In November 2023, Etihad Airways announced that the Airbus A380 would return to the United States. I wanted to post a reminder of this, as we’re hours from this service resuming.
Etihad A380 flying from Abu Dhabi to New York
At the start of the pandemic, Etihad Airways grounded its Airbus A380 fleet, with plans to likely retire the aircraft permanently. Fortunately the airline had a change of heart, and as of the summer of 2023, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier brought back the super jumbo.
Etihad had announced that its plan was to fly the A380 exclusively between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and London (LHR), with no firm plans to fly the jet to any other destination, as the airline intended to bring back just four A380s. That plan has evolved, and as of Monday, April 22, 2024, the A380 is also serving the New York (JFK) route.
Specifically, the A380 is operating the following frequency between Abu Dhabi and New York daily:
EY103 Abu Dhabi to New York departing 3:10AM arriving 9:30AM
EY102 New York to Abu Dhabi departing 3:30PM arriving 12:30PM (+1 day)
Etihad is maintaining a second daily flight in the market, which is operated by a Boeing 787-9, with the following schedule (this is even being upgraded to a 787 with first class):
EY101 Abu Dhabi to New York departing 10:50AM arriving 4:55PM
EY100 New York to Abu Dhabi departing 10:35PM arriving 7:30PM (+1 day)
Etihad took delivery of its first A380 in 2014, and started flying the A380 to New York as of 2015. The plane stayed on that route until shortly before the pandemic, so it’s nice to see this return. Etihad is working on growing sustainably, so presumably this is a part of those growth plans.
This New York service is coming at the expense of a once daily Abu Dhabi to London A380 flight, as one of the frequencies has been downgraded. I suspect Etihad is for now maintaining its fleet of four A380s, and is just utilizing them more efficiently.
If you want to experience Etihad’s A380 first class, the good news is that award availability is readily available. The catch is that Etihad only makes premium cabin award space available to partner programs within 30 days of departure. So if you can plan fairly close to departure, this is a great use of American AAdvantage miles.
What the Etihad A380 means for passengers
Etihad’s Airbus A380s are some pretty special jets, and they’ve offered quite a halo effect for the airline. Etihad’s A380s are configured with a total of 485 seats.
With the A380 returning to New York, you can expect that Etihad is also reintroducing The Residence on this route, which is a private three room suite located at the front of the first class cabin. This is the most exclusive product available in commercial aviation.
Pre-pandemic, this experience cost tens of thousands of dollars. However, Etihad is now handling this differently than pre-pandemic. The airline is now selling upgrades to this for first class passengers who are on revenue fares ticketed through Etihad. While the upgrade cost for this is ~$2,500 one-way between Abu Dhabi and London, it’s $4,500 one-way between Abu Dhabi and New York, which I guess makes sense, proportionally.
We’re also seeing the reintroduction of the Etihad First Class Apartments on the New York route, as there are nine of those on the plane. This is one of the most impressive first class hard products out there, as there’s just a single aisle in the center of the cabin, and one suite on each side. This is a much better first class product than you’ll find on Etihad’s 787s. Etihad also has a stellar soft product nowadays, making for a great experience.
There are then 70 business class seats, which are the Etihad Business Studios, the same product you’ll find on the 787. This is a solid business class product, but not as good as Etihad’s new A350 business class, or the carrier’s new 787-9 business class (which is available from Abu Dhabi to Washington).
Lastly, there are 405 economy class seats, including 80 with extra legroom. This takes up the entire lower deck, as seats are in a 3-4-3 configuration.
Bottom line
Etihad is resuming Airbus A380 flights between Abu Dhabi and New York. As of April 22, the plane is operating one of the two daily frequencies, representing a significant capacity increase in the market. On top of that, New York is seeing both daily flights offer first class, compared to no first class previously, so that’s exciting.
In early 2023, we thought the A380 would never fly again for Etihad. Then when it finally did return, we were told it would just fly to London. It’s nice to see this beautiful jet now returning to a longer route.
What do you make of Etihad resuming A380 flights to New York?
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