My latest Millemiles, review Etihad flight from Milan to Abu Dhabi in economy
The Alitalia loyalty program, known as Millemiglia, is adrift with what will remain of the old company. That is why in the [...]

The Alitalia loyalty program, known as Millemiglia, it is adrift with what will remain of the old company. That is why in recent days I decided to peel off a last minute award ticket, the last before the bankruptcy and cancellation of the program.
In this article:

- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- B787/1000
- Class:
- Economy
- Treat:
- MXP - AUH
- Price:
- 60k Millemiglia
- Book
Destinations were few, time available even less, and places available as rare as steel Rolexes. Between the Canada that it would reopen its borders on Sept. 7 and the Thailand, where I had already been in early August, won the second one.
Etihad was chosen for a simple reason, It is not easy to accumulate points and miles in the Abu Dhabi company's program, is not among the partners of American Express and in order to detach a prize ticket, one must then perform very point-intensive triangulations.
This was therefore the likely last chance to detach an award ticket with the official UAE carrier at little expense. Eventually a round-trip ticket to Thailand's largest island, going economy and returning business class, it only cost me 144k Millemiglia points and 70€ tax.
Reservation
To book, I used Alitalia's website, fortunately I got the tickets a few days before the official notice from AZ arrived: As of October 14, goodbye to the program and accumulated miles and canceled award flights.
The morning after the announcement talking to CC Millemiglia became a challenge, finding free award seats before October 14 complicated. I therefore did not regret my investment.
Thus, the cost of the ticket for the route from Milan Malpensa to Phuket (via Abu Dhabi) was. 60k Alitalia miles plus just over €32 in taxes. Obviously 12,000 miles have been returned immediately through milesback.
Ground experience
Malpensa is always deserted, we have written it so many times. With the summer period over, it is back to the spring desolation, although now the destinations that can be reached have significantly increased.
Upon my arrival at the check-in counters, the now customary briefing to go over the rules was underway. Etihad, like its Middle Eastern sisters, has continued to fly to (almost) all over the world, but at this stage each nation has different entry rules, requirements that change all the time, and it is the airline's responsibility to make sure that the passenger has all the right papers to make the trip and not get turned away at the border.
72 hours before the flight, I received an invitation to enter all the documentation on Etihad's portal. Basically, before you check in online, you have to go through a check of all the necessary documents to obtaining the COE, the entry permit for the sandbox protocol. A few hours later I received the "verified to fly" stamp and was able to check in normally.
Key role is that of travel insurance, although Etihad is one of the companies that offers free covid coverage to all its passengers, this is not enough. In my case I took advantage of the free one included in my American Express Platinum credit card.
Even if boarding passes are handed out, the passenger is still asked to report to the physical check-in pods where all documents are again, and meticulously, rechecked.
In the queue at the counters there was hardly anyone, same scenario on board: business class was almost full, while In economy we were a total of 6 passengers.
Unlike Emirates, Etihad does not have its own lounge at Malpensa, and thanks to Winged Arrow status, I was able to access the Montale Lounge even though I was flying economy; this, too, is a benefit that will disappear when ITA arrives.
The lounge can also be accessed through Priority Pass, the card that allows access to thousands of lounges around the world and that is offered free of charge to Gold and Platinum American Express holders.
On board
At the gate everything went quickly and without any stress. At this time, boarding often opens earlier than the official time, and flights depart (and arrive) well in advance given the low traffic in skies around the world.
The 787/1000, the largest of the Dreamliner family, looks beautiful in standard EY livery. The A6-BMC aircraft was not even 3 years old, and considering that the last 18 months have been pandemic, it probably has not yet finished breaking in.
Since the Abu Dhabi-based company decided to take a step back, stopping the run-up to Emirates and Qatar, abandoning A380 and 777 and reducing the number of aircraft in its fleet, the Dreamliner is its flagship.
The colors and fabrics chosen by Etihad for the cabins of its 787s are beautiful, and the configuration is the classic 3-3-3. It is very compact, but the legroom is still generous.
The special feature of the Boeing Dreamliner is the size of the portholes, which are really big and, unlike the old curtain, have an electronic dimming system.
Simply by acting on a button under the porthole, you can manage the amount of light you want to have.
The seat is very comfortable; there is a support on the headrest, which is adjustable in height, so you can fall asleep without ending up on your neighbor's shoulder. The small seat tilt and leg room make it very easy to fall asleep in a comfortable position.
Obviously this was not the case, since throughout the economy cabin compared with 267 seats we were only 6 passengers.
