Etihad Airways is unlikely to welcome the Airbus A380 again to its fleet within the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown, chief government Tony Douglas has confirmed.
In an interview with the National, the aviation chief stated the biggest plane on the planet was not worthwhile to function.
“We have now taken the strategic determination to park the A380s, I’m certain it is extremely doubtless that we are going to not see them working with Etihad once more,” Douglas defined.
Airbus itself had beforehand stated it expects to cease manufacturing the plane sort this 12 months, whereas solely 4 have been delivered final 12 months.
Air France, Lufthansa and Qantas are among the many different carriers to have outlined plans to curtail using the A380 following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Etihad determination additionally means the top of the Residence, the ultra-exclusive personal cabin supplied on the A380.
Designed for up to two friends, the luxurious three-room condo options an en-suite bathe room, personal bed room and separate dwelling space.
A VIP journey concierge and devoted workforce are additionally available to maintain the whole lot for travellers, from the chauffeur-driven limousine to a non-public airport lounge.
Before the pandemic, the service was supplied on journeys from Abu Dhabi to London, New York, Sydney, Paris and Seoul.
Etihad, in contrast to fellow UAE-based airline Emirates, didn’t have a big fleet of A380s and solely operated ten prior to the pandemic.
The technique was comparable to Middle Eastern rival Qatar Airways, which can be downsizing its A380 fleet because it charts a post-pandemic restoration.
Qatar Airways has already retired half of its previously ten-aircraft-strong A380 fleet, primarily used on routes to standard European and Asian-Pacific cities.
Both Qatar Airways and Etihad have invested extra in twin-engine plane just like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 777X and Airbus A350 XWB.
British Airways has additionally despatched its A380 fleet into storage to journey out the pandemic.
Portuguese constitution airline Hi Fly started flying A380 cargo flights through the pandemic however finally parted with the plane in 2020 on the finish of its lease.
The Airbus A380 entered passenger service at a time when airways have been beginning to search for smaller plane and the pandemic solely accelerated its more and more short-lived tenure.
All Nippon Airways was the final new buyer to take supply of a brand new A380 in 2019, simply 14 years following the primary check flight in 2005.
Emirates will doubtless be the final service to fly the A380 because the world’s largest operator of the mannequin.
Airbus is gearing up for the ultimate supply, and has already trucked the ultimate fuselage to its Toulouse manufacturing facility.
More Information
Etihad Airways is taken into account the World’s Leading Airline by voters on the World Travel Awards.
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