Chris ,
I flew them last year SYD- AUH-MAN and return . The flights SYD-AUH-SYD were operated by A345 and the MAN legs by A330 aircraft . The level of service was as good as I have ever experienced on any airline , and I've flown lots of them over the years to and fro from Europe . The meal service gave a choice of 3 options , something that's rare in ecomomy , in between meals there was a snack bar service available at the rear of the cabin on a self serve basis giving a choice of sandwiches , fruit , soft drinks and ice cream , so you won't go hungry !! . The inflight seat back entertainment was excellent too , the camera views were downward and forward facing and the map views offered 6 modes including a high definition mode .The seat pitch was the standard 32" , so nothing to shout about there . All in all I was very happy , and I am flying with them again in November to LHR .. The good thing was , at least my baggage got through and wasn't " temporarily delayed in transit for 3 days " which a fellow UAE carrier happened to manage to do , not once but on two occasions , they had a 100% record of losing my bags for a while
.. Incidentally a work colleague has just returned from Europe , flying Etihad business class , and said it was the best service they had ever had , and they are very seasoned travellers ..
Have fun ..
Dave C