ETIHAD REGIONAL IS A NEW SUBSIDIARY OF ETIHAD AIRWAYS. THEY TOOK OVER THE SMALL SWISS REGIONAL CARRIER DARWIN AIRLINE.

ZRH-LEJ

The managment is making big promises for the “new product” and selling out their tickets at extremly cheap fares.

Time for me to make a “flight check”. Check-in was not possible online due to software problems. According to the handling agent this seems to be the case since many weeks and no solution is in sight.

The plane was an old *ex OLT” Saab 2000 which was very worn out and tired. The old seats are not in their best condition and its really time to refurbish those aircrafts. Service is mediocre. There are mini sandwiches available and soft drinks. No wine or beer, not even for purchase. The flight attendant was not very motivated. There were only 8 passengers on board. She had obviously difficulty with the german language and also her english announcements were below standard.

Advertisments promise a new fresh cabin with a nice “Etihad”-like service. This flight was unfortunately far from it. If Etihad Regional/Darwin want to survive in the tough european market lots of homework need to be done and other major improvements are necessary..