, is First Class surpassing itself. And it scores better, much better, for my money (and for yours—more on my scoring system in a minute).
Follow the strategy at the end of this report and you can get it, as I did, for $1,229 each way—62% off. Before and during the flight I also toured The Residence. Both products—or should I say experiences—are slated to debut on another four routes this year, including at least one from the U.S.
How Did Bennett Book His First Apartment Ticket?
Think I just preach the Buy Miles to Fly in Style strategy? Think again. The published one-way, First Apartment fare was $3,787 (round-trip was $5,448). I paid just $1,229 for the one-way: $880 in 40,000 American miles (an Etihad mileage partner) purchased directly and when they were on sale (of course); $274 in taxes; and $75 for a close-in expedite fee.
For the Same 40,000 Miles: You can tack on a destination beyond Abu Dhabi, among them Bahrain, India, Israel, and the Maldives (and dozens of others). You can ALSO tack on a flight to London from all over Europe on American’s partners, British Airways, and Iberia, as AA’s award chart is “Region-Based”.
Side Note & Hot Ticketing Tip for Two: When I went to book tickets for Ms. U and me, there was only one First Class seat and no Business Class seats available on the date that appealed most. (Ms. U doesn’t fly coach.) I went ahead and booked my ticket, and the next day another First Apartment surfaced via American miles. The lesson: If only one seat is available, grab it, because many airlines offer only one First Class seat at a time. Worst case: cancel and redeposit the miles for $150.
[aside headline="Suite Selection Tip" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Suites 3K and 4K, and 3A and 4A are good for couples (one will have to sit backward), as they are adjacent and have a sliding partition in the wall between the head of each bed (not full length). Lower the partition and you’re close enough to blow kisses. 4A and 4K are best for single travelers who want a seat next to the window facing forward. 1H (next to the bathroom), 5C and 5H face backward and are next to the aisle (and galley) with a bit less privacy. 2C and 2H face forward and are next to the aisle. Check out the site map to better appreciate the novel config.[/aside]
First Apartment: The Preflight Experience
The airline’s car service picked us up on time from our hotel in a BMW 7-series. At Heathrow Terminal 4, a bellman with a brass valet cart was waiting to unload our bags and walk us across the street to our personal escort, who zipped us through check-in and security and into the lounge. The process was as greased as I’ve ever experienced. There, we added our names to the list for a complimentary 15-minute, Six Senses spa treatment. Our therapist came to get us just before the Eggs Benedict were to arrive. Now that’s a dilemma.
First Apartment: The Cabin
Cabin Location: Front of the upper deck.
Cabin Lavatory: Not as spacious as those in Emirates’ A380 Suites, yet the one with the shower (I’ll get to that in a minute) was still very spacious, at 19.6 square feet.
Cabin Ambiance: Second to none. There was an uplifting camaraderie among my cabin mates, too: We knew we were experiencing something very special.
First Apartment: The Suite
Suite Size: An amazing 39 square feet. For perspective:That’s 74% bigger than the airline’s ‘Diamond’ First Class Suite according to the airline, and until now its top First Class product, and a very competitive one in its own right as it plays in the same league as Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and Singapore Air’s best. In other words, First Apartment is much bigger than anything I’ve seen.
[aside headline="Another Reason to Be A Loyalty-Free Agent" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]The emergence, if not full-scale invasion into the U.S. Premium Air Travel Market by several Middle East carriers (Etihad growth rate 23% a year), is another reason to give up your loyalty program and get a Multi-Airline Credit Card that gives you super airline currencies. Like Etihad, Emirates, too, is more customer focused and offers lots of it: Emirates flies A380s two to three times a day (with 489 to 527 seats each) from New York, for example, and from London four to five times a day linking 140+ cities. Both airlines are expanding their U.S. gateways almost every other month it seems. If you’re locked-in to so-called loyalty programs, you’re not very often able to fly “the latest and greatest” as you’re limited to one airline’s network— whereas the Loyalty-Free Agent has his pick of the litter.[/aside]
Suite Layout: Contains both a seat and an 80.5-inch-long couch that serves as a footrest and turns into your bed. Again this product is so nuanced that here’s another video to better appreciate it.
Suite Dining Table: Can be set up for two, great for couples or if you want to have another Apartment dweller over. It seemed to me that the Apartment could also fit four or five people for a little party.
Suite Configuration: 1x1. Four seats face forward, five face backward.
Suite Privacy: As good as it gets. Whether the five-foot-high sliding doors were open or shut, I felt far away from my Surpass First Class brethren.
Suite Ambiance: Very peaceful. The result of the opulent size of the suite, and having only nine fellow passengers; travel anxieties quelled.
First Apartment: The Seat
Seat Width: 30.3 inches.
Seat Recline: A little disappointing: It has you sitting up a bit straight, whereas I prefer to work or watch a movie reclined at 130 degrees or so.
Seat Legroom: More than you need.
First Apartment: The Bed
Bed Angle: Flat | Bed Length: 80.5” | Bed Width: 26” | Bed Comfort: I’m 6’3”, with broad shoulders, and this bed fits me like an oversized parka. It’s by far the longest bed-in-the-sky I’ve seen. It’s a separate piece of furniture from the seat.
First Apartment: The Shower
It’s on the right, at the front of the cabin, and is shared by First Apartment passengers. Gorgeous, although felt a bit less spacious than Emirates.
