Etihad Airways plans to return its seventh Airbus A380 superjumbo to the skies, boosting capacity on key international routes in response to better-than-expected travel demand as the airline waits for delayed aircraft deliveries.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline will fly its seventh double-decker aircraft on a route that has never before had an A380 service, Arik De, chief revenue and commercial officer of Etihad Airways, told the Routes World conference in Bahrain.
Etihad Airways' initial plans were to reintroduce five of its 10 A380s to its fleet after they were grounded by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when global air travel came to a near-standstill.
These A380s are operating to London Heathrow and New York JFK, with the introduction of the double-decker to Paris from November 1. Etihad Airways will also start flying an A380 to Singapore from February 1, 2025.
“The seventh A380 comes in June. So it's going to be London, New York, Paris, Singapore and one other destination that I won't tell you now. Wait and see. It has never seen A380s before, that's my only hint,” he said.
Antonoaldo Neves, chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group, told The National in August that the airline is studying “eventually” returning more of its A380 superjumbos to the skies, depending on market conditions.
The move comes as the Abu Dhabi-based airline is facing late aircraft handovers from both Boeing and Airbus. While these delays will not curtail its growth, it could have expanded further if it had received the additional capacity on time, Mr Neves said at the time.
The reintroduction of additional A380s is also a bid to attract more premium travellers.
Travellers flying on the A380, the world's largest passenger jet, will have the option to book the Residence, the world's only three-room suite in the sky.
The double-decker aircraft also offers first-class apartments and business studios.
Etihad Airways resumed A380 flights in July last year on the Abu Dhabi-London Heathrow route after its A380 fleet was grounded by the pandemic.
When the airline first returned the four-engine aircraft to service “we decided to bring four back in flights to London Heathrow and JFK, then the flights did much better than anyone expected and that triggered getting number five in,” Mr De said.
“So number five comes in at the end of this month and we launch Paris on November 1. Early bookings with Paris were really, really good.”
The airline will return its sixth A380 in February next year with flights to Singapore and the seventh in June 2025 on a new A380 destination, he said.
