A great thing about travelling with Etihad Airways in business class, or holding status in their frequent flyer program Etihad Guest (even as low as Silver) is that you have access to their business class lounges. For a business class lounge these are usually excellent with an extensive self-service buffet, a dining area with an a la carte menu, a manned bar with a good selection of alcoholic beverages and even waiters passing through the lounge to take drink orders.
At least this is the case in the lounges at most outstations, the situation in Abu Dhabi is slightly different considering the number of guests who use it. You also get access to the Etihad lounges when travelling on partner airlines of the Etihad Group such as with Air Serbia, assuming the airline uses the same terminal as Etihad. This is the case at for example London Heathrow and Frankfurt.
As I was flying Air Serbia business class from Frankfurt I was very much looking forward to a proper lounge visit and made sure to arrive early at the airport. The Etihad lounge is located in the non-Schengen area of terminal 2, the upper floor close to the E gates after passport control.
Upon arrival I was warmly greeted at the reception desk, my boarding pass was checked and I was asked if this was my first visit to the lounge, which I confirmed it was. Consequently I was given a brief introduction and tour of the lounge before I was shown to one of the empty sofas.
The lounge has a design similar to most other Etihad lounges with the interior in white, grey and dark wood. However it is much smaller than many of the other lounges measuring only 275 sqm with seating for about 50 guests. All the standard facilities are available but everything is rather compact.
A review of the lounge and the facilities can be found here!
As I had taken a seat a waitress approached me, welcomed me to the lounge and asked me if she could get me something to drink. I asked for a glass of champagne and was also offered a cold towel. I was also offered traditional Arabic coffee with dates, served in traditional Arabic coffee cups, which I happily accepted. I love the strong Arabic coffee.
The waitress also handed me the menu for the lounge which explained the different meal options, both from the self-service buffet and in the restaurant.
The self-service buffet was quite extensive considering the small lounge and was divided into two different areas.
The cold buffet included Italian salad, Hummus, Tabbouleh, bulgur wheat, three types of local cheeses as well as different bread rolls including brown, white, seeded and Arabic bread.
It also had various desserts including lemon and lime cheesecake, red berry jelly with vanilla sauce and fresh fruits.
The hot buffet included Lebanese lentil and chickpea soup, steamed rice, carrot batons and sliced leek, penne arrabbiata and lamb rogan josh.
As I had plenty of time before departure and wanted to eat properly I finished my glass of champagne and had a seat in the restaurant. There were no Etihad departures in the early evening and the Air Seychelles flight to Mahe (an airline also using the Etihad lounge) had just started boarding and the last passengers were leaving. By now we were only a handful passengers in the lounge and the restaurant was empty.
The printed menu also included the dining options in the restaurant which included two starters, two main courses and two desserts. A bit less than what is offered for example in the Etihad lounges in London and Paris (which on the other hand are also much larger) but still perfectly adequate, and of course there was also the self-service buffet.
I decided to skip an appetiser and ordered a main course and a dessert. The appetisers were tuna salad or the Lebanese lentil and chickpea soup, the latter also available in the buffet.
The two main courses were Chicken penang with Thai jasmin rice or Penne arrabbiata. I chose the chicken dish and also ordered a glass of white wine. They had two options and I chose the Sauvignon blanc. The chicken dish was quite tasty and very nicely presented.
Considering the small number of guests in the lounge around 7 pm I had expected a bit more attentive service with several offerings of refills. Quite the contrary it took a couple of minutes before I even saw a member of staff the next time and had a chance to order a refill of the white wine
Eventually the dessert arrived though and I could order some more wine and an espresso to drink. There were two choices of dessert, Mango rice pudding or Red berry jelly with vanilla sauce. Again with the latter also available in the buffet. I ordered the rice pudding, very nicely presented and quite tasty. The coffee and a refill of the wine arrived two minutes later.
I just had time to finish my dessert before it was time to head for the gate. A disadvantage of flying to a non-Schengen destination from terminal 2 in Frankfurt is that security control takes place at the gate so you always need to allow time for security control after the lounge visit. It is so much more convenient to have all the formalities sorted out before the lounge visit.
Overall the lounge in Frankfurt was pleasant and of course a superb lounge experience when travelling on a 90 minutes intra-European business class flight (Air Serbia to Belgrade). Very few lounges in Europe keep this service level unless you have access to a first class lounge.
However the lounge in Frankfurt also turned out to be much smaller than the Etihad lounges in London and Paris and the food offerings were more limited as well. Of the two starters, the two main courses and the two desserts offered in the restaurant one of each was also available in the self-service buffet.
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