Etihad Airways Airbus A380 Returns To The Skies!

Etihad Airways Airbus A380 Returns To The Skies!

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In late 2022, Etihad Airways announced that its Airbus A380s would be making a comeback. This is something that many of us were excited about, given what a joy it is to fly the A380! The plane will be reentering service shortly, so let’s take a look at everything you need to know about this development.

Etihad A380s will fly between Abu Dhabi & London

Etihad Airways has plans to put at least four Airbus A380s back into service. At least as of now, the intent is for the planes to fly exclusively between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and London (LHR). The first flight to be operated by the Airbus A380 will be EY11 on July 25, 2023, so it’s taking off in a matter of hours.

Then as of August 1 we should see a second daily A380 frequency, and by November 1 we should see a third daily A380 frequency. It remains to be seen if we’ll see a fourth daily frequency with the A380, or if Etihad is simply keeping one spare A380 around (which is rather costly, but also important for operational reliability).

Etihad Airways Airbus A380

At the start of the pandemic, Etihad Airways grounded its 10 Airbus A380s. The airline made it pretty clear from early on that the planes likely wouldn’t reenter service. That’s not just because of the impact of the pandemic, but rather Etihad was already trying to radically alter its business plan pre-pandemic, and shrink into more of a boutique and sustainable airline. In the meantime, Etihad has returned to profitability, and even plans to grow in the coming years.

Etihad claims the decision to bring back the A380 is being made due to a surge in demand for air travel across the carrier’s network, and due to customer feedback. It’s of course great to see four A380s return to service, though there’s no indication that the other six A380s will return, so the airline will have a much smaller A380 fleet than before.

The basics of Etihad’s Airbus A380s

Etihad’s Airbus A380s are some pretty special jets, and when they were in service they offered quite a halo effect for Etihad. Etihad’s A380s are configured with a total of 485 seats.

With the A380s returning to the skies, this means Etihad is reintroducing The Residence, 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. However, Etihad is planning something completely different for this than pre-pandemic.

Etihad A380 The Residence bedroom
Etihad A380 The Residence living room

Rather than making this a fully separate product with butler service, the airline is now selling upgrades to this for first class passengers. The cost seems to be ~$2,500 one-way, and anecdotally, it appears that a ticket needs to be booked directly through Etihad to be eligible for the upgrade offer.

Etihad A380 The Residence upgrade offer

The return of the A380 means we’ll see the reintroduction of the Etihad First Class Apartments, 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 A380 First Class Apartment cabin
Etihad A380 First Class Apartment
Etihad A380 First Class Apartment

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.

Etihad Business Studio

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.

Keep in mind that Etihad Airways is a partner with both Air Canada Aeroplan and American AAdvantage, so it should be possible to redeem miles for these flights, including in First Class Apartments. Unfortunately both Air Canada and American are showing little/no Etihad award availability online at the moment, but there should be more access by phone.

You can also book directly through Etihad Guest, though redemption rates are considerably higher than through partner programs.

Etihad A380 first class award availability

My take on the Etihad A380 comeback

I couldn’t be happier to see Etihad bring back the Airbus A380, as it’s such a beautiful plane, and Etihad’s configuration on these jets is especially nice.

It’s interesting how this time around Etihad is bringing back these planes as a dedicated subfleet that will fly exclusively on one route, between Abu Dhabi and London. That seems smart, since the single biggest selling point of the A380 is being able to offer high capacity to slot restricted airports.

It’s also kind of fun how The Residence can now be reserved as an upgrade from a first class booking. Admittedly $2,500 is a lot to spend (especially beyond a first class seat), and there won’t be any major service differentiation, but this is still a much more affordable option for trying The Residence than before.

While I’m excited to see Etihad bring back the A380, I also can’t help but feel a bit surprised. First the airline was in huge growth mode, then it shrunk massively, and now it’s growing slowly, in a more sustainable way.

