Etihad boasts $32,000 3-room suite on flights to New York

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Residence, as Etihad Airways PJSC calls its $32,000 three-room suite, will be available on New York-Abu Dhabi flights in December when the airline puts an Airbus A380 superjumbo on the route instead of a Boeing 777. The living room, private bathroom and two-person bedroom are separated from other passengers in the nose of the doubledecker jet’s upper level, Bloomberg reports.

A private butler, who comes standard with a Residence fare, took visitors on a replica of the suite Monday, July 27, at the Global Business Travel Association convention in Orlando, Florida.

“We have experienced an overwhelmingly positive response to the Residence within the U.S. - beyond our expectations, in fact,” Etihad Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said. “We are seeing healthy forward bookings.”

Etihad spent six years developing the Residence and has deployed it on A380s on overseas routes, such as Abu Dhabi to London. New York will see the ultra-luxe offering starting on Dec 1. The airline sold its first New York Residence ticket within hours of announcing the switch to A380s in March.

There are no plans to offer the service in the U.S. outside of New York, Hogan said in an interview.

Etihad’s Persian Gulf rivals are upping their luxury games as well. Emirates, the region’s largest carrier, is developing a more-exclusive first-class offering featuring a bedroom concept. Qatar Airways has its own double-bed cabin in the works.