raphoe,
I flew LHR - BKK via Abu Dabi last year. Not the best place to stop, but OK. Its got all of the usual things to buy, and nothing to do while you wait.
We flew with Ethihad - as you say, very cheap, and as with most Middle East airlines the service was very good.
The best thing was that the wait at Abu Dabi was only about 1 hour each way - just long enough for my wife to re-inflate her lungs with smoke. Spliting the journey is much more preferable to having my wife asking how much longer before she can smoke - gets quite snappy towards the end of a direct flight.
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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