V-Flyer

I had been contemplating this trip for some time, another visit to Australia, this time to see Adelaide and in particular the wineries of the Barossa, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale.

I found a good deal on Expedia, not featuring an ex Dublin, simply seats left in a fare bucket which meant that booking my business class return LHR to ADL (LHR-AUH-MEL-ADL-MEL-AUH-LHR) was near £500 cheaper than booking direct with Etihad.

Purchasing my tickets via Expedia meant that I did not qualify for any EY financed chauffering so it was a taxi which delivered me to Terminal 4 on the 25th January for the first leg of my journey, the EY20 to AUH, an A380 airbus. But first a couple of hours lounge time. I like the EY lounge, the food and booze offerings are excellent, the staff are fun and proactive.

Nothing wrong with the A380 either, I have flown several times on the A380, exclusively on Emirates until this. The plane is comfortable and the business suite was fine. This was primarily a day time flight, leaving London 14.05 and arriving in Abu Dhabi at 01.20 local time the following day. So I knew I wouldnt sleep so instead enjoyed their hospitality. As with all my EY experiences the crew were efficient and friendly. As I have said before I am in happy mode on these jaunts, so neither look for nor cause aggro.

The cheapness of my ticket had a downside in that I had over nine hours in AUH, waiting for the next flight.. Not a problem, I thought that I would sleep in the premium (business and first) lounge.

Best laid plans of mice and men 1

The lounge was very busy at first but then quietened down...except the departing passengers were replaced by cleaners. I did not sleep at all, although having plenty of sofas which I could possess. Not a critic at all of the lounge but some form of designated “sleeping area” would be useful.

So then, of course, I was looking forward to the near 13 hour non-stop from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne as a chance to get some sleep.

Best laid plans of mice and men 2.

I get to the security check at the gate, put my boarding card on the reader and up comes a message "access denied, contact the operator". So I speak to the Etihad girl at the gate, she takes my boarding card and says "try this one instead".

I had only been given an operational upgrade to First. FIRST FFS. FOR FREE. My first ever free upgrade from any class, my previous first experience, on EK, having been paid for with miles. I am gold with EY but have no idea why I got upgraded, I haven’t flown much with them recently.

So then, like Aerosmith, I could not sleep because I didnt want to miss a thing.

I got into my suite (2A) on the triple7 and there I sat, discussing what I wanted from the menu and when with the onboard chef, while slurping Bollinger La Grande Annee 2005 champagne and trying to decide whether my white wine should be one of the great premier cru Burgundies or one superb New Zealand sauvignon. And then I had to choose a red!

I wasted about four hours of the flight sleeping. For the rest of it I had a simply wonderful time, lovely food, lovely booze and I made extensive use of the wifi (US$21 for the flight....which I thought reasonable until I discovered EK s free first 10mb and then $1 for 500mb on my return).

I reported back to EY on the wonderful crew looking after me, Signon the chef and Barbara the cabin crew, both excellent. And not only was Barbara Hungarian but she also owns a HWV.

Sadly we landed in Melbourne on time, I would happily have gone round again, and after an easy passage through security I collected my suitcase for the next leg, my VA domestic to Adelaide.

In summary, this flight was wonderful in every way it could be, on reflection I can think of nothing I could improve.

And I left with a view that I must have done something spectacularly good in a previous life.

Regards,
David

PS I had to abandon my trip as my parents-in-law were suddenly quite ill. Winemakers throughout the area were probably relieved, however Australia will still be there when things are sorted here. I took the first plane I could get out of Adelaide, this was on Emirates where I could use my miles to upgrade from Y to J.

The photographs are of my simply wonderful indulgence in First. Thank you the gods of upgrades.

The Adelaide Hills.

Thank you for a TR which made me feel so happy on your behalf. How lovely to get a free upgrade and also to find it didn't disappoint in anyway so you could really relish it. The photos certainly brought home what a wonderful experience it must have been.

Hope you have had positive news about your in-laws and may the gods of upgrades smile on you again !!!

Sounds like fabulous flights on both legs of your journey. Congratulations on the upgrade to first, sounds wonderful.
Love all the great pics.
So sorry to hear your trip was cut short by your in-laws illness, I hope they are recovering and on the mend.
Thank you for a great TR.

David

What a great TR to read on a wet, windy Sunday afternoon.

Only had an upgrade once and that was many years ago.

Hope everyone is well at home,

Thanks again

David

I'd like to say I'd get bored even in First after 13 hours....but I can't say that as I know I'd still be fizzing with excitement as you clearly were...

As the others have said, hope the in laws are ok. I admire your philosophical attitude.

What a great surprise- it looks wonderful.

Sorry the trip was curtailed and hope all is well with the in-laws.

Congrats on the upgrade!!! I'm very jealous.
Great pics and not a manky tile in sight!! ;)

I know I should really, really hate you but I just can't!

However just to rain a teensy, tiny bit on your parade, EK in Business booked me into an hotel overnight in DXB for an 8 hours+ layover. Mind you, they might not have done so I had booked via Expedia.

What an amazing freebie, well done the gods op upgrades! Thanks for sharing this with us, and wonderful photos, the suite and the food look great.
I know you had a somewhat stressful experience on your return that got you wound up, which no-one needs. I hope everything is going to be okay with your family.

honey lamb wrote:However just to rain a teensy, tiny bit on your parade, EK in Business booked me into an hotel overnight in DXB for an 8 hours+ layover. Mind you, they might not have done so I had booked via Expedia.

EY as EK would have done the same for me if a) I ha booked directly and b) the long layover was the only option. Re b) that wasnt the case for me as I could have taken an evening flight ex LHR to make the same connection to MEL. I opted for the earlier flight hence longer connection because that schedule was quite a bit cheaper!