A Guide to the Etihad Residence
An Etihad Airways Airbus A380 at Abu Dhabi Airport
What is it?
I did do an airline profile in July on Etihad Airways where I did talk about the Residence a little bit. However, I feel that the Etihad Residence is so unique, that I should do an entire post explaining what it is about. First of all, the Etihad Residence is the absolute best travel class/product/experience that you will get in commercial aviation. Period. No debate. It’s just that good.
Some people might debate that maybe Emirates’ or Singapore Airlines’ first-class products are better than The Residence, although they really can’t compete with having your own personal (on board and the ground) butler, an utterly private lounge, and a 3 room suite with a bedroom, living room, and bathroom (of course, with a shower). All this luxury does come at an expensive cost (I have never flown on it – and will probably never fly on the Residence) with prices up to $30,000 per ticket, one way. In this post, I will go deeper into what you get with The Residence, where it flies to, and more on how to book it.
The Residence Experience:
On The Ground:
First of all, The Residence is only available on Etihad’s A380s. There is one Residence suite on board each of Etihad’s 10 A380s. The suite is located on the top deck of the cabin in front of the regular first class and features a three-room suite. Please note that the Etihad Residence can be booked for one person, it can also technically fit two people.
On the ground, The Residence experience begins with being picked up from your house/hotel in a luxury chauffeur vehicle. At the airport, your bags are taken care of, and you will be escorted by an Etihad representative through security and immigration and will be then taken to the lounge. Inside select Etihad first class lounges (airports where A380s fly to), there is one (or two) private Residence room where you will be able to wait for your flight. At the lounge, there are couches, chairs, TVs, a shower room, private dining (personalized and from a chef; expect high-quality food), and a personal butler to take care of your needs on the ground. At any step of the way in the Residence experience on the ground, you will be escorted by an Etihad employee (unless you request otherwise) who will take care of all of the hassles that you think of at an airport such as carrying your bags, waiting in long lines, etc…
On Board:
On board, you will have access to a personalized butler who will take care of all of your needs. The Residence suite features a living room with a TV and a two-person couch, a bedroom with another TV and double bed (while it can fit two people, the bed is pretty small so that it will be a tight squeeze), and a private bathroom with a shower. You can request before the flight what you would like to eat on board, so you can have whatever you want on board. An onboard chef will cook your meal on board which will then be brought to your suite.
Please note that while the seat in the living room still is comfortable for eating and lounging, it does not recline, so only expect to be extremely comfortable if you are in the bed. Also, there is a 32-inch TV in the living room and multiple storage compartments. The bedroom features a twin bed with a 27-inch TV and is located towards the front of the suite. Also, before arrival, you can request to have breakfast in bed. Basically, on board and the ground in the lounge, if you ask anything that has to do with your Residence experience, your wish will be granted. That is a luxury that no other airline has in any class of service. The Residence indeed is above a first class product.
Where Does The Etihad Residence Fly To?
The Etihad Residence is available on all of Etihad’s ten A380s; you can fly The Residence on all of Etihad’s A380 routes. Etihad flew the A380 to both Melbourne, Australia and Mumbai, India in the past, although both of those routes have since been canceled. Etihad currently flies the A380 (with The Residence) from Abu Dhabi to the following destinations:
- – London Heathrow (LHR) – 3x Daily (ETD11, ETD17, ETD19)
- – New York JFK (JFK) – 2x Daily (ETD101, ETD103)
- – Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) – 1x Daily (ETD31)
- – Sydney (SYD) – 2x Daily (ETD450, ETD454)
Please note that the second daily flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris CDG uses a Boeing 777-300ER, not an A380.
Etihad A380 (With The Residence) Routes
Pricing…
The world’s best commercial aviation experience does come at a cost. A very, very high price. See the list below for the amount of money or the number of miles that you need to spend to be able to fly on the Etihad Residence per each route (one way):
- – London Heathrow – Abu Dhabi
- – Around 12,000 USD
- – 1,315,407 Etihad Guest Miles
- – 7h 15m Flight Duration
- – New York JFK – Abu Dhabi
- – Around 27,000 USD
- – 3,022,222 Etihad Guest Miles
- – 13h 10m Flight Duration
- – Paris CDG – Abu Dhabi
- – About 12,000 USD
- – 1339378 Etihad Guest Miles
- – 6h 50m Flight Duration
- – Sydney – Abu Dhabi
- – Approximately 29,000 USD
- – 2312550 Etihad Guest Miles
- – 14h 50m Flight Duration
It’s costly, even on medium haul flights. Do I recommend that you fly on the Etihad Residence? No – well, because 99.99% of all humans have no way that they can afford it – and even if they technically can afford it, why would you want to spend that much money just on a flight that lasts up to 15 hours? Now, for the best commercial in-flight experience, that may be a reasonable price. However, just the fact that it is so expensive makes it unfeasible for anyone who isn’t a multi-millionaire to even think about flying it. And if you are financially very well off and want an experience of a lifetime, then you will get the best in-flight experience in commercial aviation.
Bottom Line:
The Etihad Residence is the best travel class in the entire world of any airline. With a three-room suite, a private lounge, a butler, a personal shower, an onboard chef, and a real double bed at 40,000 feet, no airline has ever done something as extravagant as the Residence. It just is better than first class. Now, for many thousands of dollars, it is not affordable for the vast majority of people. But I am not saying that the Etihad Residence is overpriced – it is indeed a fantastic experience.
Further Reading:
Have you ever flown on the Etihad Residence? Share your experience below!
