After a year-long hiatus, we were back once again with Etihad Airways for our twice-yearly trip to Kuala Lumpur, this time with an opportunity to review their 777 business class on this flight, EY46.

Given that just a short year ago Dublin was worthy of a beautiful, brand-new A350, I’m not sure what’s happened since that we’re now only deserving of their two oldest 777 aircraft, configured with lie-flat seats in business, but a very aged cabin product. To add insult to injury on this particular trip, our seat assignments were also lost in the few days before the flight, meaning the only suitable arrangement so close to departure was to sit in the first row.

Check-in was uneventful, with an agent stationed at the entrance to the priority queue insisting on seeing everyone’s reservations – which I hadn’t expected – followed by an encounter with the world’s grumpiest check-in agent.

It’s small details like these, for a first impression, that’s easy to see why people can easily be sold on, or go off, a particular airline. We know Etihad well enough to know that they’re far better than a single check-in agent, but it was easily the most passive-aggressive encounter of the day.

Fast track at Dublin Airport, as always, took moments, and we were quickly airside, before repairing to the newly-renamed (and relaunched) Martello Lounge.

Boarding, as is often the case for Etihad in Dublin, was through two separate airbridges and very carefully managed.

First impressions, oddly, were better than later impressions. Yes, the cabin is clearly old, looks quite jaded and a bit tired, but at least was clean and offers lie-flat seats, albeit on the tight side and with next to no at-seat storage space.

We settled into our 5A/E/F seats, and one thing I did enjoy about this bulkhead seat was the lack of foot coffin. The seats in Row 5E & F are also quite well insulated from the aisle, so there’s no need to worry about people banging off your seat or knocking a trolley off your footwell, or seat itself.

Pre-flight beverages were quickly offered, and despite the early hour, as always, I felt it would be very rude to refuse a glass of champagne for the journey.

We pushed back and were on our way to the runway in no time, and airborne shortly thereafter.

Once airborne, unfortunately, the signs of cabin decay began to become apparent – at first, as you can see below, we seemed to encounter extensive difficulty rebooting the in-flight entertainment system for all passengers, even though many (including Vannesha) had already started watching something. The crew, which was a kind – and well-placed – gesture, handed out free wifi cards.

Meal service, unfortunately, on this flight was also something of a disappointment with only one main course left on offer by the time our orders were taken – fish, which was certainly not something I planned on eating first thing in the morning even though the crew tried their best to promote it.

As a result, I elected to substitute my main with the steak sandwich from the all-day dining menu, which I know to be an excellent choice on Etihad – and once again, it was a delight.

After lunch and several glasses of wine, it was time to repair for a few hours’ sleep – and here, once again, the issue of being in the first row presented itself. The glare from the kitchen area was very off-putting and required an eye mask and prolonged tossing and turning to get past, although at some point the curtain was drawn and this issue became far less of a frustration.

A few hours’ sleep later, and we were on our descent already into Abu Dhabi, with barely enough time for a quick trip to the facilities. As a bonus, we were also entitled to bypass transfer security on this occasion and transit passengers were simply rerouted back into the main departures concourse – ready to make our way (quickly) to our next flight onward to Kuala Lumpur.

Overall, this flight was fine but truthfully not as wonderful as previous Etihad flights we’ve had, by any means. The crew on this flight were very proactive and efficient, but the lost seat selection pre-departure, grumpy check-in staff, lack of meal choice beyond one option, and the ancient aircraft and IFE/cabin were all just a little bit of a let-down – unlikely to put off Etihad Guest frequent flyers, as we are (for now), but would certainly make us think twice if it was a first time experience.