It is not news to frequent Etihad Airways flyers that the airline has been on something of a mission to trim costs and generate extra revenue. One attempt to achieve both objectives is the rebranding of Etihad’s airport lounges outside of its Abu Dhabi hub as ‘The House, the home of Etihad Airways and other leading airlines’.
The new brand positioning was developed in partnership with No 1 Lounges, a third party lounge operator. No 1 Lounges is taking over management of the rebranded lounges. They will be generating new revenue by selling access to the lounges when not in use for Etihad. The Etihad lounges in London Heathrow, Sydney and Melbourne have all been rebranded as ‘The House’. The rest of the lounge network outside of Abu Dhabi will gradually follow.
Etihad has pitched the launch of ‘The House’ as an upgrade for passengers. The airline promised better food and a more extensive range of non-alcoholic drinks, wines and cocktails from the start. Improvements to other facilities including the showers are also promised to come.
First impressions of ‘The House’
The first impression is that not much has changed. The decor and furniture remain the same with the exception of the new ‘The House’ logo at the entrance. It still has the look and
The most noticeable change is to the dining set up. The dining area had previously been located in the centre of the lounge next to the bar. This was always a little awkward as the self-serve buffet was located in an adjoining side room. The result was a constant flow of traffic back and forth between the buffet and the dining area.
The dining area has now been moved to the same room as the buffet. The buffet and dining area are now all contained in the same side room. The dining area felt calm despite the lounge being fairly full. There was none of the constant traffic between the dining area and the buffet that had been a feature in the past.
The second change was to the à la carte dining menu. The menu offering appeared to be more substantial as Etihad had promised. This was confirmed when the food arrived. The portions were visibly bigger than the tiny tapas style portions that used to be served. The presentation was also more attractive with stylish new crockery and glasses.
Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to fully vet the wine list or cocktails. That will have to wait for my next trip to London. However, the drink list looked much more extensive before with a number of new mocktails added.
The children’s playroom was sadly looking a little neglected. Expat Toddler has always enjoyed getting a pre-flight play in on previous visits to the lounge. However, I suspect this is one of the of lounge amenities which will eventually go with the space used for something else.
Who can access ‘The House’
Passengers flying Etihad Airways in First and Business have complimentary access to ‘The House’ as well as Platinum and Gold Tier members of the Etihad Guest programme.
Etihad passengers flying economy as well as anyone else flying from Heathrow Terminal 4 can buy access direct from No1 Lounges. Three hours in ‘The House’ at London Heathrow is available to buy from £40 GBP in advance or by paying £50 GBP on the day.
Overall impressions of ‘The House’
‘The House’ rebrand is definitely a case of evolution over revolution. There have not been any drastic changes to the lounge. However, the new layout of the lounge makes a lot of sense and the food offering is more extensive. That counts as two wins for flyers.
The fear for some was that selling access would inevitably make for a more crowded and less relaxing lounge. This did not seem to be the case on any of my recent visits. The lounge was busy. However, it did not seem any more crowded than usual. The new dining set up probably helps by allowing more people to be in the lounge without the space feeling busy.
This may have started as a cost-cutting exercise but it is one that has delivered some concrete improvements to the lounge experience. I have really enjoyed my recent visits to ‘The House’. I am looking forward to seeing what other changes No.1 Lounges has in store.
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