With several different type of Etihad business class seats throughout their fleet, and having experienced all but the recently-introduced A321 cabins several times, I thought I’d share how they stack up, and which of the Etihad business class cabins are my favourite, from most to least.

Thankfully, service irrespective of aircraft type is generally consistent with Etihad, and this is one area that straightaway doesn’t need to be covered, leaving us with the actual seat and its surroundings, and any on-board amenities.

Etihad’s A350 Business Studio

Easily my favourite of them all, this is just such a wonderfully private, spacious business class seat, so thoughtfully laid out and designed. I’ve flown this cabin several times now, generally between Dublin and Abu Dhabi (before we were hit with the ancient 777), and while I was initially concerned the footwell might be too tight, and it might be impractical to speak to your neighbour, these concerns thankfully were completely without merit.

The seat angles in from the aisle, facing you towards your monitor (and the window, if you’ve chosen a window seat), with a long marble-effect counter running opposite to your privacy door. Once settled in, you’d nearly forget the aisle is just to one side of your head, while the seat offers plenty of space both sitting, and in lie-flat mode, as the armrests offer up additional nighttime ‘elbow space’. The storage areas allow for quite an amount of personal belongings to stay down with you throughout the flight, and there’s also wireless charging. Where possible, this is almost certainly the aircraft I’d go (slightly) out of my way to pick if possible.

In terms of seat selection, all seats are largely identical, meaning the only real advice is to avoid the front and back rows.

Etihad’s A380 / 787 Business Studio

While the A350’s Etihad Business Studio is certainly the newer, fancier Etihad business class seat, I’m still a huge of both their A380 and 787 seats, which are identical. Generally, I’m going to buck trend by saying I slightly prefer the 787 if only for it being slightly more intimate and generally being a little looser in terms of boarding/disembarking times. The A380 does however have an on-board bar, though during my last A380 flight from Singapore, the bar was pretty grim; several lonely men loitering around trying to simultaneously chat up the crew, while I tried desperately to just get a glass of wine and quickly return to my seat.

The seats themselves however, despite not having a privacy door, are still incredibly private; the great thing about these seats too is the something-to-suit-everyone layout they provide within the cabin. For those travelling by themselves, the A and K window seats provide great privacy, with a counter off the aisle and the seat itself tucked right in by the window. C and H are also window seats, but with the seat off the aisle and the counter instead tucked in by the window, and facing backwards, which can be a little strange at first. Couples have a great option with E and F, which are right next to each other, and a partition can be lowered making these two seats a lovely little snug.

All seats, of course, are fully-flat, and come with a massage feature, several light options, and because of the bespoke layout, a very generous length and width to the reclined seat footwell. Overall, I’m a huge fan of these seats and again, have experienced them many times without complaint.

Etihad’s 777 Business Class

Coming in as Etihad’s oldest business class cabin offering, these are almost certainly the seats – and cabin, generally – to avoid. Arranged in a staggered configuration, the seats thankfully are still lie-flat although feeling much tigher despite the relative layout similarities to the 787 / A380 Business Studio seats. On my flights, perhaps in mitigation of the antique nature of the cabin, free wifi was offered – which at least went some way to make up for the flakiness of the (quite small) monitors, which seemed prone to breakdown and required frequent restarts.

In terms of at-seat storage, there effectively isn’t much. In our case (one of Etihad’s two eldest 777’s), there was but only a small ottoman storage under the footrest, suitable for shoes, and then a very narrow tray suitable maybe for a phone or a few coins adjacent to the seat. I do believe some of the other 777’s come with a small countertop.

In terms of seat selection though, much like my recommendations above, E and F are perfect for couples travelling together, while the A and K seats offer maximum privacy – though with no door or real privacy screen. The C, D, G, and H seats would be – in my opinion – to avoid, with no privacy from the aisle, no clear window view, and for couples, no proximity to each other.

So there we have it – next up, I’ll have to go out of my way to try their new A321LR cabins, but until then, which Etihad business class seats have you tried, and which is your most and least favourite?