With Etihad having many Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s on order, I’m a bit surprised to see a small subfleet of A380s brought back. There are economies of scale to aircraft fleets, and the math seem challenging for making a fleet of just four A380s profitable, especially if one aircraft will be used as a backup. Suffice it to say that this is a far cry from Emirates’ fleet of 100+ Airbus A380s.

One challenge that Etihad will face with selling first class is how small the carrier’s first class network is. So it’s one thing if you’re traveling exclusively between Abu Dhabi and London, but for those connecting from beyond there, it will be tough to steal traffic from Emirates, which offers first class throughout a vast majority of its fleet.

I’d also be fascinated to know who was behind this decision. Previous Etihad CEO Tony Douglas left the airline in September 2022, and is now leading Riyadh Airlines. New Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves started at the airline in October 2022. Just weeks later, the return of the A380 was announced. Was this decision made prior to Neves joining the airline, or was this all put into motion in the first few weeks he was there?

The Lobby on the Etihad A380

Bottom line

The Etihad Airbus A380 will be making a comeback shortly. The airline is bringing back four Airbus A380s, and they’ll fly exclusively between Abu Dhabi and London. Expect one daily frequency as of July 2023, and three daily frequencies as of November 2023. I can’t wait to fly the Etihad A380 once again!

What do you make of Etihad bringing back the A380?

Conversations (21)
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  1. Thomas Guest

    Do we know the pilots names that maybe piloting the 380's. Looks like the women are on the move

  2. Joe Guest

    Wonderful news. Great tactic to differentiate it from its competitor Qatar Airways on such a high demand route.

    1. The Swede Guest

      How is it differentiating? Qatar have two A380 flights daily from LHR to DOH? Having flown F and J on Qatar for this route and many others with Qatar, I am keen to experience and compare as I am flying EY to BKK from LHR next w/e for my first time with EY.

  3. Mark Lewis Guest

    I am absolutely thrilled to see Etihad bring back the iconic A380! It's always been a fantastic flying experience, particularly with the remarkable configuration offered by Etihad. I genuinely hope they consider placing the fourth aircraft on the Sydney route. It would be a game-changer for those of us frequently travelling between Australia and the UAE. Fingers crossed!

  4. Auspointer Guest

    “However, Etihad is planning something completely different for this than pre-pandemic.”

    Ben, I think you meant to say post-pandemic?

    1. Auspointer Guest

      Oh - just re-read what you’d written, please ignore my comment ;)

  5. Errol Guest

    They really need to put the A380 on another route or two east to Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo. I just tried to book a trip from London to Bangkok (although I would have flown anywhere else in Asia) in EY F. But whilst I can fly LHR to AUD in F, I then have to transfer on to an A350, B777 or B787 and travel in J.

    Who wants to do that!? Start...

    They really need to put the A380 on another route or two east to Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo. I just tried to book a trip from London to Bangkok (although I would have flown anywhere else in Asia) in EY F. But whilst I can fly LHR to AUD in F, I then have to transfer on to an A350, B777 or B787 and travel in J.

    Who wants to do that!? Start off in comfort and then have to slum it in J on the longer sector, after a transfer at night.

    I will just fly Royal Silk on Thai instead.

  6. Notbad41 Guest

    I book flights that have the a380. Hopefully Etihad flies to Australia one day. I avoid London due to the taxes.

  7. Andy Guest

    Back in March I booked a first class award on EY17 (A380) with Aeroplan for 65k pts. Two weeks later Etihad cancelled my booking with no explanation. This also cost me $50 as I had booked a separate connecting flight that I then had to cancel.

  8. JetBlueFanboy Diamond

    It's definitely surprising how Etihad is returning the A380 to service, given that they seem to have focused on profitability and making good business decisions, instead of over-the-top luxury, in the past few years (this change is probably most noticeable when looking at their 78X's & A350's, neither of which have First Class).

    But hey, I'm never one to complain about seeing an A380 back in the skies! On a side note, EY has my...

