Etihad economy cabin on the 787 and A350 day to day: the crew ratio, the service and what a new joiner's first year of flying actually looks like
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#1 Etihad, UK, four years, business now, and Omar wrote the Qatar economy day to day. Here is the Etihad version for the new joiners who will do it for the first years, because the Etihad economy is a bit different in size and the first year roster has its own shape.
The cabins
The 787-9 with around 230 economy seats, the A350 with around 280, the 777 with over 300, and the returning A380 with its big economy deck. Crew ratios around one per 40 to 50 passengers, with a cabin senior running economy and a cabin manager over the aircraft.
The first year roster
Economy on everything, a mix of the Europe long haul (London, Manchester, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, Madrid), the Asia routes (Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, the Indian cities, Jakarta), the Australia routes (Sydney, Melbourne), some Africa, and the Gulf and Levant turnarounds. New joiners get more turnarounds and fewer of the long layovers in year one because the bidding rewards seniority, and the Abu Dhabi to Riyadh at 2am is a first year specialty.
The service
A meal service with two hot choices and the Etihad specific product (the Arabic coffee and dates on boarding on the Gulf routes, which is a small ritual crew come to love), drinks, a second service, the duty free, and the buy on board on some short routes. The service flow is the same as every wide body economy: two carts per aisle, meet in the middle, solve the run out at row 38.
The Etihad size effect in economy
You fly with the same cabin seniors repeatedly because the crew pool is smaller, and by month six the seniors know your name and your galley habits. This is the being known that the Etihad threads talk about, at the economy level: it means the feedback is personal, the appraisals are written by people who have flown with you five times, and the promotion conversation starts earlier than at a giant.
What a first year economy crew member learns
The boarding puzzle, the special meals, the medical (the first one is a shock and there is one most months), the passenger who is quiet in the wrong way, the Gulf turnaround at 2am with a full cabin and a 50 minute ground time, and the difference between tired and fatigued. The seniors teach all of it in the galley. Ask.
The A380 return
The economy deck on the A380 is the biggest cabin most new joiners will work, and the A380 rostering opened positions across all grades. New joiners are getting A380 economy in year one now, which was not the case for the batches before.
Honest view
Etihad economy in year one is a good first year of long haul: the routes are real, the crew are known, the seniors teach, and the turnarounds are the tax. By year two the long layovers appear and by year three the business conversation starts. The size of the airline makes the first year more personal than at the neighbours. That is the trade.
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#2 Etihad, Alexandria, three years, and the Arabic coffee and dates on boarding is the ritual I love most. The Gulf passengers expect it and the European passengers photograph it. The 2am Riyadh is exactly the first year specialty.
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#3 Etihad, Canadian, and the seniors knowing your galley habits by month six is the thing that made me stay. At a giant I would have been a number. Here my cabin senior knew I over stack the cart.
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#4 Qatar economy purser, and the two versions read as the same job with a different number of colleagues. The row 38 run out is universal. The dates on boarding are yours. Good thread.
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#5 Beirut, applying to Etihad, and the first year roster shape is what I wanted to know: turnarounds, the 2am Riyadh, the long layovers from year two. Realistic and I can plan for it.
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#6 Also Beirut, also applying, and the A380 economy in year one is exciting to read. The biggest cabin, the first year. Etihad is moving.
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#7 Emirates training, and the difference between tired and fatigued being something the seniors teach is the thing I want to learn first. The training says the words. The galley teaches the meaning.
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#8 Qatar, UK, and the being known at the economy level is the Etihad thing I envy. Our economy seniors change every flight. Yours remember the cart. Different sizes, different comforts.
