Here’s something that I didn’t necessarily see coming. Etihad Airways has announced that it will start flying its Airbus A380s to a new destination for the first time. Perhaps even more interesting is which route is losing the A380…
Continue reading: Wow: Etihad Airbus A380 Will Fly To Toronto, Be Pulled From New York
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Toronto is basically India these days, so I suppose this is the visit traffic they are after
Yup. Etihad just changed our July JFK-AUH seats in the A380 apartments to a 787...
Am I wrong to suspect this will make award availability more plentiful? I suspect there will be less paid F demand out of YYZ than JFK.
Aeroplan is devaluing on March 25. They promised more Etihad space in return, since its all blocked now.
There will be plenty of paid F demand from YYZ. There is lots of Indian/Pak money here.
I had a confirmed flight on A380 First in November. The website is giving me option to rebook but not refund. What are my options guys? I do not want to be on the 787 first class as I paid extra to be on A380.
Have to wonder if a U.S. -> Canada move is related to a fall in U.S. demand with the Trump administration back in office; in 2017, the ME3 cut U.S. flights saying that the Muslim ban had hurt outward demand (see USA TODAY "Emirates cuts U.S. flights; cites 'weakened' demand after Trump travel policies"), and I wouldn't be surprised to see the same happen now given the chaos of the 2nd Trump administration far outstripping the first
Interesting...I flew AUH-YYZ-MIA in early December and it was the only route offered in premium for 70k Advantage miles. The A380 through JFK was never offered in premium only 40k for economy.
There's not a refund option at the bottom of the page with alternative flight options? I tried calling to see if they will reroute us YYZ to AUH—that was a hard no. They said I could get a refund to then rebook myself, but it could take up to 45 days to get the miles and cash back.
No surprise as it i probably due to the expected downturn in people wanting to visit the USA. C'est Tiguidou. Allez les Canadiens!
This is likely also the result of fares from Canada being higher because of the stranglehold that Air Canada has on the international market.
All of these Middle East flights (including to IST) are about connecting to S. and SE Asia and beyond.
Agree re: AC monopoly driving fares higher, but if driven by connections, why move to the A380 rather than using the Y-heavy 777s (which would only lose ~30 Y seats/trip) that EY has? The traffic from South and Southeast Asia is price-sensitive VFR immigrant families less likely to pay for F and J, rather than business travelers, which implies lower F/J yields
No, it’s not. This cabin is now 10-years old.
New Singapore A380 First Suites are better. New EK 777-300ER First Suites are better. Air France La Premiere is better. Heck, even Emirates A380 is on-par if not better with an onboard bar.
They should bring in the A380 to my airport (Atlanta) on July 2 when they start the inaugural flight. It is a good way to mark the special occasion.
I just called and rerouted YYZ-AUH on the same day with no issues. July booking
If the schedule didn't change, I don't think you are entitled to a refund. You paid for a whatever-class fare on a certain flight, and that's still what they're providing. Equipment swaps, as far as I know, aren't a trigger for mandatory refunds. Sorry--I sympathize.
Did you have a cash booking? I just asked on the phone and they said award tickets can't be rerouted without canceling and rebooking yourself.
No it was an award ticket booked through Etihad Guest, we were auto-rebooked onto the 787 out of JFK but the phone rep was able to change it to YYZ in about 5 mins. Maybe I just got lucky...
For those on A380 First, they had to rebook to EY4, which is a schedule change of several hours. Because EY2 no longer has a first class.
HUCA, I was able to rebook to YYZ-AUH on the same day as well. Aug booking
They were flying 40J 2 cabin 77W on YYZ-AUH route for last summer. I assume their 28J 77W may not have the range to make the AUH-YYZ nonstop. Switch to A388 is the only way they can add more capacity without add more flights. Also that change represents 77 more seats in Y and 30 more seats in J compare to last summer
Its more on Canada-UAE's bilateral agreement that restricts numbers of the flights each side can operate. Switch to A388 is the only realistic way to add more capacity for YYZ without add more flights
You’re right. It is. Having the shower makes the total experience better than Singapore. The Singapore suite is better than the Apartment though.
And of course the Apartment is better than the new Emirates first. No shower on that plane either. A seat and a bed is better than just a seat.
We have tried EY A380 both 3&4 A as well as 3&4 K. Absolutely nothing to choose between those suits as far as we are concerned.
In our opinion it is swings and roundabouts between EY A380 aforementioned suites and SQ A380 1&2 A or 1&2 F as we have ‘road tested’ these too.
