I am most envious of those who got to fly to Abu Dhabi to see the launch of flag-carrier Etihad’s A380 last week!
The feature that has grabbed the world is the creation of “The Residence”. This announcement of these features have trumped Korea’s on board duty free shop and Emirate’s First Class showers!
The 11 square metre (125 sq ft) Residence will be located at the front of the Upper deck and consists of three rooms: a living room, bedroom with double bed, and private bathroom with shower. Both living room and bedroom feature LCD television screens for inflight entertainment. Service will be provided by a Savoy Hotel trained private butler. The target market are people who want a private jet experience.
In this video, Danni Minogue shows off the A380. Danni has been an Etihad “Global Ambassador” since 2008- I don’t know why they chose her. Anyway, check it out:
A maximum of two people can be accommodated in the residence. Pricing is anticipated to be around $20, 000 from Abu Dhabi to London and $40, 000 from Sydney to London. Etihad have said that passengers will not be able to upgrade into them and staff will not be able to access them using staff rates. Hogan was quoted as saying: “we want to keep the pricing pure on them“
Behind the Residence are “The Apartments”, nine First Class spaces that give customers 74 per cent more space than Etihad’s existing First Class product. Entry to each 39 square foot space is via a sliding door from the aisle. The Apartment includes a reclining lounge chair and an expanding ottoman that turns into a bed. Six of the apartments are adjoining and the beds can become double beds (up to now a Singapore Airlines exclusive). Each apartment includes a 24″ TV Screen, chilled drinks fridge and vanity unit with lighted mirrors.
Yeah, I can see myself in this photo!
“The Apartment” customers can access a bathroom with shower which up to now Emirates has been the only one to feature. Danni Minogue (again) on The Apartment:
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Between First Class and Business is ‘The Lobby’, which again continues the hotel theme. It has a semi-circular leather couch.and a bar area for first and business customers. I would be curious to see how much use it actually gets. The bars on my Virgin flights are usually deserted.
70 Business Class take up the rest of the upper deck arranged in a 1-2-1 “dovetail configuration“. Every passenger has direct aisle access (YES!). For people travelling together, the centre seats mean you can chat together easily, although there is a privacy screen if you get sick of them!
Each 79″ long seat is 22″ wide and comes with a separate ottoman. Combined they turn into a 80.5″ fully-flat bed. The seat includes an in built massager. Flat screen TV, side table and carry on storage plus a top-loading cupboard are all included. There seems to be full laptop connectivity with wifi.
Danni again on The Studios:
The Business Studios will be retrofitted to current Etihad 777s over a four year cycle and added to all new 777s delivered from 2015.
Downstairs, Etihad squeezes 417 passengers into Economy Class. I notice they have not kept the hotel theme here . Maybe they could call it “The Backpackers”. Seat layout is 3-4-3 with seats a touch under 19 inches wide and having a 31-32 inch pitch. That’s not bad for a Backoacker section! The seats recline six inches and have adjustable lumbar support. Each “Smart Seat” has a camel leather “fixed wing” headrest which aims to simulate the experience of leaning against the cabin wall or your neighbour’s shoulder!
The airline will include some features that many airlines barely offer in Business Class: a fleece blanket and pillow on every seat, an 11.1 inch touchscreen monitor and noise-cancelling headsets. Again, good for a backpackers-almost Flashpackers! This video is (mercifully) sans Danni:
The A380 will also feature curtained off prayer areas for Muslim guests showing the real-time direction of Mecca based on the plane’s geographical position.
Etihad’s first A380 destination will be a London Heathrow daily from December 2014, followed by Sydney and New York JFK in mid 2015. This makes London, the airline with the most A380 services in the world.
