Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) says it will reactivate four of its A380-800s during the Summer 2023 season to operate its Abu Dhabi International-London Heathrow route.
The Emirati carrier did not provide the exact dates for the planned reactivations of the quadjets. The ch-aviation fleets module shows that its fleet includes ten A380s. The aircraft are 7.4 years old on average and have been in storage since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Contrary to its regional rivals Emirates (which never fully paused A380 operations) and Qatar Airways (which has now reactivated eight of its ten units), Etihad was much less committed to bringing the type back into service. In the early phase of the pandemic, it considered the type permanently retired, but as demand started to return it also resumed its analysis of the A380.
The carrier's A380s seat up to 486 passengers, including 325 in economy class, 80 in economy premium, 70 in business, and 11 in first class (including two in a "residence" suite).
Etihad Airways currently operates up to 4x daily between Abu Dhabi and Heathrow, using a mix of B787-9s, B787-10s, and A350-1000s, the ch-aviation fleets module shows. The airline said that the reactivation of the A380s would "free up capacity for increased frequencies on existing routes and the launch of new destinations".
The four reactivated A380s will be joined by five A320s in 2023, it added. It did not clarify whether it meant the reactivation of five of its A320-200s, the deliveries of the first five of twenty A321-200Ns on firm order, or a newly sourced aircraft. It did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
