Our vegan business class experience with Etihad Airways

As we read more and more press releases about how airlines are offering exciting and nutritious vegan meals in their premium cabins, you might think there’s never been a better time to make a left turn when boarding a plane as a vegan opportunity. Well, we decided to document our experiences on a series of flights in premium cabins on multiple airlines. Below you'll find our honest review of a range of Etihad Airways' recent business class flights, including what they got right and where there was room for improvement with our *VGML meals.

*VGML is the special meal code for general airline vegan meals and therefore should be free of all ingredients of animal origin.

Business Class from Singapore to Abu Dhabi

On our first flight from Singapore to Abu Dhabi we had a salad as an appetizer which included sweet potatoes, chickpeas, roasted potatoes, tomatoes and mixed leaves. The salad had no dressing, which meant it was dry and lacked flavor. This came with a small fruit salad and bread with no butter substitute, which was a moot point as the bread was cold, hard and not at all edible. Upon request, the flight service manager kindly offered an alternative salad from the main menu, which featured sweet potato, beetroot, walnuts and mixed leaves. This salad, served with mini pita bread and lemon vinaigrette, was much better than the VGML option served to us.

The main course was a vegetable based dish with nuts on top, maybe dukkah? No one on the crew knew exactly what the dish was, which is often the case with special meals that have no name and no description, often leaving only guesswork. Eggplant, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus and cherry tomatoes are delicious, but in our opinion it really calls for rice, quinoa or other grains. As for dessert, well, there was no dessert so we got fruit. Why offer vegetarian options but not dessert? Other passengers can choose from desserts, as well as mini Häagen-Dazs ice cream cans during the flight. For us, none of the dishes or snacks offered throughout the flight were suitable for vegetarians.

Etihad Business Lounge at Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport

It was a struggle but we eventually got there with the help of the lounge manager. Although the amazing new lounge has a wide variety of food and it's very clearly labeled, none of the hot food is labeled vegetarian. There were plenty of salads, grains, hummus, and dips, but we really enjoyed a hot meal. After being served pumpkin soup which contained dairy, we approached the lounge manager and asked her for help. She chatted with the chef and before long we were enjoying three curries served with rice. All tasted very good, which is what we wanted, but why not offer a curry or two in the buffet? There were also bags of crisps, bags of nuts and date bars, all labeled vegan, and the date bars were delicious so we took a few pieces with us on our next flight.

Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow Business Class

Due to timing we slept the entire flight from Abu Dhabi to London but were woken up for breakfast upon request. We enjoyed a mixed bean and avocado wrap with tomato salsa and rocket. Fresh orange juice, mint tea, fruit and warm rolls with vegan butter were also part of our breakfast. We were glad we had an alternative bread sauce on this leg and overall our breakfast was satisfactory but not great.

Etihad Business Lounge at London Heathrow Airport

The Etihad Business Lounge at Heathrow Airport was the highlight of our vegan travel experience on our recent trip. Oat milk lattes, freshly squeezed orange juice, coconut milk chia pudding and mixed berries, as well as a 'full English' breakfast including vegan sausages and vegan buttered toast. For those who prefer a Middle Eastern breakfast, there are also salads, hummus, stuffed vine leaves and dirty medas. Great labeling and diverse selection make it the perfect plant-based breakfast. Very impressive.

London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi Business Class

So close but by far the best way to describe the vegan meal served on our flight from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi. Lunch started with a nutritious salad of lentils and roasted vegetables, another salad with balsamic dressing, and vegan buttery rolls. Next up was one of the most delicious dishes we have ever had, skewers of tofu and chilli served with a mildly spicy tomato sauce and basmati rice. We couldn't fault this dish and were eagerly awaiting our desserts, which if they were good, would end an unforgettable lunch. But they provided us with fruit. Fruit is not dessert, it is fruit. Don't get us wrong, we love fruit, but it's a pretty poor substitute compared to the hot chocolate fudge and pavlova that other passengers enjoyed. The crew agreed that this was not inspiring and found refreshing citrus sorbet in first class. It's better than fruit, but still not warm chocolate fudge or pavlova.

Etihad Business Lounge at Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport

Then again, with zero warm options at Zayed International Airport's flagship lounge, surely it would make sense to at least offer a vegetarian option? We created our own small platter from the excellent selection on offer and it was very good. There were no dessert options, so we enjoyed a couple of vegan date bars again, which left us sweetly satisfied before our next flight.

Abu Dhabi to Singapore Business Class

While we were waiting to find out what the VGML options had been loaded for from Abu Dhabi to Singapore, we perused the in-flight business class menu. This was our fourth Etihad flight in as many days and so far there was nothing on the onboard menu labeled vegan or even possibly vegan. So, to our surprise, the appetizers included vegan laksa soup, which of course we had to order. Somewhat oddly, our vegan food explorations had mixed success both in the lounge and on board, but on our last flight there were vegan options on the main menu? Lucky indeed that there was vegan laksa as the three courses of my vegan meal were described by the staff as follows: “Some chickpeas for starter, tomato pasta for main and fruit for dessert”. How very, very disappointing, uninspiring and unacceptable. The vegan laksa was delicious but lacked vegetables or tofu for protein. The soup is delicious and paired with vermicelli and bean sprouts, it is very enjoyable to eat. The excellent staff also made us a vegetarian platter with risotto and beetroot hummus. We certainly won't be hungry, but will enjoy dessert!

We would describe the overall experience as a contrast between well thought out, nutritionally balanced and delicious dishes, as well as missed opportunities due to forgotten items, unclear labelling, and thinking fruit could be served as dessert. Etihad Airways catering standards are very high, the food is delicious and looking at the dishes served to other passengers we can see that a lot of thought and effort has gone into the creation of the menu. But as vegan passengers we felt like we were an afterthought and we definitely missed out on the full business class experience. The final decision must be left to the lounge staff and cabin crew on each flight, who made every effort to enhance our vegan dining experience and sincerely apologize for the missing items and sometimes less than encouraging choices , for which we are very grateful.

Paul Ayers

Paul Eyers is the co-founder of Vegan Food Quest and writes about luxury hotels and resorts in Southeast Asia, with a focus on sustainable travel, eco-travel and vegan travel. Paul currently lives in Malaysia where he also writes about sporting events and some of the best golf courses across the region.