I used them in Mar/April and they were excellent
The stopover on the way out in Abu Dhabi is just right ,1 hour, time to get very cheap duty frees and have a smoke and stretch the legs. Its about 6.5 hrs to AUH then another 6hrs to BKK.
I can't comment on the stopover time on the return trip as I exited the airport and went into the city for a few days.
What made me prefer them over Qatar,which is another very good airline,was the food,the inflight service and above all the speedy check in at both LGW and BKK
IMHO, Abu Dhabi airport although smallish has one of the best duty free prices in the world. As for staff being rude, I have been there on more than 20 occasions and never found any rudeness.
I'm using Etihad again at Xmas