The Residence is available for 21018.24 US Dollar on 31 Dec
Etihad has ten A380s on firm order to be delivered as follows: The delivery schedule for these planes is as follows:
- 2014: One
- 2015: Four
- 2016: Three
- 2017: Two
There are two other airlines taking delivery of their first A380s in 2014: Korea’s Asiana, and Qatar Airways. This will mean that all three of the dominant middle eastern carriers: Emirates, Etihad and Qatar will have the super jumbo. Emirates with 140 will have almost half of the world’s A380 fleet based on current orders for 324 units. Singapore Airlines is currently the second largest operator of the A380 followed by Qantas, Lufthansa, Air France, Korean, Malaysia, Thai, British Airways and China Southern.
After 2014, there are only three airlines left to receive A380s: Reunion’s Air Austral, Russia’s Transaero and Virgin Atlantic. Will any other operators step forward?
Back to Etihad. Are the suite, the First Class rooms and the bar going to stick or will they go the same way as the early bars and massive space on the first 747s of the 1970s? Surely having so much of the aircraft dedicated to First Class relies on filling the seats? After all, the airline will have ten of these residences in the air. How many passengers will fill those minimum $20k a pop seats? Mr Hogan, Etihad CEO confidently says: “There is a market for this type of product.” We shall see if it lasts or becomes an airline norm or quietly gets dropped in the future deliveries of the 380!
In the meantime, I cannot wait to fly the Etihad 380! Check out my A380 Board on Pinterest for more Etihad photos!
Related Posts -A380s:
China Southern’s messy A380 situation
Trip Report: Korean Airlines A380
Trip Report: LAX-SYD on Qantas A380
Emirates- comparing the A380- Trip Report
Related Posts -Etihad:
Etihad Ten Years
Trip Report: Etihad Evaluated
Etihad World #1 Airline
I thought Emirates only had 90 of these superjumbo A380s ordered? Also, I can almost swear you’ve flown the Emirates A380 in the past (I think you meant to say you can’t wait to fly Etihad A380!) 😉
This is absolute NUTS, IMO. Every half-cooked blog has been talking about this for most of the week. Why? Is this a service that most blog readers are likely to purchase? Ahem, I think not. Perhaps a few blog writers who mention the service often enough will be invited for a free evaluation ride? Ahem, I think NOT. So why have so many blog pages been filled with this junk? Can none of you find anything relevant to write about this week, perhaps taking the week off and using canned material from Etihad? Gawd. I thought the standards were just a tiny big higher.
Thanks for your comments! Did you actually read the post or are you reacting to what you think it said? A few responses:
1. I don’t get Etihad publicity materials. I did my own research from a number of sources
2. I definitely don’t just parrot the Etihad line. In this post: I questioned the market for the Residence…I made a couple of digs about their “Backpacker” section and I wondered about their choice of Etihad ambassador. My opinion of Etihad is clear in earlier blogs
3. Whoever I talk about a new A380, I always review all aspects and classes. Have a look at my analysis of Malaysia and British Airways for example. Do you want me to review the A380 minus the upper deck? Or skip over “The Residence“?
4. Yes, I do plan to ride in the Etihad A380 – I have flown a number of the 380s now. I have not got airline freebies (except upgrades and freq flyer flights) for my 380 trips. In my post on the Etihad 380, I never said I planned to fly in “The Residence“. I am assuming that I will be sitting on the lower deck with the other “Backpackers” when I fly the Etihad 380.
5. Of course every blog is talking about this. Do we pretend that none of the innovations are occurring? I concur some are regurgitating airline publicity but I have already indicated that I was not privy to that material.
6. Finally, I don’t accept some blogs are half baked. A blog is someone’s own log on the web. It is their choice what they put. If you don’t like it, don’t read it!
Airbus have a total of 140 A380s earmarked for Emirates – 93 to go. How many of them they will be flying at the one time is hard to say. Some of the planes will be used to replace ones that were delivered early on.
You are right Joey -I have indeed been on the Emirates 380 -a few times- that was a typo- I have now fixed it to read “Etihad” and not “Emirates”! Thank you.
Just like you, i hope to fly on this superjumbo even if it’s in coach (though hopefully i can get an upgrade to the studio!)
One little thing — i think it’s supposed to be called an/the A380, not 380.
I think I can get away with calling it 380! I think we should fly it at the same time!