In response to the growing demand of passengers and due to the impossibility of adding more frequencies, Etihad Airways began operating a third daily flight to London-Heathrow on November 1 with the largest aircraft in its fleet, the Airbus A380.

This third operation, EY17, departs from Abu Dhabi at 14:05 and arrives in London at 18:10, to return as EY18 at 20:55 and land in the emirate at 7:55 the next day.

Etihad’s Airbus A380s have 9 suites in First (with access to showers), 70 private bed-seats in Business (with a lounge and bar on the upper deck), 68 seats in Premium Economy, and 337 in Economy. In addition, they offer an even more exclusive class, «The Residence,» the only one of its kind in the industry with three rooms (living, bedroom, and private bathroom) and its own cabin crew.

For reference, a round-trip ticket between both cities in First costs around USD 6,200, to which one must add another USD 5,000 for the possibility of accessing The Residence, since this cannot be booked directly, but is offered as an upgrade to those flying in First.

«The third daily flight to London on the A380 is great news for our passengers. It allows us to increase capacity between Abu Dhabi and London-Heathrow, and is scheduled to connect the UK with Etihad’s global network,» said Ed Fotheringham, Vice President of Global Sales for the airline. In Economy, a round-trip ticket costs around USD 900.

Etihad Airways has 10 Airbus A380 with an average age of 7.8 years in its fleet, but after the pandemic, only three have been reintroduced, which have the Abu Dhabi-London route as their sole operation, translating into an offer of 18,000 seats weekly.

In total, Etihad operates four daily flights between Abu Dhabi and London-Heathrow. In addition to the three operated with A380s, one is operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft.