Etihad Airways Takes Delivery
of its First Airbus A 330-300

ABU DHABI — Etihad Airways on Thursday announced that it has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-300, configured with the airline’s new first, business and economy cabin products.

By T. Ramavarman

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Published: Fri 25 Dec 2009, 10:34 PM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 3:50 AM

The aircraft is the first of five new A330-300s the Abu Dhabi-based airline will take delivery of during the next two years and will shortly be deployed between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow, according to a release received here. The new aircraft can carry 12 passengers in first class, 40 passengers in business class and 151 passengers in economy class.

Etihad currently has two A340-600 aircraft configured with the new first class suite and the airline will retrofit nine A340s that are currently in service by December 2010.

The new first class cabin contains 12 individual suites which offer more privacy, greater comfort and increased storage, the release said. Each seat extends to a fully-flat bed that is 80.5 inches in length and each private suite is accessed by its own sliding door.

The business class cabin on the A330-300 is 25 per cent larger than any other aircraft in Etihad’s wide body fleet. A range of enhancements have been made to Etihad’s award-winning business class seat such as greater personal stowage, the addition of USB / RCA / iPod connectors, a large and easily accessible cocktail table, 15.4 inch touch screen and mechanically operated centre seat privacy divider, the release said. “The delivery of a new aircraft is a great moment for an airline but the new A330-300 is special for Etihad because it is the first time our customers can experience our new product in all three cabins,’’ the release said quoting James Hogan, the chief executive of the airline.

“Etihad always focuses on attention to detail and we believe there is no other airline flying today that can provide the same high levels of luxury across all three cabins. Our first class suite has been a huge success since its launch earlier in the year and we are sure the new business and economy cabin product will be just as popular with our customers,” Hogan said.

· ramavarman@khaleejtimes.ae


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