Unwelcome news about the Etihad A380 came earlier this week, in an interview published by The National News with Etihad Airways CEO Tony Douglas.
Of their 10 Airbus A380 superjumbos, Mr Douglas said “We have now taken the strategic decision to park the A380s, I’m sure it’s very likely that we won’t see them operating with Etihad again.”
This is indeed sad as Etihad was one of the last major carriers to receive the A380, from Dec 2014 to 2017. Etihad’s A380 is much younger and arguably fitted out with the best luxury cabins. The retirement of the Etihad A380 means that two of the most sought-after premium cabins in the skies, The Residence and First Class Apartment, are now disappearing.
I flew the Etihad A380 in The Residence a total of three times. There is no other product in a commercial airline like it. It has a three room (living room, bedroom and bathroom) concept allowing up to two persons to travel inside.
- In Dec 2016, from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai (paid $3,000)
- In July 2017, from Abu Dhabi to Paris – inaugural A380 to Paris (paid $7,000)
- In July 2019, from Abu Dhabi to Seoul Incheon – inaugural A380 to Incheon (Invited)
I feel particularly sad that such a luxurious A380 has become a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. I still fondly remember my first time on Etihad A380. It was also the first time I made a vlog that got over 20 million views!
Etihad A380 First Class is also arguably the best First Class out there. With just 9 suites all with a separate seat and bed. The middle suite can also be converted into a double bed, making for a double suite style experience. Best of all, Etihad offered some great redemption opportunities for frequent flyers.
Etihad A380 First Class 
Etihad A380 First Class 
Etihad A380 First Class
Etihad’s A380 is the only A380 apart from Emirates that offers onboard shower in The Residence and First Class. Etihad’s A380 operated to London Heathrow, Paris, Sydney, New York JFK and Seoul Incheon before COVID pandemic.
Etihad A380 Lounge 
Etihad A380 Economy
Etihad to become a Mid-Size Carrier
Etihad plans to operate as a mid-sized carrier, building their operations around smaller twin-engine aircraft, focusing on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as the “backbone” of their fleet. At the end of 2020, the airline was operating flights to 50 passenger and seven cargo destinations from Abu Dhabi, representing approximately 35% of their pre-Covid capacity.
“It’s one of those where you segment how you fight your way through 2021-2022 and we’d do that with the 787s predominantly” Etihad CEO Tony Douglas said.
The chief executive also said that besides their 40 B787 Dreamliners, Etihad will also deploy 12 Airbus A350s from 2023. Some of their A350’s are currently still parked.
Why are they scrapping the luxury a380s that could have gotten them a LOT of money and the passengers a luxury chance? the coronavirus won’t last until the universe ends, and just scrapped all the money they paid for to get the a380, no offense but, how foolish and idiotic Etihad is!
What! how the beautiful a380 Etihad is going to retired
The rise and fall of this giant of the skies could not have come at a worse time.
When airlines are looking to maximize every drop of fuel this magnificent machines become an endangered species.
Long gone are the days were we use to see four engine aircraft circled the world, it’s a sad time for Airbus, and just one more reminder that in the airline world there’s always turbulence.
Mr Chui, Covid19 won’t last forever and if Etihad had been better managed, they wouldn’t have needed to scrap their A380s! It’s just a bad excuse for their idiocy and mismanagement.
This idiotic decision to scrap these magnificent airliners ( in addition to being very recent and fully operational) is the symbol of taste for waste and of the decline of Etihad, which is now a low level, middle size airline which must be forgotten.
Its going to be a year on april 10th, still havent got full refund on flights that was cancelled due to covid19. Worst airline ever! Dont care about their economy passengers
Nice good
To think that the A380 has to fly at 80% capacity to break even, makes me wonder how these planes were ever practical. We still have hope though, BA has plans to keep them around.
Enjoyed your flight review of Elals final 747 flight! Very nice! I flew on the 787-9 (Ashdod) from MIA> TLV BACK IN September 2019 for my 50th Birthday Celebration! Had a great time! Flying again this year for my Girlfriends birthday!
Every time I see this kind of feature images with onboard shower cabins or pax in wardrobes, I like to imagine some sort of mayday emergency right in the middle of getting relaxed.
I always wanted to fly in an A380. I would have been happy in an economy plus seat from Houston to France someday but now it seems like things are different. Maybe the future will bring new opportunities.
It was my dream to fly on that A380… Looks like it is going to remain a dream 😔
Not surprised it was never gonna last, James Hogan had too much enthusiasm with the cheque book.
We flew Etihad First Class Apartments from Sydney to Heathrow 4 years ago. In fact as I type this message I am wearing my pyjamas from that flight!!
Absolutely magnicent!!
We (my wife and I) used American Airlines points purchased during a 100% bonus offer sale to fly this one way trip, cost about $6000 for the both of us if I recall correctly which was an absolute steal, I think I drank that much in dollar value of the Paradis cognac they served on board.
We flew back from Europe with Qatar in First Class using Qantas points. “The Apartments” on Etihad were far superior but the other amenties with Qatar were better in my opinion; the lounge in Doha, the on-board bar on the plane.
We have flown First Class on Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, all using frequent flyer points (could never afford the cash tickets) and overall would rate the bed/seat on Etihad the best, lounge in Doha (Qatar) te best and overall experience (hard & soft product) Emirates the best.
Being “locked down”in Australia we are looking forward to our next trip as we have not been öff the island” in two years and have now over 1,000,000 QFF points just waiting to be used.
Love your blog & vlog Sam and have been following you for a few years.
Happy travels,
Ross & Yvonne
As with my previous comment, I guess I’ll have to find a creative way to enjoy my air travel experiences without Etihad A380 Residence experience using the same or similar luxurious comfortable style that is very affordable. When I do, I will let you know. Again, thank you for your videos. They’re excellent!
This is one more sad episode in this tragic time in the airline industry.
Oh man! Serious, that was one of my lifetime goals. That is very sad. At least there’s the memories through youtube. Thanks Sam for your videos!
Very very sad 🙁
“ I feel particularly sad that such a luxurious A380 has become a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic”
This statement is only partly true. Yes, the pandemic hastened their demise, but these aircraft and configurations were never profitable. They only reason they ever existed at Etihad and the other ME carriers, was due to the huge amount of government money being dumped into these airlines every year. The A380 was always a money loser, and these seats were never paying for themselves.
Etihad would have continued to fly their A380 without covid.