I run a non-profit social investment fund, and recently flew to Abu Dhabi, India, and Singapore for both business and personal reasons.
I had booked economy, but was upgraded to business, rather graciously, by a private family fund client (the ticket price was $3,455). I was flying out of JFK, on Etihad Airways.
It’s a fairly new airline, having been established by the sheikdom of Abu Dhabi in 2003. It is also the national airliner of the United Arab Emirates, and the lesser known rival to Emirates Airlines of Dubai, which was established in the '90s. But Etihad is already making a name for itself. World Travel Awards named it the World's Leading Airline for 2013, along with a slew of other accolades.
The flight was one-of-a-kind experience — complete with technology that rivals European/American carriers, the omnipresent Oriental hospitality, and the confusing grandeur that defines oil rich kingdoms.
Etihad has limo pickup and drop-off within a 50-mile radius for all business class travelers.
Haute Living is the apt magazine for a limo ride. It was a good read on the relationship between Tommy Hilfiger & Dee.
Because of traffic, it took nearly 25 minutes to reach JFK airport in Queens. But security was a breeze, since there were only five or six folks in my business class line.
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