The bathrooms are also larger than those found on other Boeings destined for long-haul.
The service on board
A few minutes before takeoff the flight attendant in charge of the middle cabin, and the 4 passengers, distributed a small courtesy kit, along with a pillow and blanket and wellness pack.
The courtesy kit consisted of a sachet containing eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush, and toothpaste. The wellness packet contained a mask, hand sanitizing gel, and wipes to sanitize surfaces.
Also before takeoff, the meal order was also taken. I greatly appreciated that the stewardess greeted me by name, which is not a given with so many airlines even when flying business class. Traveling on such empty planes must not be easy for the cabin crew either.
Meals and drinks on board
There were 3 choices available to me, Etihad allows you to select any special meals up to 72h before departure.
The options were: chicken breast with mashed potatoes, beef with mushrooms or pasta with sauce. I opted for the first option, only for a side dish there were no mashed potatoes, but spinach and peppers. The meal was served a few minutes after we reached our cruising altitude.
Completing the platter was a vegetarian couscous appetizer and a chocolate mousse for dessert. The chicken was good, too bad the side dish was not what was offered. The chocolate mousse is definitely better the one that is offered on British Airways flights.
During the meal, the staff switched to suggesting all passengers to try the other available offerings, still offering bread (very good) and butter. As well as serving more drinks.
About two hours after landing, I hit the button to call an attendant. If it had been an exam test, it would have been a 10 since it was not 60 seconds between when I rang the doorbell to when I was served the coke I ordered.
IFE
Each seat is equipped with a personal screen, a USB outlet, and a power outlet. The screen is comparable in size to an 11-inch iPad, and all passengers are given very ordinary wired headphones. If you want something of quality, you should bring your own headphones from home.
The system allows people to connect their Bluetooth headphones to fully enjoy the movie, unfortunately it is not yet possible to connect apple airpods as it is on United, but all other types of headphones can be connected.
The screen is touch and is very smooth and fast, and the amount of content is huge. Covid has pretty much stopped the release of movies, so you can't expect under novelty there to be endless choice.
There is something for everyone, however, including a section of European films in their original language. Lots of bolliwood, and it could not be otherwise.
In addition to films, there are documentaries, cartoons, TV series, concerts, cooking classes and games.
The plane also offers wi- fi, Etihad's policy is interesting: it has different packages starting from 1.99$ for chats, going up to the 24h pack which for 29.99$ also applies on a second flight and is therefore very convenient to stay connected all the time with one expense. Not many companies offer this flexibility.
The flaw, however, is that everything is charged by traffic, so for chat you have 20mb. For the 29.99$ package the limit is 300mb. Plenty to use in flight, few if you forget to turn off backups and other features that without saying anything drain traffic.
The system also offers liveTV channels, mainly all news channels and one dedicated to sports, and a rich selection of music albums.
There is the ability to listen to the Quran and access the map showing where Mecca is located with one click.
Then there is a nice interface dedicated to children, like a video game you can move through the various sections and access content designed for younger travelers, enough to keep any child entertained for even the longest trips.
A simple, colorful and easy-to-use interface. Good idea. Rich game offerings as well, many and for all tastes.
If you are traveling with friends, you can chat with other passengers directly from the screen, or share your screen to watch the same TV channel.
The INCONCEPTABLE lack is the absence of webcams to show passengers what the pilots see and generally what is happening outside.
In conclusion
This was my first time aboard economy class on a 787/1000. Of course, a flight where only 6 out of 227 seats are occupied cannot be taken as a yardstick, but these days it is common to fly with few passengers on board, I am very satisfied with the service provided and the quality of seat, some airlines treat business passengers worse.
As of today it is impossible to know whether ITA's new loyalty program will see a partnership with this airline, certain is that for all serial accumulators of points and miles this is a very painful loss, not only because of the quality of the offer of the official carrier of the UAE and its network, but because like all Arab carriers the fees charged to passengers are minimal and do not vary according to class of travel.
Considering that on October 14 I would, probably, lose all my remaining Millemiglia points, I can't complain at all. I redeemed an award ticket with miles that were close to defaulting e paid just over 60€ for a trip that would have cost me no less than 2,000€ had I wanted to pay cash.

Pro
- Comfortable armchair and leg room
- Very present and attentive service
- Wide selection of movies and other content
Against
- Lack of webcams to see what is happening outside
- Tasteless food