Important Shower Tip
As soon as you board, ask the purser for the last possible shower time slot (do this also on Emirates), so you can shower close to landing. It means you won’t have to interrupt your sleep, work, or movie and can come off the flight most refreshed.
As soon as you board, ask the purser for the last possible shower time slot (do this also on Emirates), so you can shower close to landing. It means you won’t have to interrupt your sleep, work, or movie and can come off the flight most refreshed.
First Apartment tenants get five minutes of running water, yet staff suggested we could have more, perhaps because the cabin wasn’t full. While a shower may seem like a gimmick, and not everyone uses it, to me it makes a huge difference, especially on red-eyes, as you can wash off much of the jet lag before landing.
Etihad A380 Upper Deck: The Lobby
This serviced lounge and bar area, between the First and Business cabins, seats six and is a nice addition. I like to walk around and stretch every so often and this was a nice place to do that, plus it’s a chance to kibitz with the flight attendants.
The Residence
What sets The Residence apart is size (125 sq. ft.), a double bed, and an en-suite shower. Watch The Residence video and this All-Etihad-A380-Classes Video, so you can judge for yourself. What surprised me was the size of the double bed: Granted, I’m a big guy; but still Ms. U and I would have been too snuggled up in it—I was expecting a bigger one. The living room has a luxurious Poltrona Frau leather double-seat sofa with ottoman, two dining tables, chilled drinks cabinet and 32-inch flat screen TV. Etihad also has an exclusive, separate terminal lounge for The Residence passengers, which was extremely private and unlike anything I’ve seen.
Conclusion
If you’re a private-jet person, then The Residence is for you. But it’s the First Apartment that is the real deal here. The Residence is about four times (if two are traveling) the price of First Apartment, but I don’t think it delivers four times the value (or eight times if one is traveling). And really, how much personal space do you need (assuming a normal sized ego)?
First Apartment Fares, Deals & Steals
Like anything else, there are many ways to book the First Apartment: Normal published fares, using miles with the operating carrier or miles with a partner carrier. Here’s a look at the landscape.
Booking the First Apartment
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No Etihad Miles? No Problem.
Transfer Starwood Points to Etihad: 46,000 miles to/from London-Abu Dhabi and 100,000 to 105,000 miles to/from Abu Dhabi-Sydney each way. Transfer time is 4 to 6 days.
Or Transfer Citi Thank You Points: 56,000 miles to/from London Abu Dhabi and 122,000 to 129,000 miles to/from Abu Dhabi-Sydney each way. Transfer time is about 9 days.
Survey of Award Availability in First Class With Etihad
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Better Deal… With Etihad Partner Award Opportunity?
Book First Apartment through American’s loyalty program, which is accessible to Starwood players, and you can save up to (57%) each way between Sydney and London. Inventory through AA is often similar to Etihad’s own. (See chart above for comparisons.) Departure cities include almost every major one in Europe as well as farther-flung places (India, the Maldives, and Bangladesh).
No American Miles? No Problem.
Anyone can buy American miles: And right now at a 10% cash discount plus up to 30,000 bonus. So book like I did, and pay like I did, and save 62%.
Or: Transfer Starwood Points to AA: 35,000 London-Abu Dhabi to 75,000 North America-Middle East or Indian Subcontinent.
How to Search Award Space
You can quickly and easily search for Etihad’s First Apartment availability. No mileage account number or sign-in is required to search for award space. On the results screen look for the A380 aircraft and for mileage seats under “Guest Seat”. Once you are ready to book, you must login and have the miles in your account if booking with Etihad. If you are using American miles, check Etihad’s own space first, and then call American at 800-882-8880—keeping in mind that only days with the ‘Guest First’ seats will likely have AA award availability.
Travel Originating in the U.S.?
Want to Fly the New Surpass First Class? No Problem. It takes 90,000 miles one-way, 50,000 more miles than from London to Abu Dhabi, to fly from the U.S. to London (to catch Etihad) on American Airlines or one of its partners: British Airways or US Airways (non-stops from 20+ U.S. gateways), both based on availability of course. You don’t have to stop there. The same number of miles can take you to Dubai, India, Israel, the Maldives, and many other destinations all over the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent. See FCF’s analysis of British Airways First Class availability special report to line up BA and Etihad availability and, Voila!
In Context: Etihad’s First Apartment
To give you a quick sense of how impressive the First Apartment is, I compared it to a few other First Class suites.
The Predictable Product Experience:
My rating is based on the seats (including shower and sense of privacy), and other things that are predictable or consistent from one flight to the next. Full disclosure: I’m 6’3 with broad shoulders, so I am very biased toward the size of the seat and bed. That said, to me it would be impossible to rate...
The Unpredictable Product Experience:
It’s so hard to rate things like food and wine, even though they are an important part of the formula, because they can fluctuate so much. (Singapore Air doesn’t offer caviar on every long-haul flight, for example.) I haven’t flown every single long-haul route on every airline. So I haven’t included these items.
Nota Bene: To be sure, most of these seats are better than the Best Business Class seats, so a “7” only means that the seat is less interesting on a relative basis than one that scores an 8. For example, I’d say American and United are in the 5-range, but I would gladly take either of them, and even pay a premium for them over most leading Business Class seats in a heartbeat. (I really don’t like Business Class.)
With the context set, I hope you find this little cheat sheet useful. Stay tuned for a more comprehensive First Class seat- comparison chart coming before long.
The Not-So-Fine Lines Between Airlines Nine Suites Scored On a 10-Scale
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