It’s always interesting to learn what the CEOs of various airlines are really thinking. Etihad’s CEO, James Hogan, was in New York this past week for the official opening of the Etihad Lounge JFK, as well as the launch party for the Etihad A380.
Continue reading: Interesting Insights From Etihad’s CEO
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Does EY actually have enough A380s on order to fly to CDG and LAX?
Or are they going to cut some of the existing A380 routes for CDG/LAX?
@ Tom -- That's how I read it at first as well, but after reading it again I think they're saying they have an A380 and a 777 to JFK, and not that they plan on operating it to LAX. Tricky wording, though.
I reread that LA quote several times trying to figure out the A380 portion as well. Agree he jumped back to talking about JFK without making it clear. Had my hopes up for a second thinking that was the real news here.
I find it interesting that the Residence has so low utilization, but if it`s just taking up otherwise wasted space, then it`s like free money for Eithad everytime they have a resident
I've seen Hogan speak before. He's all about the facts, and less about emotion (as opposed to other CEO's in the space). And I would agree, he is a very good speaker.
I will add however, I'm not surprised that he's seeing the shower utilization rate so low on Etihad A380's, my 2nd flight enroute from Sydney, I almost didn't, however the butler offered up 10 minutes of water... I couldn't very well turn that down.
Just a note: If Trump gets elected then these guys are going to face some challenges since Islam people won't be able to travel to the US. I know it's a political thing but I wouldn't be surprised if the US would make this move to make their country safer for their citizens.
Anyways, interesting. Etihad's first class is second to none for sure.
Could the OpenSkies dispute be why no premium cabin award space out of the US seems to be available with them? Seriously, I haven't been able to find a single Business/First Class seat leaving the US (I've found some coming back, but not very many.) any time in the next year. James Hogan said that the "commercial relationship" with AA will continue but I've heard the guys at FlyerTalk bringing up the possibility that it is to stop AAdvantage redemptions. Sorry if you've already written about this, although I don't recall seeing anything.
Glad I didn't miss much from the Wingtips lounge at JFK. I was supposed to have access via Priority Pass, and then they denied me entry saying they were "too full" but the place looked almost empty.
@ Aquarius
Don't worry about it, it will never happen. Not only is it illegal, but banning Muslims from our country based on the fact that they believe in Islam completely goes against our country's values.
I actually think the LAX part means that he wants to bring an A380 to LAX. I think it's the "there's enough demand" part, and he's still talking about LAX.
I'm surprised why they'd all want to make their own lounge. I get that it's supposed to improve the passenger experience, but when the lounge is so solid anyway, I have trouble seeing how passengers will prefer a possibly smaller lounge in a worse terminal.
Now, on airports that NEED the lounge, how about Jakarta?
I was at LAX TBIT in May. As far as I could tell, there's two floors above the KAL lounge, and the very top floor is empty space. I think there may also be some space directly above KAL, next to the 'International' shared lounge.
I wish that EY had a lounge in GVA, but I'm not too surprised considering that they only put a (very luxurious) A330 on the route. Still, I'm very surprised that -- despite the UN traffic and the city's place in world politics -- the lounge offering is limited to the Dnata Skyview Lounge. Even the CS Agents are embarrassed to send F Class guests there.
I think one of the main reasons Etihad opened a lounge at JFK is because of the competition. Emirates have had a lounge there ever since they started flying the A380 to JFK back in 2008. In the EK lounge, it's even possible to directly board the plane from the lounge. That's pretty cool! 🙂
I don't want to say Etihad is a copycat but it needs to stay competitive amongst its competitors, which seem to be mainly Emirates and Qatar. Though I wasn't a fan of the US Preclearance facility in AUH at first, I just went through it a week and a half ago and really enjoyed the experience. It's great to arrive at JFK Terminal 4 without having to go through customs! 🙂 I do think that's a competitive edge Etihad has against its competitors.
I do hope both Etihad flights to JFK will eventually be A380s (replace that Jetihad aircraft!!!) 😉
I agree that the shower utilization rate tend to be low. After all, it's only 5 minutes of running water and all my female friends with long hair will give you the 'eye' look if they find out they only had 5 minutes of running water to wash their hair! 😉 I actually value the shower at the arrivals lounge more after experiencing it on Virgin Atlantic in LHR. It's a real shower and they tend to provide ironing services especially on redeye flights from USA.
Was at LAX last night and saw signage for Qatar Airways at Terminal 2, I was surprised because I thought they would go in the new TBIT...which is far nicer than old T2. But this article confirms what I saw.