Etihad must be commended for its food and beverage offerings on a six-hour hop to Switzerland, with hot meals being served on each sector. All meals are served on a tray with an appetiser, entrée, bread roll, butter, dessert, water, and metal cutlery.

On each sector, we chose the lamb dish with an Irish lamb stew being served on the outbound flight to Zurich, and similar with rice served on the return leg to Abu Dhabi. Both meals were piping hot, well presented in a reusable container, and very tasty. A quinoa salad appetiser was served on each flight but it lacked a real punch of flavour which could be elevated with a sauce.

The biggest contrast between the meals across the two flights was actually the bread rolls! The ‘outbound bread’ was cold, dry, and hard, almost inedible. However on the return flight to Abu Dhabi the ‘inbound bread’ was warm, soft, and had good overall texture. Maybe catering in Zurich has a better quality bread than Etihad’s home station?

Etihad offers a good range of beverages for the medium sector to Europe, with red and white wine, beer, sodas, juices, hot beverages, and water being offered. All crew serve these with the main meal, with top-ups available throughout. However, crew do not seem to make additional beverage services after the main meal.

A small notable missing element was the lack of menus on this flight. Although it is noted that this is a medium sector, carriers in Asia also offer menus on flights of similar length or built into the IFE system. As Etihad prides itself on being a top tier airline, these small elements do detract from this.

Quinoa salad, Irish Stew, dessert and bread/butter on the flight from Abu Dhabi to Zurich

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