Abu Dhabi: UAE's national carrier Etihad Airways landed its iconic Airbus A380 super jumbo jet in Mumbai on Sunday evening, signalling the start of its celebrations marking 20 years of flying to India.
The airline is operating its superjumbo between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi for a limited time only, with three flights per week until the December 31, the airline said in a statement issued Tuesday.
The deployment of the A380 on the Abu Dhabi – Mumbai route marks the airline’s 20th anniversary since its inaugural flight to the city.
In an earlier statement, Arik De, Etihad’s Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer, said, “To kick off our celebrations for 20 years of service to Mumbai and India, we are thrilled to introduce our A380 on the Mumbai route.”
He added, “While this iconic aircraft is typically reserved for long-haul journeys, for our 20 years of celebrations of flying to India, we will showcase the A380 on three-days a week for a period of four months.”
Etihad Airways has been redeploying ten of its superjumbo aircraft since its London relaunch last year. The airline stopped its A380 services following the pandemic in 2020, grounding all 10 of the super-jumbo aircraft in its fleet. The super-jumbo features Etihad’s iconic Residence—a three-room suite in the sky, Business class, and Economy seats.
Etihad has resumed its Airbus A380 double-decker service to New York and Boston in the United States earlier this year.
In Europe, Etihad Airways, announced plans to resume its Airbus A380 services to Paris starting November 1.
It will also start flying its A380 double-decker to Singapore from February 1, 2025. And also boost its flights to Thailand to 41 per week from October 27, this year, up from the current 35 flights, as part of its Asia expansion plans.
The new schedule will include 21 flights to Bangkok and 20 to Phuket, compared to the current 18 and 17 flights, respectively.
