Longhaul Flight Help for a novice

[Youremylobster86]

Hoping someone can help a novice long haul traveller.

Looking to go to Bali for a honeymoon in September. Flight options are Air China, stop in Shanghai then Juneyao air to Bali.
Or Ethihad to Abu Dhabi, onto Bali.

Ethihad flights £300 more.
Not sure if its worth the extra money, or is it advisable to avoid Abu Dhabi with the ongoing conflict etc.

Any help greatly appreciated. 🙏

Don't know much if anything about Juneyao Air but personally until stability returns I'd avoid the Gulf, if at all possible...

Assuming (dangerous I know) you trip originates in western europe is there nothing suitable available going via Singapore?

Yes you assumed correctly, from London.

It really is a concern, no availability for a Singapore stop on this particular deal. Perhaps will shop around some more but this one is a bargain.

Thanks

There’s quite a difference between Air China and Etihad. Flown both many time as have lived in both.
Chinese airlines a bit more basic and also limited with food etc.
Love the Chinese people…but they're interesting to fly with. 😁
Personally would not worry about flying with Etihad. Abu Dhabi friends here visiting with me at the mo and there’s not been any issues with flights the last few weeks. Should it escalate again and the cancel
flight I assume they will have to rebook you with another airline.
As per PP Singapore airlines would have been first choice.
Have you checked with KLM, Air France and other European airlines?

We flew Etihad via Abu Dhabi to Bali last year , and it was really good ( even squashed in economy ) the service was better than expected, we were even served pizza as a snack !
This year , hmmm not sure about The Gulf , even less sure about Air China and 2 changes though

We're looking to book as a package deal and no other carriers seem to be available, just Air China, Ethihad or Emirates (for an extra £400 each 🙈).

The deal with Air China really is a bargain, I'm thinking we could hopefully deal with the basic aircraft and service but also worried about navigating the airport in Shanghai.

Thanks again for replies, I will keep shopping about.

Ex-London the obvious non-Gulf operators would be Singapore Airlines, or BA (with them the SIN- Bali DPS sector would be a codeshare with I think Jetstar).

Failing that maybe via Bangkok or KUL?..Other than that I can see why China enters the equation..

Problem with using a European operator is (open to correction) I don't think anyone operates Europe > Bali non-stop/direct, so from London you're into a three sector itinerary, going via a European Airport, then a Longhaul sector to somewhere like SIN or BKK, then another medium/shorthaul sector.

For £300 cheaper I think I would go with Air China and spend the extra £300 on something luxurious like meal or a spa when you get there. What's the difference in seat pitch, that would probably be the only major factor for me. All food and drink tastes weird on a plane, as long as I have plenty of water and something to eat it will make very little difference. Same for entertainment. I take a book and can download films or music onto my phone.

That said, we flew Emirates for our honeymoon and they did serve us Champagne on our outbound flight which felt like quite a nice treat at the time...
But you could just go for a glass at one of the airport bars beforehand.

Great point about seat pitch, just googled and both Air China and Ethihad seem to be 31 inches. We definitely don't have the funds for anymore legroom/premium so this puts things in perspective. 🌟

I can assure that the airport in Shanghai will be fine. Lived there for many years so travelled from there many times all around the world.
It's modern and there is English signage.

In normal circumstances Etihad vs Air China + some outfit I had never heard of would be a no-brainer & an extra £300 would be a bargain, especially on honeymoon.

The current conflict does complicate things, although my understanding is that the three major gulf hubs of Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Doha are back to operating normally. I would book Etihad but it’s not my honeymoon…