Etihad focuses on first class, premium experience on high demand

Etihad Airways is enlarging its premium offering and paying more attention to the luxury passenger experience as demand for seats in the front of the plane grows to a record.

The Abu Dhabi carrier will increase the number of seats in premium economy and will bring back first class to almost its entire wide-body fleet as part of a retrofit programme, chief executive officer Antonoaldo Neves said in an interview.

The move will result in fewer seats in economy, typically the most densely occupied part of an aircraft. Etihad will instead tap into the growth potential of the business, first and premium economy cabins, Mr Neves said. 

The airline is also bringing back two additional Airbus SE A380 double-decker jets, which sport the so-called Residence, a three-room layout featuring a double bed, living area and shower cubicle.

While the airline had planned to retire the A380 after the pandemic, “the residence is booming, it’s doing very well”, Mr Neves said. 

“We’re investing a lot to improve the premium experience,” Mr Neves said after Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier reported record profit of S$896.5 million) for 2025.

Airlines are competing for premium travellers willing to spend more on the luxury experience aboard an aircraft.

Air France has rolled out la Premiere, a redesigned first-class cabin that the airline says is the closest you can get to a private-jet experience.

Emirates and British Airways are also working on new first-class cabins for their A380s, an aircraft that is no longer in production but remains a hit with the flying public.

Emirates, as part of its US$5 billion (S$6.33 billion) retrofit programme, is introducing the premium economy cabin to all its aircraft, scaling back lower-cost seats as demand for more expensive tickets grows. 

Airlines are also upgrading their lounges and adding high-end in-flight perks like caviar to more passengers to gain an edge over other carriers.

At the same time, Etihad has to “get creative” sourcing aircraft to meet demand as planemakers struggle to produce jets at a rate that can meet carriers’ growth, Mr Neves said.

Etihad is also having to navigate supply chain snags as it looks to source parts for its US$1 billion retrofit programme. 

“There are many, many challenges,” Mr Neves said. BLOOMBERG