Etihad Airways is flexing its premium muscle because it unveils an all-new first- and business-class expertise.
The Abu Dhabi provider on Monday introduced the hotly anticipated cabins coming to its Airbus A321LR jets, the primary of which is anticipated to be inducted into the fleet within the coming weeks and begin industrial operations on Aug. 1.
The A321LR might 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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Etihad Airbus A321LR top notch
Proper on the entrance of the airplane, you may 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 hitch 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 whenever 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,” stated Arik De, Etihad’s chief income and industrial officer.
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Along with the seat itself, Etihad will carry its signature first-class delicate product — from the elevated eating to the luxurious facilities — to passengers seated in one in every of these seats.
Whereas Etihad is advertising and marketing and promoting these seats as top notch, U.S.-based vacationers could be acquainted with these merchandise as “enterprise class plus.”
These seats have further cupboard space and a bigger ottoman and footwell space as a result of curvature of the airplane and the bulkhead wall, and totally different airways determine to cost for the additional house in numerous methods.
Within the U.S., most airways merely cost a comparatively modest seat improve charge on prime of a business-class fare to take a seat in one in every of these seats.
In the meantime, Etihad goes to go all-in on top notch.
“All of the airways which have this business-plus product do not have top notch of their DNA. So for them, it is a bit little bit of a unique journey than for us. Our journey is extra like what you’ve got 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 toilet entry will presumably be shared between the 2 cabins.
Etihad Airbus A321LR enterprise class
Etihad will even 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 the direction of the window, providing a bit extra privateness than related aisle-facing pods, however they haven’t any sliding doorways.
Whereas Etihad thought-about including doorways to those seats, there’s an attention-grabbing cause why the airline opted to not.
Door are heavy, and Etihad operates in one of many hottest areas on the planet. If Etihad have been to put in doorways in enterprise class, it must prohibit 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 get pleasure from 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 additional legroom.
The seats measure 18.4 inches extensive 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 determine if we concur with that evaluation.
Etihad Airbus A321LR technique
Etihad will obtain 10 new Airbus A321LR jets by the top of the 12 months, 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 fashion of vacation spot is one which’s in a roughly four-hour radius of Abu Dhabi, however that warrants a premium-heavy product. “An incredible instance of that’s the Seychelles,” stated De.
Lastly, the Airbus A321LR might 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 may do nicely with 160 extra seats (on the A321LR), in keeping with De.
De stated the group will consider how its deployment technique on an ongoing foundation and make updates as wanted.
Moreover, De talked about that the airline will even 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, greater modifications 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 greater fleet, extra passenger visitors and a considerably expanded community.
“Our 787- 9s, 787-10s, and 777s will all undergo a refurbishment program. We will announce the main points when it comes to the cabin, most likely in six months, however every little thing’s going to be uplifted. It is a billion-dollar venture,” stated 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 top of the 12 months.
“It is time to refresh it a bit bit,” stated De.
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