A Look Inside The Etihad Airways Airbus A380 Re-Inaugural To New York JFK

Last November, Etihad Airways announced it would begin deploying its Airbus A380s from Abu Dhabi to New York today. At the time of writing, the re-inaugural is less than 40 minutes away from landing in the United States.

A380 back to New York

The Airbus A380 is a unique aircraft in many ways. Notably, it is the only passenger aircraft to have two full levels, unlike the Boeing 747, which only had an upper level near the front of the aircraft. It is one of the few passenger aircraft in commercial aviation with four engines, and it has allowed airlines to introduce several unique products, like Etihad’s ‘The Residence.’

Photo: Etihad Airways

When the Gulf carrier announced it would deploy its Airbus A380s to John F. Kennedy International Airport again, it was undoubtedly exciting news for several people, including the airline. Earlier today, flight EY1 departed Abu Dhabi International Airport at 04:00 and is set to touch down at JFK at 09:43. The flight is operated by A6-API, a seven-year-old A380 delivered to Etihad in October 2016.

Unique hospitality

Brazilian frequent flier (freakwentflyer on Instagram) Lays Laraya, known for her crazy adventures worldwide, is on the inaugural flight and shared several highlights about the experience. Laraya, who works in the hospitality industry in Dubai, loves to highlight excellent hospitality during her travels, and yesterday, it all started at the lounge. Before her trip, she got her nails done to commemorate the flight, painting the flight number, aircraft type, and even the aircraft’s tail number. This is where Etihad begins to show how unique it is.

Anyone who follows the aviation industry knows that things change in a matter of seconds. Though the flight was to be operated by an A380, the tail number could have changed at any moment, and if that happened, Laraya would have the wrong tail number on her nails. Laraya booked a first class ticket on the flight, which gave her access to the First Class Lounge at AUH. Upon her arrival at the lounge, one of the Etihad staff told her they had some nail polish for her in case anything happened last minute.

Moving on to the flight, Etihad pulled out all the stops to celebrate the monumental flight. In first class, Laraya showed several gift bags that Etihad prepared, and it looked like someone was having a birthday party, with most bags branded with ‘I❤️A380’ and NYC artwork. One of the first things that Laraya opened was the amenity kit, which was so massive that she did not think it was the amenity kit.

This is where Etihad once again showed an incredible, personal touch. The amenity kit featured pajamas with Larayas’ initials sewn on one sleeve and ‘JFK A380’ on the other. Laraya continued her posts by opening each item at the seat, and the second was a mug with ‘I❤️A380’ on it. The next thing she opened excited her greatly, and it would excite any avgeek. It was an A380 plane model with the Etihad livery, and Laraya shared her excitement about adding another A380 to her collection.

Next, Etihad gifted passengers with some English tea straight from a store in London, and the tea came with a handwritten, personalized note. Finally, Laraya’s final gift was a jar of Nutella, which is her signature gift for flight crew when she flies (which is nearly every weekend).

A quick word from the CEO

Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves was on the flight and remarked,

“This is a very important flight for us… We have worked very hard to make sure that we can put this amazing product for you to enjoy it to the US, an extremely important market for us.”

Neves highlighted that the airline flies to New York, Chicago, and Boston, which was recently inaugurated. He thanked Etihad’s staff, especially its flight attendants and pilots. The airline’s A380 flight to JFK is one of two daily to JFK, and the other flight is operated by the Boeing 787.