Etihad Airways has expanded its fleet once again with its tenth and final Airbus A380 super-jumbo. Staff gathered at the assembly plant in Hamburg, Germany to celebrate the delivery with a special photo shoot.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline claims their configuration of the A380 is the most customised commercial aircraft of its type. The aircraft features the three-room Residence – a super private suite for up to two passengers with its very own butler.
The jet can accommodate 496 passengers with 9 First Class suites in a spacious 1-1 configuration on the upper deck. There are a further 70 Business Class seats and 415 seats in the Economy Cabin.
Etihad operates the A380 on services to London, Sydney and New York. The airline recently announced that its double daily service to Sydney would be going all A380 with Melbourne services swapped to a Boeing 777.
The French capital, Paris will also benefit from the A380, starting July 1st when one of its twice daily Boeing 777 services is upgraded to the iconic aircraft.
Etihad now has 120 aircraft in its fleet with a huge 204 jets still to be delivered. That number includes 71 Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s. The carrier will also take delivery of 25 Boeing 777X aircraft and 62 Airbus A350’s.
Etihad has previously said it has no plans to follow its main rival, Emirates, in building a super-sized fleet of A380 aircraft. The world’s largest operator of the A380 has 95 in its fleet and a further 47 on order.
The national airline of the United Arab Emirates is still searching for a permanent successor to James Hogan who stepped down as CEO of the aviation group this month. Sources suggest Hogan fell from grace after Abu Dhabi became disillusioned with his equity alliance strategy.
