Etihad's flagship Airbus A380 — and the exclusive Residence — is officially back in the US

23.04.2024 - 06:09 / thepointsguy.com / John F.Kennedy / Airlines

Etihad Airways' superjumbo — and the most exclusive cabin in commercial aviation — is once again flying to the U.S.

On Monday, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier resumed Airbus A380 service to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Etihad Flight 1 landed at JFK a bit behind schedule at 9:59 a.m., marking a major milestone for the airline as it charts a new path ahead from the depths of the pandemic.

"Etihad made me feel very welcome, just like I was flying in the Residence 10 years ago," said Gino Bertuccio, the passenger who splurged over $10,000 to sit in Etihad's Residence on the (re)inaugural flight Monday.

Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG's free biweekly Aviation newsletter.

(Bertuccio is no stranger to flying in the Residence. He's flown it six times, including on Etihad's Airbus A380 inaugural back in 2014. In total, he says he's flown on an A380 a whopping total of 116 times.)

Bertuccio and his entourage, which included the prolific Lays Laraya (known on social media as @freakwentflyer), were welcomed by a handful of members of the media at Etihad's recently reopened JFK lounge (which debuted in partnership with Chase).

Included in the manifest of passengers who had just arrived from Abu Dhabi were airline CEO Antonoaldo Neves and Dr. Nadia Bastaki, the carrier's chief human resources, organizational development and asset management officer.

"This is a major moment for Etihad," said Bastaki, about the return of the A380.

When the pandemic hit, Etihad sent its fleet of 10 Airbus A380s into long-term storage. Some aviation observers thought these planes would be permanently retired, but the airline brought them back last summer for service to London.

It was only a matter of time before they would come back to New York, Bastaki explained, given the city's prominence as one of the key gateways in Etihad's network of over 70 destinations.

Now, just over four years since the outset of the pandemic, Etihad has four A380s in the skies, with three more on their way back into service. They're flying once daily to New York, as well as two times a day to London. (The carrier was mum about where the A380 would fly to next, but another destination is expected to be announced soon.)

In New York, Etihad is now flying the A380 with the following schedule:

(The airline will continue flying a second daily frequency to New York on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.)

The double-decker A380 doesn't just represent a massive capacity increase on one of Etihad's key routes, but it also brings a jumbo upgrade to the passenger experience for flyers in all cabins, especially those with the deepest pockets.

That's because Etihad A380s feature the so-called Residence product, which is