    It's definitely surprising how Etihad is returning the A380 to service, given that they seem to have focused on profitability and making good business decisions, instead of over-the-top luxury, in the past few years (this change is probably most noticeable when looking at their 78X's & A350's, neither of which have First Class).

    But hey, I'm never one to complain about seeing an A380 back in the skies! On a side note, EY has my favorite A380 livery, so it's great to see these stunning birds flying again.

  9. ryan Guest

    Can you upgrade to Residence on an award ticket? Just to experience it before it goes away forever might be worth $2,500 + some miles...

    1. DW Guest

      We have F apartments booked via AP in February and were sent the upgrade offer.

      What I am trying to ascertain is that theoretically only one of us should have to upgrade to get the Residence. But wondering with all the silliness that is airline and crew discretion, would they restrict my wife/me from joining?

    2. Nelson Diamond

      As far as I know and experienced an Award Ticket you can NEVER Upgrade on any Airline. (correct me if I'm wrong or...outdated) :-)

  10. Ann Guest

    Why have you not covered how Aeroplan has effectively lost Oman, Etihad (J) and Gulf Air as a partner.
    That's in addition to blocking TG and LH TATL to/from Canada

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Ann -- I'm working on digging into this, so stay tuned. I'll post about this as soon as I can get useful info about it.

    2. Sam Guest

      As well, SQ is normally not combinable with other carriers or even other SQ segments

    3. Marcus Guest

      Hi
      I booked and flew last week from TLV to RUH on Gulf Air booked with Aeroplan in J class for 20k each way so not sure if the list them.

    4. bruh Guest

      @Ann - Can you explain more please? I am in Canada and I was planning to take advantage of the AC-WY,GF,EY partnership for my trips to the Middle East.

      Blocking LH TATL? Oh boy, I need more details. Guess the saga of AC screwing us never ends! :(

      Thank you.

  11. Sam Guest

    I have a lot of questions about the Residence upgrade scheme. For starters, it says "2 passengers maximum" - what does that mean exactly? If you have two passengers who are both traveling together in First, I imagine one could pay to upgrade and then both would be able to use the Residence (but one passenger would still have their original seat)? What if passengers are traveling together, but only one is in First (and...

    I have a lot of questions about the Residence upgrade scheme. For starters, it says "2 passengers maximum" - what does that mean exactly? If you have two passengers who are both traveling together in First, I imagine one could pay to upgrade and then both would be able to use the Residence (but one passenger would still have their original seat)? What if passengers are traveling together, but only one is in First (and the other is in Business or Economy) - if the passenger in first pays to upgrade, could both passengers still enjoy the Residence together?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Sam -- You can upgrade either one or two people to The Residence, and the cost is the same. So really you might as well just upgrade one person, and then have an extra First Class Apartment. They should be able to visit you in The Residence. However, don't expect you can bring someone from a lower cabin, as that violates the rules.

    2. Nelson Diamond

      @ Ben;
      "They should be able to visit you in The Residence"
      Thank you so much Ben! This phrase realy just make my week (not day)!

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Mark Lewis Guest

I am absolutely thrilled to see Etihad bring back the iconic A380! It's always been a fantastic flying experience, particularly with the remarkable configuration offered by Etihad. I genuinely hope they consider placing the fourth aircraft on the Sydney route. It would be a game-changer for those of us frequently travelling between Australia and the UAE. Fingers crossed!

2
Auspointer Guest

Oh - just re-read what you’d written, please ignore my comment ;)

1
Errol Guest

They really need to put the A380 on another route or two east to Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo. I just tried to book a trip from London to Bangkok (although I would have flown anywhere else in Asia) in EY F. But whilst I can fly LHR to AUD in F, I then have to transfer on to an A350, B777 or B787 and travel in J. Who wants to do that!? Start off in comfort and then have to slum it in J on the longer sector, after a transfer at night. I will just fly Royal Silk on Thai instead.

1
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