Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) has officially outlined its initial A380-800 and B787-9 routes. In a statement, the Emirati carrier said its first B787-9 would enter service on December 1 on its Abu Dhabi International to Düsseldorf daily flight. Thereafter, the twinjet will be deployed on flights to Mumbai International and Washington Dulles effective January 1, 2015.
The airline has a total of seventy-one B787s scheduled for delivery between the end of 2014 and 2023, including 41 B787-9s and thirty B787-10s, making it the largest operator of the aircraft type in the world.
Two B787s are scheduled for delivery in the last quarter of this year with three due to arrive in 2015, three in 2016 and nine in 2017.
In reference to its A380s, Etihad will deploy its first twindeck quadjet on a daily London Heathrow rotation beginning December 27. Thereafter, a second A380 will operate on the same route beginning in the first quarter of 2015. By the end of 2015, Etihad Airways will have five of the type in operation, with plans to also introduce the type on long-haul flights to Sydney Kingsford Smith and New York JFK.
Etihad Airways has a total of ten A380s on order from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) of which four will arrive in 2015, three in 2016 and two in 2017.
Each aircraft is designed to carry 498 passengers in four separate classes onboard the aircraft including two Residence by Etihad VIP suites, nine First Class Apartments, 70 Business Class Studios, and 417 Economy Class seats.
