Etihad Airways is bent its premium muscles as it unveils an all-new first and business class experience.
Abu Dhabi’s carrier announced the hotly expected cabin coming to the Airbus A321LR Jets on Monday. The first cabins are expected to be introduced into the fleet in the coming weeks and commercial operations will begin on August 1st.
The A321LR will be Etihad’s first single Isle plain with Lee Flat premium seats. A handful of other nose-to-tail upgrades are also expected.
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This is everything you need to know.
Etihad Airbus A321LR First Class
In front of the plane is Etihad’s all-new first class cabin.
These seats are located in an inverted herringbone configuration with sliding privacy doors and companion seating for companions to join and catch up to meals.
The suite also features a 20-inch 4K entertainment screen with Bluetooth connectivity and QI wireless charging pads.
This is the first time Etihad has offered a true first class product on a narrow body plane. “At that point, when you take off on an A380 in London or Paris, you make sure you get a consistent first product at your final destination, and you want to create a first class experience with that signature,” said Alik De, Etihad’s chief revenue and commercial officer.
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In addition to the seats themselves, Etihad brings its special first-class soft products to passengers sitting in one of these seats, from elevated dining to luxurious amenities.
Etihad markets and sells these seats as first class, but US-based travelers may be familiar with these products as “Business Class Plus.”
These seats will have more extra storage space and Ottoman and footwell areas due to curvature of the plane and bulkhead walls, and various airlines decide to charge extra space in a variety of ways.
In the US, most airlines simply charge a relatively modest seat upgrade fee in addition to business class fares to sit in one of these seats.
Meanwhile, Etihad will be all-in in first class.
“All airlines that have this business plus product don’t have first class in their DNA. So it’s a slightly different journey from us. Our journey is similar to what you’ve seen. Starlux, [which also offers first class in a bulkhead seat]”I explained.
Note that there is no cabin partition between the first and business class seats of these planes. Also note that bathroom access is shared between the two cabins.
Etihad Airbus A321LR Business Class
Etihad also offers 14 business class pods on the Airbus A321LR.
These seats are also located in the 1-1 configuration, but have slightly less space than first class seats.
They face towards the window and offer a little more privacy than the pod heading towards similar aisles, but no sliding doors.
Etihad considered adding doors to these seats, but there is an interesting reason why the airline didn’t choose it.
The doors are heavy and Etihad works in one of the hottest regions in the world. If Etihad installs doors in business class, the scope of these jets must be limited. These jets partially beat the purpose of getting the A321 LR, or long-range variant.
It was a “trade-off,” De explained. He reiterated that Biz passengers should enjoy the onboard experience even without the door.
In terms of connectivity, business class passengers can expect a 17.3-inch 4K TV screen, Bluetooth wireless connection and QI wireless charging pad.
Additionally, the airline has all A321LRs equipped with ViaSat Satellite Wi-Fi and offers Flyers streaming services on routes operated by this plane. Please note that Etihad offers free Wi-Fi to some premium passengers and free messaging to everyone else.
Etihad Airbus A321LR Economy Class
The rest of the plane has 144 economy seats, of which 36 have extra legroom.
The seat is 18.4 inches wide and comes with a 13.3 inch 4K seatback monitor and USB charging port.
Etihad says it “s aiming to provide a wide range of comfort for narrow-body aircraft,” but you’ll have to wait until you try it yourself to decide whether to agree with that assessment.
Etihad Airbus A321LR Strategy
Etihad will receive 10 new Airbus A321LR jets by the end of the year, with three deployment plans.
The first is introducing first-class and business-class suites to markets that are not ready for wide-body capabilities, DE explained. Examples of markets include Chiang Mai in Thailand and Algiers in Algeria.
The second style of destination is in the approximately four hour radius of Abu Dhabi, but it guarantees a premium-rich product. “A great example of this is the Seychelles,” De said.
Finally, the Airbus A321LR will be deployed in some business markets so that Etihad can provide more frequency. One such example is Paris. This isn’t ready for a third wide body flight, but according to DE, it can work out with an additional 160 seats (A321LR).
De said the team will continue to evaluate their deployment strategies and update them as needed.
Additionally, De said the airline would deploy these new cabins across other narrow body aircraft serving similar mid-range markets, but he stopped providing more details.
What’s coming next
The A321LR cabin Usher is a new narrow body passenger experience for Etihad, but there are significant changes on the horizon.
De teased a few updates coming in the coming months. This is all part of the Airline’s Journey 2030 vision, including a larger fleet, more passenger traffic and a much expanded network.
“Our 787-9, 787-10 and 777S will all go through the renovation program. We’ll probably release details about the cabin in six months, but everything will be uplifting. That’s a billion-dollar project.”
Another cabin that will be quickly strengthened is the residence on the Airbus A380 in Etihad apartments in Etihad.
“It’s time to refresh a little,” DE said.
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