Etihad Airways’ first three-cabin Boeing 777-300ER aircraft has departed on its maiden EY11 flight, from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow.
The new aircraft is configured with eight Diamond First Class Suites, 40 Pearl Business lie-flat beds, and 282 seats in Coral Economy.
The aircraft will be deployed on Etihad Airways’ “blue-ribbon” Abu Dhabi-London route, predominantly the EY11 and EY12 flights, boosting capacity by 13 percent. The additional business class capacity will cater for the high demand of business travelers taking the early morning flight from Abu Dhabi to London.
Etihad Airways will continue to operate its four other flights to and from London — EY17, EY18, EY19 and EY20 — with the airline’s already established three-class Airbus A340-600s.
Etihad Airways President and CEO James Hogan said: “Our guests on the Abu Dhabi-London route and elsewhere on our network of 87 destinations expect the very best product experience when flying with Etihad Airways.”
The existing two-class Boeing 777-300ERs first introduced in 2006 have proven themselves to be a favorite with our guests, and as the airline has gradually expanded, it has always been our intention to go three-class with this magnificent machine.
“During the next 18 months, we will take delivery of seven more Boeing 777-300ERs, taking our total number of passenger 777s to 18. Six of these will be three-class, and we look forward to unveiling more routes on which they will be deployed.”
