Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways celebrated the departure of its inaugural Airbus A380 flight at Abu Dhabi International Airport early Saturday morning.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the departure gate as part of the festivities, attended on behalf of Etihad Airways by Richard Hill, Chief Operations Officer, Chris Youlten, Senior Vice President Network Operations, Jeff Wilkinson, Senior Vice President Technical, Calum Laming, Vice President Guest Experience, and Aubrey Tiedt, Vice President Guest Services.
The event, which took place before Flight EY11 took-off to London Heathrow at 02.35am, was also attended by Eng. Ahmad Al Haddabi, Abu Dhabi Airports Chief Operations Officer.
Special gift packs were handed to guests on the inaugural flight, containing luggage tags, passport holders, commemorative A380 certificates and complimentary Wi-Fi vouchers.
In addition to being Etihad Airways’ first A380 service, the flight marked the debut of the airline’s new First Apartments, Business Studios and Economy Smart Seats, together with The Residence by Etihad — a three room suite with living room, bathroom and bedroom.
It was also the first flight to operate with Etihad Airways’ “Facets of Abu Dhabi” livery.
