I fly on Etihad’s inaugural A380 flight from London to Abu Dhabi

Inaugural? …. but hasn’t Etihad been flying its A380s for years?

Well, yes. But yesterday marked the first time they have been in passenger service in over three years – since 24th March 2020 to be exact. So let’s call it a re-inaugural ….

It was an exciting day for Etihad and a lot of attention had been given to the flights, with specially produced amenity kits, menus, magnets and other goodies.

Does the A380 have a future?

The death-knell for the A380 has sounded rather too often, and often prematurely. People have been predicting its demise for years. Whilst not entirely incorrect – Air France, for example, retired its entire fleet during covid – it is increasingly clear that the era of very large passenger aircraft isn’t over, just more niche.

When the A380 was introduced into passenger service in 2007 it was hailed as the future. These super-jumbos offered more space than any other commercial aircraft before and airlines had visions of inflight gyms, casinos and spas.

Reality eventually hit, of course, and those visions turned out to be closer to hallucinations. The A380 never really hit its stride and was ordered by only a limited number of airlines, predominantly in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In the end, only 251 aircraft were ever built – a far cry from the 1,574 Boeing 747s that were delivered during its 54-year production run.

The A380 story is far from over

Airlines that previously permanently retired their A380s, such as Qatar Airways and Etihad, are bringing them back into commercial service and operating them on high-capacity routes. London is just one of those destinations.

That’s a net-positive for us as passengers. Apart from the general excitement of being on an aircraft with not one but two staircases, the A380 is an exceptionally smooth ride and blissfully quiet. Even at take-off the aircraft is barely audible from inside the cabin, despite the four engines spooling up to maximum thrust.

If you’ve never flown an A380, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Unfortunately these whales won’t be around for ever. Airbus delivered the last A380 in 2021 and even Emirates, with its 100+ fleet of A380s, doesn’t expect to operate them beyond the 2030s. So you better hustle!

To celebrate the re-introduction of its A380 fleet, I was lucky enough to be invited onto the first flight from London: flight EY12 on Tuesday 25th July, departing at 9:30am. A more formal review of Etihad’s business class will follow in the coming days but first I wanted to take a look at the aircraft and event itself.

In total, Etihad intends to return four of its original ten A380s to service with all of them plying the London to Abu Dhabi route. Etihad operates five daily flights to London in total, so only three will be on the A380 with the 4th aircraft acting as a spare. The second A380 will be resuming service next week.

Onboard Etihad’s A380s

I was part of a small group that was allowed to board early in order to take a look at the aircraft without disturbing other passengers.

Etihad’s A380s are most famous for The Residence – a three-room suite in the nose of the aircraft. Whilst this used to sell for tens of thousands of pounds, it is now being offered as an upgrade to First Class passengers for just under £2,000. This makes it a far more affordable option than it was before, albeit still very expensive.

Here is a PR photo:

Unfortunately, The Residence was booked on my flight. As it happens, it was taken by aviation YouTuber Trek Trendy who kindly invited me to have a look.

It is very impressive. You have a bedroom with a small double bed, your own private toilet and shower as well as a large living room with a sofa for two and a big TV. It is as close as you’ll get to flying private on a commercial jet.

Etihad’s First Apartments

Behind the Residence, on the upper deck, you’ll find nine First Class Apartments.

The name is not a euphemism. Whilst a lot of attention is given to Singapore Airlines’ A380 First Class suites, Etihad is equally impressive.

In each case you get a dedicated armchair and (single) bed:

The seat is far bigger than I expected, and far bigger than it looks in the photos. Each comes with its own mini bar, a special Acqua di Parma First Class amenity kit and large in-flight entertainment screens.

Here I am sitting in it, before I slunk down the cabin to my business class seat:

Etihad’s lounge on the A380

Like its Middle Eastern rivals, Etihad also features a social space onboard the A380 in the form of a round lounge for business class and first class passengers:

It’s a nice space with a collapsible table that the crew install after takeoff.

Along one wall you’ll also find wine fridges and spirits.

To be perfectly honest, it’s not my favourite on-board social space as there are no windows and it therefore feels very dark on a day flight. That said, I’ll never complain about airlines trying something new and offering a unique experience onboard.

Etihad’s business class on the A380

I don’t want to give too much attention to the business class cabin on the A380 as I’ll be writing a full review of the experience over the coming days.

Suffice to say, however, that despite being an older product it is still in excellent shape. I was surprised how spacious it felt, and I’m a big fan of the alternating forward and rear facing seats.

Whilst I was expecting an older, perhaps slightly dated cabin, that wasn’t the case. The A380 Business Studio can definitely keep up with some of the latest business class seats. The aircraft may be eight years old but it certainly doesn’t feel that way.

Economy on Etihad’s A380

Finally, on the lower deck, and where the majority of passengers will be: economy. There are 415 seats here which take up the entirety of the lower deck.

The economy cabin alone has more seats than most, if not all, other aircraft. It is huge and split into four smaller cabins.

At the front of the cabin are 68 ‘Economy Space’ seats with an extra four inches of legroom.

All seats come with these winged headrests which should be beneficial when trying to get a few hours of sleep.

What about the festivities?

Etihad went all out for the flight and commissioned specially printed menus, amenity kits and more:

Commemorative A380 fridge magnets were also handed out to all passengers, whilst guests in business got small boxes of chocolates.

In First, guests received larger chocolates as well as A380 aircraft models.

Overall, it was an excellent celebratory flight and a welcome return for the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

More from the trip will follow on HfP over the next few days, but it’s very late in Abu Dhabi and I’m off to bed!

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How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Etihad Guest does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 40,000 Etihad Guest miles.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Etihad Guest mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.