Miami: Etihad Airways is seeing strong passenger demand for its Airbus A380 service, which features the airlines three-room suite The Residence, James Hogan, president and chief executive, said on Monday.
Etihad recently introduced the A380 on the Sydney-Abu Dhabi service and also flies the world’s largest passenger jet to London Heathrow and New York’s JFK airport. It received its first A380 last December launching it on the London route.
“The A380 is running well over 85 per cent [occupancy],” Hogan told reporters at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meet in Miami.
Etihad’s A380’s can seat 496 people, including two in The Residence, meaning the airline is flying on average 421.5 passengers on each of its daily flights to Sydney and New York and twice daily services to London. Earlier on Monday, IATA said the average global airline seating occupancy this year would be 80.2 per cent.
While is Etihad is the youngest and smallest of the major Gulf carriers, all known for their innovative premium products, the others being Emirates and Qatar Airways, it was the first and so far only one to introduce a bedroom product, The Residence.
Hogan said there has been good demand for The Residence, which comes with it’s very own Savoy-trained butler and costs $20,000 for a one-way ticket from Abu Dhabi to London.
“We are very pleased with The Residence,” he said. However, he also mentioned that the airline will not be ordering anymore of the superjumbos.
“Ten is enough,” he said.
