Etihad Airways is set to deploy its Airbus A380 aircraft on the Abu Dhabi to Paris route. The superjumbo, which features ‘The Residence’ — the world’s first three-room suite on a commercial airliner — will operate from 1 July on one of its twice-daily services from the UAE’s capital city to the capital of France.
Paris becomes the airline’s latest A380 long-haul destination following London, Sydney, New York and Melbourne. With the 496-seat aircraft upgrade from a 328-seat Boeing 777, Etihad Airways will offer an all-A380 daily service from Paris to both Melbourne and Sydney via the airline’s Abu Dhabi home base.
The additional capacity will provide business and leisure travellers from France with more opportunities to visit Abu Dhabi.
It will also support the strong connecting traffic to and from many cities across Asia and Australia from Abu Dhabi including Brisbane, Perth, Bangkok, Chengdu, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Shanghai, Seychelles, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.
Flight EY31 has a scheduled departure time from Abu Dhabi at 2.15 am which arrives at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport at 7.50 am local time. The return flight, EY32 takes off from the French capital at 10.40 am and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 7.30 pm.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We believe that our customers travelling to and from Paris will really enjoy what we see as unparalleled comfort and services on board our A380. Flying our flagship aircraft to France helps fulfil growing demand and offers greater travel experiences for the flying public.
“Paris is one of our busiest and best performing European routes, so the deployment of this upgraded service will provide benefits to travellers to and from Abu Dhabi, and our popular connecting cities across Asia and Australia.”
Etihad Airways’ A380 features a total capacity of 496 seats – up to two in ‘The Residence’, nine in first class, 70 in business class and 415 in the economy cabin.”
The Residence is an ultra-private, three-room suite featuring a living room with a 32” LCD monitor, bedroom with a double bed, separate en-suite shower room and dedicated personal butler trained at the world-renowned Savoy Hotel in London. The cabin also comes with a private chef ready to custom-create menus to order.
The nine first apartments feature a flat-screen television, a chilled mini-bar, personal vanity unit, wardrobe and a fully equipped shower room.
The 70-configured business studios are located on the upper deck of the A380 and all offer direct aisle access, a fully flat bed and an increase of 20 per cent in personal space.
The Lobby, a luxurious lounge located between the first class and business class cabins, features two comfortable sofas and a staffed bar.
On-board food and beverage managers, with experience of working in luxury hotels and top restaurants, offer business class customers an extensive menu and provide recommendations on the perfect accompaniment for their meals.
And a ‘Flying Nanny’ trained by the world-famous Norland College in the UK, is on-board every A380 to provide dedicated childcare support for families travelling with young children.
The main deck features 415 economy seats which offer ergonomic fixed-wing headrests, lumbar support and an 11-inch personal, high-definition monitor screen to enjoy more than 750 hours of on-demand movies, TV programmes, games and live TV news and sports.
