COMPARISON:
Etihad vs. Emirates vs. Qatar (Long-haul Day+Night Flights)
Had the pleasure of trying out the three major Gulf airlines within 40 days of each other, all on flights between Denmark and Vietnam via their respective hubs.
My conclusion:
Etihad and Qatar come very close, but I did prefer Etihad at the end - due to their older-but-great 787 seats for the night flight, the service, food presentation and quality, and the new AUH lounge. Qatar was as expected, excellent, but "QSuite Light" was a classic Collins-seat with a flimsy door and is what I would consider standard in the industry by now.
Emirates fell behind mainly due to outdated seats, lack of privacy, and the aging lounge at DXB. At the same price point, I'd probably take a European carrier next time (Finnair, KLM, etc.)
ETIHAD CPH-AUH-HAN, day flight + night flight, A321 + B787.
CPH-AUH: Overall a surprisingly great experience; the A321 seat offers surprising privacy as the cabin is single aisle. Brand new seat, brand new plane, and a great menu. Armani amenity kits.
Lounge: Absolutely great - lots of space and an exclusive feeling with buffets and à la carte.
AUH-HAN: Older seat, but a design that I very much prefer. Very good privacy in bed mode, food was exceptional, service a little slow though, as most passengers wanted to eat right away prior to sleeping.
Seats 9/10, Experience 8/10, Lounge 9/10. Value for Money 8/10.
One-way 1500 EUR
QATAR Airways CPH-DOH-SGN, day flight + night flight, B787-9.
"QSuite Light" seats with doors.
CPH-DOH: Morning flight with great service.
Seat had all the expected things (Bluetooth connectivity was nice!), but the door seems like more of a gimmick and standing passengers can still look into your suite.
Lounge: World-class restaurant area, but the rest feels just like a giant waiting room.
DOH-SGN: Night flight with quick dinner, excellent service, pyjamas provided, Diptyque amenity kits.
Seats 9/10, Experience 9/10, Lounge 8/10. Value for Money 8/10.
One-way 2200 EUR
EMIRATES SGN-DXB-CPH, night flight + day flight, B777 & A380.
B777: Old-school business seat with a seatmate(!) and zero privacy. Only a light meal served due to a midnight departure(?).
Service was kind, yet slow due to a full cabin and with dinner service taking 1.5 hours just for a quick meal, this was not impressive.
Lounge: Entire floor of a DXB terminal; great food, great staff, but non-exclusive feeling, old furniture and decor, and I opted to browse the terminal instead.
A380: Morning flight with acceptable but slightly outdated seat, not a lot of privacy.
Great food, very kind service, and the bar was a plus, for sure.
Seats 6/10, Experience 8/10, Lounge 6/10. Value for Money 7/10.
One-way 1400 EUR
