Along the Way

We flew through the Abu Dhabi airport. The first time we flew here in 2004, we flew Emirate Airlines through Dubai. The airline is nice and the airline food was really, really good. But the Dubai airport - now THAT was an amazing sight! You could probably spend days there and not exhaust all of the dining and shopping options, and there were plenty of places to sit and relax away long layovers.

The second time we flew Qatar  Airlines through Doha. The airline was okay, not great and not very family friendly, and the airport was terrible. Small, boring, not very good shopping and almost no food choices. Our 4 & 6 hour layovers there were like torture.

This time we flew Etihad Airways through Abu Dhabi, and I'd say it was somewhere in the middle. Better than Doha with more dining & shopping options, but nowhere near Dubai. The airline was okay too - the people were nice & helpful, but the air conditioning on our longest leg was broken in our section of the plane, so it was almost unbearably hot. Also, one of the seats we were seated in didn't have audio, so M and I kept switching seats depending on who wanted to watch a movie at that time. But the baby was amazing on the flight, sleeping for the first six hours and watching three movies back to back without moving for the next six. What more can you ask for besides a well-behaved baby on a plane. Actually, the real baby was M, who suffered a bout of naseau during the flight - annoyingly so. He's the type who will refuse assistance and suggestions that would likely help him such as "Why don't you walk around and get yourself a glass of water." But we got through it and I tried to not roll my eyes too much. I don't want to look like a terrible wife in front of all the Aunties on the plane.

Inside the Abu Dhabi airport, which looks like and exploded peacock.