As for your remaining suggestions, well now, if you are a single passenger, maybe. If you are travelling as a couple then they do not stand scrutiny next to EY or SQ suites.
Fares from Canada are almost always lower for US based pax paying in CAD. All the time I find great deals to Europe, Asia, and Africa out of YYZ and YUL. It always worth positioning.
"A seat and a bed is better than just a seat"
In this case, it's really not. Etihad Apartments have a bed that is too firm and narrow and a seat that doesn't recline properly and has no legroom for tall people exactly because they wanted to be able to claim there's a bed and a seat. The space is used terribly and a single well-designed chair that turned into a wider bed would be much preferable. It's basically a product for Instagram influencers rather than actual passengers, flew it a couple of months ago and hated it.
Are you serious? I talked with a rep and a supervisor and they would not change me on a Guest booking as well.
Inbound US tourism projected to decline by 40% this year with 25% increase in Canada. Also strong fares as mentioned, so makes sense.
Is Etihad planning to re-activate the rest of A380s currently grounded? Would be nice to seem them returning to pre-Pandemic destinations.
I just called two more times and both reps said a reroute is not possible on a GuestSeat booking. You must have paid with cash or had a different booking.
You clearly haven't flown the product. Its age is irrelevant. I flew it recently, and if you told me it had just launched, I’d believe it. I'm an Emirates fan too, but their 'new' 777 first class already looks dated, not just in design but also in the noticeable wear and tear.
I’d say the Singapore A380 is on par, but it doesn’t have a shower.
Interesting to note that one of their parked A380's was flown back to Abu Dhabi in December. I haven't heard any announcements about what the plan is, hopefully a 7th A380 will rejoin the fleet but is it possible that they're using it for parts? https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/A6APD
I haven’t flown it since 2019 but it still remains my favorite flight of all time. Love the apartments and I hope it comes back to Sydney!
What are you going to do? I was told the same thing about being unable to rebook on a different route only a different day.
@Luke - I flew it in May 2016 AUH-JFK, likely well before you knew this blog or the Etihad Apartment even existed.
Stop embarrassing yourself by posting comments you have no clue about.
Can you elaborate if it was GuestSeat booking (200k points pp, the cheapest points option) or if you had Etihad status because it sounds like most of us were told no.
Can you elaborate if it was GuestSeat booking (200k points pp, the cheapest points option) or if you had Etihad status because it sounds like most of us were told no.
As a Canadian, I’m just happy to see that we’re getting a second A380 flight in the country
I have to agree. I flew it SYD-AUH in 2016/2017 and the seat that doesn't really recline was a disappointment. I am short and so my legs couldn't reach the bed to put them up, so it really was not very comfortable at all. The bed was VERY hard, even with extra blankets under it to help. Now, if I knew I could get The Residence, I would try that with my husband, as the couch seems closer to the footrest and the bed is hopefully able to be a bit softer? No matter what, I would do it for the experience of The Residence, even if I didn't sleep well! lol
Since Canada is braking hard on student and temporary worker permit extensions, I suspect there's going to be a lot of capacity needed to ferry all these Indian citizens with expired permits back home, but it could be a pure coincidence...
AC's business plan is to pull traffic from the US while gouging its own citizens and residents.
and providing a level of service that makes any US carrier look top tier
Wow.... Is AC service really that bad compared to the lackluster US carriers ?
Is this what some others have said that ( to paraphrase ) EY's inflight service is stellar but on the ground when things go sideways they suck ?
And. unfortunately, those influencers have a lot more $$way for EY than you do. My sympathies for this sign of the times....
As a Torontonian, I'm super excited by this announcement and the opportunity to fly their A380 F Suite.
There are so many people in Canada's largest city from India, Pakistan and southeast Asia that this seems like a no brainer.
AC's North American flights actually has much better service standard. I flew YHZ-YYZ in J a while ago, on any US big 3 you will not get a full service in First for those flight. However AC had a full meal service along with printed menu for this short domestic flight.
I was in the same boat. Called Etihad and was told no dice. Cant rebook me to YYZ since it’s a different destination. I just opted for the refund of miles. Four days later, redunded miles hit my account. We’re now going to Toronto..
Not gonna lie. I just booked the NY BC flight in November and was trying to upgrade to first with points. Disappointed to say the least as I was looking forward to comparing to Emirates…
Etihad is better. Emirates' Suites are over 10 years old. Etihad's product still feels new and is more spacious and better thought out than Singapores. AZ/AF is nice but EY beats them. Even QR isn't as nice.