Etihad Airways is flexing its premium muscle because it unveils an all-new first- and business-class expertise.
The Abu Dhabi service on Monday introduced the hotly anticipated cabins coming to its Airbus A321LR jets, the primary of which is predicted to be inducted into the fleet within the coming weeks and start business operations on Aug. 1.
The A321LR shall be Etihad’s first single-aisle airplane with lie-flat premium seats. A handful of different nose-to-tail upgrades are additionally anticipated.
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This is the whole lot it’s essential to know.
Etihad Airbus A321LR first-class
Proper on the entrance of the airplane, you will discover Etihad’s all-new first-class cabin, which consists of simply two seats in a 1-1 association.
These seats are organized in a reverse herringbone configuration with sliding privateness doorways and a buddy seat for a companion to affix for a meal or to catch up.
The suites additionally function a 20-inch 4K leisure display with Bluetooth connectivity and Qi wi-fi charging pads.
That is the primary time that Etihad will supply a real first-class product on a narrow-body airplane. “We wish to create that signature first-class expertise throughout from if you take off on an A380 in London or in Paris and and ensure you get a constant first product to your finish vacation spot,” mentioned Arik De, Etihad’s chief income and business officer.
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Along with the seat itself, Etihad will carry its signature first-class smooth product — from the elevated eating to the luxurious facilities — to passengers seated in certainly one of these seats.
Whereas Etihad is advertising and promoting these seats as first-class, U.S.-based vacationers may be conversant in these merchandise as “enterprise class plus.”
These seats have further cupboard space and a bigger ottoman and footwell space because of the curvature of the airplane and the bulkhead wall, and completely different airways resolve to cost for the additional house in several methods.
Within the U.S., most airways merely cost a comparatively modest seat improve price on prime of a business-class fare to take a seat in certainly one of these seats.
In the meantime, Etihad goes to go all-in on first-class.
“All of the airways which have this business-plus product do not have first-class of their DNA. So for them, it is somewhat little bit of a special journey than for us. Our journey is extra like what you have seen with Starlux, [which also offers first class in a bulkhead seat]” defined De.
Be aware that there will not be any cabin partitions between the first- and business-class seats on these planes, and bathroom entry will presumably be shared between the 2 cabins.
Etihad Airbus A321LR enterprise class
Etihad may also supply 14 business-class pods on the Airbus A321LR.
These seats are additionally organized in a 1-1 configuration, however they’ve barely much less house than the first-class seats.
They face in direction of the window, providing a bit extra privateness than related aisle-facing pods, however they have no sliding doorways.
Whereas Etihad thought-about including doorways to those seats, there’s an fascinating cause why the airline opted to not.
Door are heavy, and Etihad operates in one of many hottest areas on this planet. If Etihad had been to put in doorways in enterprise class, it must limit the vary of those jets, which partially defeats the aim of getting the LR, or long-range, variant of the A321.
It was a “tradeoff,” defined De, who reiterated that biz passengers ought to nonetheless take pleasure in their expertise onboard even with out doorways.
By way of connectivity, business-class passengers can count on a 17.3-inch 4K TV display, Bluetooth wi-fi connectivity and Qi wi-fi charging pads.
Moreover, the airline is equipping all of its A321LRs with Viasat satellite tv for pc Wi-Fi, giving flyers streaming-capable service on routes operated by this airplane. Be aware that Etihad gives free Wi-Fi for choose premium passengers and free messaging for everybody else.
Etihad Airbus A321LR economic system class
The remainder of the airplane has 144 economic system seats, 36 of which have further legroom.
The seats measure 18.4 inches broad and have a 13.3-inch 4K seat-back monitor, in addition to USB charging ports.
Etihad says that it goals to “present wide-body consolation to the narrow-body plane,” however we’ll want to attend till we attempt it ourselves to resolve if we concur with that evaluation.
Etihad Airbus A321LR technique
Etihad will obtain 10 new Airbus A321LR jets by the tip of the yr, and it has a three-pronged deployment plan.
The primary is to introduce first-class and business-class suites to markets that are not prepared for the capability of a wide-body, defined De. Instance markets embody Chiang Mai in Thailand and Algiers in Algeria.
The second type of vacation spot is one which’s in a roughly four-hour radius of Abu Dhabi, however that warrants a premium-heavy product. “An amazing instance of that’s the Seychelles,” mentioned De.
Lastly, the Airbus A321LR shall be deployed in choose enterprise markets to assist Etihad supply extra frequency. One such instance is Paris, which is not prepared for a third-daily wide-body flight, however might do nicely with 160 extra seats (on the A321LR), in keeping with De.
De mentioned the group will consider how its deployment technique on an ongoing foundation and make updates as wanted.
Moreover, De talked about that the airline may also roll out these new cabins throughout different narrow-body plane that serve related medium-range markets, however he stopped wanting offering extra particulars.
What’s coming subsequent
Whereas the A321LR cabins usher is a brand new narrow-body passenger expertise for Etihad, larger adjustments are on the horizon.
De teased a handful of updates coming within the subsequent few months, all a part of the airline’s Journey 2030 imaginative and prescient that features a larger fleet, extra passenger site visitors and a considerably expanded community.
“Our 787- 9s, 787-10s, and 777s will all undergo a refurbishment program. We will announce the small print by way of the cabin, in all probability in six months, however the whole lot’s going to be uplifted. It is a billion-dollar undertaking,” mentioned De.
The opposite cabin that’ll quickly be enhanced is the Residence, Etihad’s apartment-in-the-sky product on the Airbus A380, which is able to see some enchancment introduced by the tip of the yr.
“It is time to refresh it somewhat bit,” mentioned De.
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