Etihad Business Class Lounge Abu Dhabi and JFK Airport

29/10/2018

I had the chance to visit two Etihad Business Class Lounge during a trip to Europe and coming back from the United States.

Etihad Airways, one of the 3 major middle eastern carriers is based out of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. My first experience in their business class lounge in Abu Dhabi was about 3 years ago and I remember it to be a pleasant one.

Abu Dhabi Layover 1 – MORNING

I arrived in Abu Dhabi from Jakarta at 6 AM in the morning and had a 2-hour layover before my connecting flight to Paris (CDG).

The lounge was extremely packed that it was hard to find seats for 4 of us traveling. Luckily we were able to find some seats at the bar and ordered our coffee on the spot.

Like any other Etihad lounges all over the world, the tone and ambience are very similar to each other.

Abu Dhabi Layover 2 – LATE EVENING

This time around around 9in the evening and have a 5-hour layover before my flight to Jakarta.

This time the lounge was almost empty that it felt a lot more exclusive, I was able to sit in different areas of the lounge, to the dining area, sofa and eventually settled myself into one of the private TV pods because there was a USB charger in each of these pods.

Since I had a very long layover, I decided to get myself a massage and to my surprise the massage service is no longer complimentary like my visit 3 years back.

They have started charging for the massage services, the price go as low as USD 25 for 15 minutes, USD 40 for 25 minutes and way up to USD 175 for a 2-hour massage.

I tried the 25-minute massage and it was worth every penny, probably one of the best massages I’ve ever had and I was able to shower in one of their fancy shower rooms.

Other facilities of the lounge include a kids play area (daycare) which could be a lifesaver for parents looking to unwind between flights.

The downside of this lounge that it only has the three-pins power plugs and the reception wasn’t able to provide an adaptor (not like other lounges), so don’t forget to bring a universal adaptor when you’re travelling.

Luckily, I found a few spots where they have a USB charger point which is in the working areas (next to the iMacs) and the private TV pods.

New York JFK Lounge

Etihad has a dedicated lounge in JFK Airport and it wasn’t anything special. The size was quite small and I wasn’t able to find any seat on the sofa and finally sat in the dining room.