Etihad – Business Class (rear-facing) (Boeing 787-9)

Introduction

This is my review of Etihad’s Business Class seat, on a flight I took to Abu Dhabi.

As I understand it, the seats are the same between 787, 777 and A380 – however there may be subtle differences. As I understand it, Etihad’s A350 has different seats.

The seat is actually a Stolstys seat made by Stelia Aerospace, and is fairly similar to Qatar Airlines’ Q-Suite – however this seat/suite does not have doors.  

The Layout

The ‘suite’ is a 1-2-1 in a configuration, meaning everyone has aisle access.

I was in seat 5C, which was actually the first row in this 787. When booking my seat I’d noticed this, but assumed that this was because there was a First Class offering in 1 to 4 – but no, it seems Etihad start their rows on their 787’s from row 5! 

5C is a rear-facing seat, which has a side console to the right of the chair – and a ‘work top’ in front of that.   

There is some premium looking lighting and trims, which give the seat its premium feel.

Privacy

Unfortunately, privacy was akin to that of my rear-facing seat in American’s Flagship Business.

I was staring right at the person the other side of the aisle from me. 

The seats are sort of configured to be angled so you’re not staring at each other – but it was still not very effective.

On the aisle side there is a ‘door’ which slides all of 8” – but does very little to assist on the privacy, if anything at all.

The Seat

The seat itself is extremely comfortable for sitting and working. It’s very much like a Q-suite without the doors. It has some very high end light fittings too!

Next to the entertainment remote control, there is a small screen for seat controls – this also controls the lighting and window shade.

One different thing that this seat had was a massage function, which is similar to that of the Air Canada Signature Class. In a similar way to that, I found it completely ineffective.

Everything about the seat controlled nicely; when it was nap time I was very comfortable!

For eating/drinking/working/sleeping, I found the seat to be very comfortable and spacious. Having both the ‘work top’ and the side console was very useful indeed!

Table

The table is mounted in the side of suite. To deploy the table, it was a case of pulling a latch, where the table folded down and out.

The table was of excellent quality for working and eating. It was also useful that it pushed all the way back for bathroom breaks!

Storage

I found the storage very good indeed.

Under my foot stool was somewhere to put shoes or bedding.

Next to the seat was console with a opening top for headphones, water – and could easily store a laptop and its accessories.

There is also the side console. I’m not sure on the regulations from Etihad, on where a laptop should go for takeoff/landing – but it could be placed here.  

Charging/Power

Next to the entertainment controller was two USB sockets for phone or device charging.

However, for charging a laptop, the socket buried on the floor within the side console. Slightly annoying to be honest!

Air Circulation

Unfortunately, Etihad did not have nozzles over the seats! This meant at times I was getting hot and bothered and couldn’t do anything about it! 

Conclusion

This is a lovely seat, and akin to Qatar Airways’ Q-Suite, with a few adjustments (and minus the door). It’s a very comfortable way to spend several hours in the air.  

There were three things I think don’t make it as good as the Q-Suite; (1) lack privacy, doors aside; (2) the socket location for charging laptops; and (3) the lack of air nozzles.