Etihad's A380 takes off: flurry of double-deckers over London Heathrow

It has been more than three years, but finally the A380 from Etihad Airways. After months of announcements, work and rumors it is now official: on July 25 it takes off from the international airport Abu Dhabi the "giant of the skies" with its exclusive first class called The Residence: destination London Heathrow.

The Big Comeback in Abu Dhabi

For now, only one of the ten aircraft in Etihad's fleet is entering service. Two more planes are expected to come out of the "maintenance phase" shortly, but the Emirates airline's goal is to restore by the end of the year four A380s.

All of the double-decker will fly the Abu Dhabi-London Heathrow route for the time being, but the goal is to expand the network served by the "sexiest" aircraft on the market.

The first A380 to enter service has undergone heavy maintenance and overhaul work - lasting 6 years - at the workshops of Etihad Engineering.

Preparing the first A380 for its return to service, in fact, Etihad removed, inspected, upgraded and reinstalled all of the aircraft's interior, which features nine first-class "The Residence" suites, 70 Business Studios on the upper deck and 405 seats in Economy. Changes were even made to the chassis, and the four engines were disassembled, cleaned, upgraded, and reassembled.

A long road, also interrupted by the pandemic when the company "parked" these types of aircraft waiting to see if they would still be useful to operate after the restrictions.

The luxury three-room apartment The Residence

As we have already mentioned, at aboard Etihad's A380s there is the one that in previous years had been recognized as the best and most exclusive First cabin in the world, which even surpasses Singapore Airlines' incredible first class.

The Residence is a three-room cabin for the exclusive use of one passenger, or two if traveling as a couple, featuring a living room, bedroom and private bathroom. Never has anyone thought of installing such a cabin aboard an airplane.

The apartment has a bathroom with shower, private bedroom and, as if that were not enough, a stay separate where to work, relax or eat a meal from the a la carte menu.

The suite can accommodate up to 2 people with at their service an entire staff, thanks to the VIP Travel Concierge, who is available to guests throughout the entire trip, from when the limousine takes you to the private lounge at the airport until you get on the plane.

Who flies the A380 from Heathrow.

When the pandemic broke out in spring 2020, in fact, many airlines have grounded almost the entire fleet and launched drastic plans to cut costs and ban the least efficient and oldest aircraft.

The A380, the giant of the skies, has been retired immediately from Air France, while other companies waited to make the final decision. So in recent months we have seen the iconic double-decker planes flying again with British Airways, Singapore, Lufthansa, Qantas, and even surprisingly that of Qatar (which, however, has already embarked on the divestment process, ed.).

Thus, in July, as many as six airlines are flying Airbus A380s to and from London Heathrow. With the return of Etihad, London's busiest airport maintains its leadership as the busiest airport for the giants of the skies.

In 2019 there were eight airlines operating the A380 at Heathrow four years ago. By 2021-at the height of the pandemic-only Emirates was left to continue operations.

Today, however, there is Etihad joining British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Qantas. On roll call, compared to four years ago, Thai Airways are still missing - which does not plan to restore the double-decker-and Korean Air.

In this special ranking - compiled by Cirium - of the airports with the most A380s in service are Los Angeles and Sydney in second place (both with four carriers operating). Six airports, however, are home to three companies with their "giants of the skies" in motion: Bangkok, Seoul, New York Jfk, Melbourne, Tokyo Narita, and Singapore.

The future of Etihad's A380s

In total, Etihad has 10 A380s in its fleet, but the airline has not let on whether there is a plan to restore the other six aircraft as well. These had also been parked under the leadership of the previous ceo, Tony Douglas, who had said, "It is highly unlikely that they will return to service, but we do not rule out the possibility of reinstating them if the economic conditions are right."

It all depends on the market, then, and if demand in recent months continues to remain very high-especially on some international routes-we may even see the return to the skies of more double-deckers: probably with destination New York, Sydney, Paris or Seoul.

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