Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has a small fleet of Airbus A380s, which have The Residence, arguably the most exclusive product in commercial aviation. This is a three-room suite with a living room, bedroom, and private bathroom with shower, and it’s an experience I recently reviewed.
Continue reading: Etihad Hikes Upgrade Costs For Three-Room A380 The Residence By 50-100%
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Yeah, because there’s such high demand to fly through the Middle East right now… *cough*
I’ve flown this plane several times the last few years (including the last few months) and the residence was occupied probably 75% of the time. So the jump may be drastic but if they can still fill it 50% of the time they come out ahead… and increase the probability it is available if someone who would pay more wants it.
I’m sure they will still call people booked in F 2-3 weeks before departure offering the upgrade at a discounted cost.
Ever since Etihad broke up with amex, the interest from non middle eastern flyers has died. Throw in the middle east conflict and one can see this is just another cost cutting measure reaction to the pinch all airlines are going through right now due to energy constraints.
In the meantime qatar airways is winning the middle east as far as airlines go. They'll probably buy up their competition one by one over the next decade
I'd guess that Etihad has seen a huge demand for The Residence and thought to themselves that they might as well increase the fee and see if demand is still there or if people are still open to paying that much.
It would be nice if they differentiated the service more as a result, I know the Residence has a separate champagne but they could make it even more high end and add back the butler.
I booked Etihad first this week to/from YYZ and would have paid the 3k but will not pay the 6k. Maybe they will offer lower pricing at check in or something and just try to capture more revenue from those who really don't want to miss out. This would make way more sense to me. Guess I will see in January.
I guess I'm definitely not doing the upgrade from economy to the Residence on my flight from AUH to NRT later this month. LOL.
Toronto has been $3,998 for quite some time for 2 people to upgrade. I had it booked and then cancelled as the war broke out 2 days prior to use flying. Maybe the lower price of $3100ish was for one, but for two it was $3,998 since at least May 2025 when we booked it.
Ugh, this is very unideal. I've been saving Etihad Guest miles for the last little while to get enough for a First redemption so that I could pay the upcharge to the Residence to experience it as a bucketlist travel experience. Now, I'm reconsidering how badly I want it. But alas, Etihad's revenue department don't answer to me...