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Etihad operates three different types of aircraft on its route between London and Abu Dhabi but for various reasons, the Airbus A380 seems to remain the more popular of the three.
At the end of last month, the Etihad schedules were updated to show the A380 dropping from 14 to 12 weekly frequencies on the London route for part of winter 2024/25 and now, following a further schedule update, it looks like Etihad plans to keep that reduction in place for considerably longer.
The Etihad A380
It’s more than just nostalgia and the joy at seeing an aircraft that was never meant to fly again (in Etihad livery) that makes the A380 the most popular aircraft in the Etihad fleet.
For most passengers flying between Abu Dhabi and London, the A380 offers by far and away the more comfortable experience of the three options available.
Starting a the pointy (and least important) end of the aircraft, the A380 offers an excellent Fist Class cabin complete with 9 suites.
The Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft that share the London route with the A380 don’t offer a First Class cabin.
Moving back into Business Class, the A380’s cabin is considerably older than the cabins you’ll find on the 787s, but the seats on the A380 offer more width than the seats on the Boeings (22″ v 21″) and in lie-flat mode, the beds for the forward facing seats in A380 are longer (80.5″ v 78.0″ or 75.7″).
There’s no option of a Premium Economy cabin on any of Etihad’s aircraft, so the final cabin to compare is the Economy Class cabin. The cabin that most people get to experience on the Abu Dhabi – London route. The most important cabin.
In Economy Class, where the 787 Dreamliners’ Economy Class seats offer passengers between 17.1″ and 17.2″ of seat width, the A380 offer almost 19″.
Where the most pitch (legroom) that you’ll find on the Dreamliners (outside of an exit row seat is 31″), at least 68 Economy Class seats on the A380 offer 32″ of pitch.
That one inch of pitch may not sound like a big difference, but on a long-haul flight it can be the difference between an uncomfortable or comfortable experience.
Overall, from a passenger comfort standpoint, the Etihad A380 is the aircraft to choose if you’re flying between Abu Dhabi and London.
The A380 cuts are here to stay for longer
We already knew that Etihad was removing 2 weekly frequencies on the Abu Dhabi – London route for the period 27 October 2024 to 31 January 2025, and the expectation was that the airline would go back to offering 14x A380 flights on this route from no later than 1 April (when the summer season begins).
That, however, is no longer the plan.
For most of the winter season, this is what Etihad’s schedule currently looks like
EY061 AUH 02:40 – 06:45 LHR (Daily A380 service)
EY063 AUH 08:05 – 12:05 LHR (Daily 787-10 service)
EY065 AUH 10:30 – 14:30 LHR (Daily 787-9 service)
EY067 AUH 14:20 – 18:25 LHR (A380 service on Wed – Sun)
EY067 AUH 14:25 – 18:10 LHR (787-9 service on Mon & Tue)
EY062 LHR 09:00 – 19:50 AUH (Daily A380 service)
EY064 LHR 13:55 – 00:50+1 day AUH (Daily 787-10 service)
EY066 LHR 19:20 – 06:15+1 day AUH (Daily 787-9 service)
EY068 LHR 20:55 – 07:45+1 day AUH (A380 service on Wed – Sun)
EY068 LHR 20:55 – 07:45+1 day AUH (787-9 service on Mon & Tue)
So, if you’d like to catch the last flight of the day out of either Abu Dhabi or London, the Monday and Tuesday flights are the ones to avoid if you’d like to fly on the A380.
The schedule is now set to continue only offering 12 weekly A380 flights until at least 1 July 2025.
Once the summer season comes around, this is what the schedule is expected to look like (this may change):
EY061 AUH 02:05 – 06:45 LHR (Daily A380 service)
EY063 AUH 08:05 – 12:45 LHR (Daily 787-10 service)
EY065 AUH 10:40 – 15:15 LHR (Daily 787-9 service)
EY067 AUH 14:15 – 18:45 LHR (A380 service on Wed – Sun)
EY067 AUH 14:15 – 18:45 LHR (787-9 service on Mon & Tue)
EY062 LHR 09:30 – 19:25 AUH (Daily A380 service)
EY064 LHR 14:50 – 00:45+1 day AUH (Daily 787-10 service)
EY066 LHR 20:55 – 06:45+1 day AUH (Daily 787-9 service)
EY068 LHR 21:55 – 07:45+1 day AUH (A380 service on Wed – Sun)
EY068 LHR 21:55 – 07:45+1 day AUH (787-9 service on Mon & Tue)
As you can see, there are a few timing differences compared to the bulk of the winter season, but the aircraft operating each flight number remain unchanged.
So if you want to make sure you fly on the A380 (as sure as you can be this far out), either book the first flight of the day out of Abu Dhabi or London or book the last flight of the day on any day but Monday and Tuesday.
Bottom line
We were expecting Etihad to resume 14 weekly A380 flights between Abu Dhabi and London for the summer season, but the airline’s most recent schedule update shows the 12 weekly A380 frequencies planned for the winter season being kept in place until at least 1 July 2025.
