By now you’ve seen all the noise over Etihads new Airbus A380 configuration (including the “residence” accommodation), and the news that their Boeing 787-9s will also be joining their fleet.
But where are they flying?
The Airbus A380 will be touching down at London Heathrow first, operating from Abu Dhabi from the 27th December 2014, operating the EY11/EY12 flight pair. Combined, this forms part of the three daily flights between the two cities
Abu Dhabi – London Heathrow
EY011 DEPART AUH 02:35 ARRIVE LHR 06:35 Airbus A380 EY019 DEPART AUH 08:30 ARRIVE LHR 12:25 Boeing 777-300ER EY017 DEPART AUH 13:25 ARRIVE LHR 17:30 Airbus A340-600
Commences 27th December 2014 Booked Equipment as above
London Heathrow – Abu Dhabi
EY012 DEPART LHR 09:15 ARRIVE AUH 20:15 Airbus A380 EY020 DEPART LHR 14:05 ARRIVE AUH 00:55+1 Boeing 777-300ER EY018 DEPART LHR 20:20 ARRIVE AUH 07:10+1 Airbus A340-600 Commences 27th December 2014 Booked Equipment as above
Etihads Airbus A380 is configured with:
- 2 Residence – Upper Deck
- 9 First Apartment – Upper Deck
- 70 Business Studio – Upper Deck
- 417 Economy Smart Seats – Lower Deck
Part of The Residence – Image Etihad
First Apartment – Image Etihad
Business studio – Image Etihad
Economy Smart Seats – Image Etihad
All the pretty pictures are at http://www.etihad.com/en-gb/experience-etihad/flying-reimagined/ with 10 of the double-decker planes to join the fleet.
The Residence of course is priced as a premium product, with a return ticket pricing out around £25,456.11
As I said, “Premium”
Looking towards the other new workhorse of the Etihad fleet – the Boeing 787-9 (the first stretch of the Dreamliner), which will be joining the fleet, with services from Abu Dhabi to Düsseldorf, Mumbai and Washington Dulles.
The service from Düsseldorf is currently booked for the month of December 2014, replacing the A330 currently operating that route for that month. After that, the 787-9’s will be will be rolled out further to Mumbai (replacing the A340-600 on EY206/EY205) and Washington Dulles (replacing the existing A340-500) from the 1st January 2015.
41 Boeing 787-9s will be joining the Etihad fleet
Again, these aircraft will be configured with Etihads new product as to be featured aboard the Airbus A380 with:
- 8 First Suites
- 28 Business Studio Seats
- 199 Economy Smart Seats
For those who are looking at Etihad in the future, it would be wise to keep an eye on the seat maps as Business Studio will be rolled out to the Airbus A350, Boeing 777x and more relevantly, Etihads existing Boeing 777 fleet according to Australian Business Traveller.
There are some nice innovations with this product, with the stand-out residence, and new seating, IFE system and WiFi on all these new planes.
All you have to do is find the cash to fly them, or hope the miles can pay for your trip…