An Etihad Airways' A380 plane touched down in Melbourne tonight, beginning a new era of luxury travel on the Melbourne-Abu Dhabi route.

Also, a state-of-the-art Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner arrived in Perth today after its inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi, marking another milestone for the airline.

The A380 on the Abu Dhabi-Melbourne route features The Residence, the world’s first three-room private suite on a commercial aircraft, as well as ground-breaking innovations in all cabins.

The inaugural Abu Dhabi-Melbourne A380 flight – EY460 – departed Abu Dhabi Airport at 10.15pm last night and is scheduled to arrive at Melbourne Airport at 5.45pm this evening (local time). The aircraft, in the airline’s eye-catching ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi livery, will be welcomed to the Victorian capital by a traditional water cannon salute. The return Melbourne-Abu Dhabi flight – EY461 – will depart Melbourne at 10.10pm tonight.

From today, the flagship superjumbo will operate one of the airline’s double daily flights between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi. It will replace one of the three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft deployed on the route.

Etihad Airways senior vice president of marketing, Shane O’Hare, said: “Today marks another major milestone for Etihad Airways in Australia.

“With Melbourne joining our A380 network, Australia is the only country in our global network with daily A380 services to two cities – Melbourne and Sydney.

“Deploying our latest technology aircraft and class-leading product and service to Australia recognises its importance to our business and the strong demand from Australian travellers for premium travel experiences.

“From the product and service innovations in every cabin to our inspired approach to hospitality, the Etihad Airways A380 offers touches of luxury to every guest and sets the benchmark for inflight comfort, entertainment, connectivity and service.

“As an added bonus for guests whose destination is London, we now offer the convenience and class-leading comfort of an all-A380 service all the way.”

The A380 will increase the total number of two-way seats on the Melbourne-Abu Dhabi route by 26 per cent to more than 11,500 seats per week."

O’Hare said this would ease the capacity constraints on the Melbourne-Abu Dhabi, particularly for business and premium leisure travel.

“Our Abu Dhabi to Melbourne services generate very high seat load factors year-round.

“The A380, with 70 seats in business class, enables us to better meet the demand we have for our premium cabins and will boost our market share of this important segment.”

Lyell Strambi, CEO Melbourne Airport, said: “We are delighted to welcome Etihad’s flagship service, the Airbus A380, to Melbourne Airport.
 
“Our partnership with Etihad continues to go from strength to strength since the airline’s arrival to Melbourne Airport in 2009. Last year we were thrilled by the introduction of a second daily service between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi and a new Premium Lounge opened at Melbourne Airport last month. Now, capacity has been increased again with the upgauge to an A380, replacing one of the airline’s daily 777 services.”
 
“Entrenched in Melbourne life, particularly in our sporting culture, Etihad’s name looms large over our city’s second biggest stadium and the airline is the principal partner of the Melbourne City Football Club.”
 
“The Melbourne to Abu Dhabi route is an important connector for Victorians to Europe with this market already experiencing considerable growth since Etihad’s second daily service commenced last August.”

“The arrival of Etihad’s A380 is a great show of commitment to Melbourne and Victoria by this important airline partner and plays an important part in meeting our expected growth in passenger numbers.”

Etihad Airways’ A380 carries 496 passengers in a four-class configuration: The Residence, First Apartments, Business Studios and Economy Smart Seats. It offers an unprecedented level of luxury, space and privacy in the most highly customised cabin interior in commercial aviation

A round trip fare for The Residence between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi is A$70,900 ($51,439) plus applicable taxes, and between Melbourne and London A$111,200 ($80,677.8) plus applicable taxes.

Etihad's 787-9 Dreamliner, which touched down in Perth today, took off from Abu Dhabi at 10.30pm yesterday. The return flight EY487 will depart Perth this evening at 5pm and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 12:25am on June 3.

The B787-9 Dreamliner features Etihad Airways’ next-generation Business and Economy Class cabins. With 299 seats, it delivers 14 per cent more capacity than the Airbus A330-200 it replaces. In the high-demand Business Class cabin, it offers 27 per cent more seats.

O’Hare, said the decision to upgrade to the Dreamliner reflected the importance of Western Australia to Etihad Airways.

“Since launching flights between Perth and Abu Dhabi two years ago we have enjoyed strong two-way demand from business and leisure travellers on the route.

“The Dreamliner, which adds 518 weekly seats to the route, gives us the extra capacity needed to meet this ever-increasing demand.

“It also enables our guests to experience the luxury, comfort and hospitality for which Etihad Airways is world-renowned.

“Our Dreamliners, with ground-breaking innovations in all cabins, have raised the passenger experience bar, setting the benchmark in world aviation for superior comfort, entertainment, inflight connectivity, and service.”

The Etihad Airways B787-9 Dreamliner features the airline’s highly acclaimed next-generation interiors with 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats.

The onboard décor and lighting have been inspired by contemporary modern Arabian design, complementing the airline’s eye-catching ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ livery.

The 28 Business Studios all offer direct aisle access, a fully flat bed of up to 80.5 inches long, and an increase of 20 per cent in personal space. Upholstered in the finest Poltrona Frau leather, the Business Studio is equipped with an in-seat massage and pneumatic cushion control system which enables guests to adjust the firmness and comfort of their seat. Each Business Studio has an 18-inch personal touch-screen TV with noise-cancelling headsets.

The 271 Economy Smart Seats provide enhanced comfort with a unique ‘fixed wing’ headrest on each seat, adjustable lumbar support, a seat width of approximately 19 inches, and an 11.1-inch personal TV monitor.

The Dreamliner fleet features the latest Panasonic eX3 entertainment system which provides more than 750 hours of on-demand entertainment including seven live TV channels, improved gaming and high definition screens across all cabins. The aircraft has full mobile and Wi-Fi service, with USB and power points at every seat. - TradeArabia News Service