First Flight! Etihad A380 Inaugural Business Class Trip Report

[@paulkazzer]

I hope Etihad’s A380 joins its cousins on the route to Sydney again. What a wonderful experience you enjoyed.

[@diannewi]

What a great flight experience, beginning to end. The gulf airlines know how to deliver both hard and soft products. I'm glad to see the A380 back in service with more carriers.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Couldn't agree more!

[@datatech2663]

I love A380. I would fly her anytime

[@thedesignairvideo]

Us too!

[@mnowell88]

Omg just book a business flight with them! Super excited!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@achmadosman9807]

Yes yes yes - will fly A380 again, if I can

[@thedesignairvideo]

Great! Fingers crossed its soon!

[@daviddewhurst4708]

I appreciated the detail in your video!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Means a lot, thanks for the comment!

[@MH-gh]

@ 2:53 Like a Boss😎…😅😂Excellent Review as always👌🏻

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks so much! #bosslevel! 😂

[@stevene465]

Glad it’s back having traveled on the London/Sydney sector round trip a few times it’s a truly great carrier and first was unbelievably luxe- great video Thankyou

[@thedesignairvideo]

Totally agree! And thanks for the feedback!

[@gunvaldsandhaland7757]

I Love To Be A Passenger On The A380,And I Like The Small Aboard Bar.Love The Outside Camera.Great Trip Report

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks a lot!

[@franklinloo2160]

Nice review. Love the Inflight meals and soft product ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💐

[@thedesignairvideo]

So many hearts! I'm guessing you are really loving it haha!

[@zizulry]

Magnificent, I can't wait to fly the A380 on JFK-AUH!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Let me know how it goes when you do!

[@abiezermoyet22]

I really enjoy your trip reports. I do think however for various reasons that you should consider blurring the face of strangers on your videos.

[@exmoorfarmer4880]

Massive Etihad fan. I always take a stop and a change to get to Delhi rather than fly BA and pay their outrageous prices for a substandard product. Flying to Delhi in a couple of weeks and Business Return for well under £2K. I love the A380.

[@sarahp3071]

Such an elegant graceful airline . Beautiful design and impeccable attention to detail. Helpfully critiqued by DesignAir , who can always be relied upon to give an excellent report with integrity and professionalism.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks a lot! Always wonderful to get such positive feedback

[@erwindesilva4185]

Jonny, an overlooked feature in all reviews I've seen is the amazing pneumatic seat which I love. Etihad's business suite must be the only one in the skies with this. Not only can you choose how hard of soft you have your seat but it also seems to alters the pressure slightly periodically too so like air-flow mattresses in hospital, redistributes weight making it a lot more comfortable than just a passive cushion.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Hi Erwin, yes, it's a great feature, even though sometimes it's a little hit and miss, and actually Etihad aren't the only carrier to offer this, Swiss and a few other carriers as well offer pneumatic seat controls. I think it's an option on the Thompson Vantage range of seats as a whole.

[@erwindesilva4185]

@@thedesignairvideo thank you. It's great to know. It was hilarious sleeping the first time and, as it changes pressure, wondering 'who' was making that hissing noise. Surely not me!

[@mistersuisse2864]

I will be on that big bird next month going to LHR , I’ll let you know

[@thedesignairvideo]

Let us know how it goes!

[@takuyasaphea7278]

Wow that Was a good detailed Review. If i would get a chance to fly with it, i would Do it. Thanks for the insight of the airplanes cabin.. I have never Been on the A380..

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you so much!

[@TheFilipinoTraveler]

Great trip report! Nice to see the Armani Casa range on Etihad. I don´t think there´s a lot of airlines offering this luxury ;)

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks a lot!

[@MrPerfusionist]

Great video!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks!

[@horus808]

Great review ❤

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you! 🤗

[@GenkisTravels]

Love to see it back in action!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Me too, it's an elegant livery for such a large aircraft.

[@agill2103]

Nice

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks

[@clausstimpfig3803]

stunning your are one of the most elegant guys around with the exception of my husband OF COURSE Thnx for that very good video.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Why thank you!

[@georgewest3926]

Pure quality 👌

[@timmay444]

Great video. Are they offering First Class now the A380 is back? I flew LHR to SYD in Business earlier in the year (787/777) but First wasn't available.

[@kukiichaa]

why dont u try qatar airways q suite? i'd love to watch!!

[@peterdelight513]

You single??

[@johniii8147]

I'm not a fan of sweets any more but the cupcakes were very cute I agree. And there you go pinching again. LMAO

[@NikCan66]

First time to come across your site. Very honest opinions and if I got the chance I would like to fly the A380 at some point. But the aircraft doesnt fly to Dublin Ireland is a disappointing one.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks so much, i hope you have subscribed!

[@Richard.Charles.S]

Hi Jonny, It looks like a really lovely product. I love your incredibly helpful and Interesting vloggs, & would like to know if you recommend this new product over Qatar Airways Business Class? To me it really takes a lot of beating. Regards Richard 😉

[@thedesignairvideo]

I like Etihad and Oman and Gulf Air a lot, because of their boutique nature, and I feel they allow their crew to have a bit more personality. Qatar has a good hard product, but there's something magical about these smaller carriers.

[@Richard.Charles.S]

@@thedesignairvideo Jonny Thanks for your kind response. I will certainly give them a try based on your reply 😉

[@anthonyortiz2128]

😍😍

[@nayanapatel-ny1ti]

hi....do they weight the carry on luggage for business class ..and how many piece one would take ?

[@IkeTravels]

Great video!! Keep them coming :)

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thank you! Will do!

[@henrysteppel2031]

Great video! Yes indeed,I would fly Etihad,oh yes!

[@thedesignairvideo]

Good choice!

[@davidbalcon8726]

Nice to see the A380 back in service. I flew it in an Apartment late February 2020 from AUH-ICN (originating from JNB on a 787 in business) just as COVID arrived in Korea! Look forward to flying Etihad again on next year’s travels. BTW did you actually liberate the salt/pepper container? And what was in the black box that appears in some B-roll cutaways throughout the flight…and that dish of white packages at check-in?

[@thedesignairvideo]

Yes, the salt and pepper pinch pot is living a new life in my kitchen, and as for the black box, do you mean the gift box of chocolates? Sorry, should have highlighted that.

[@heidibaum4270]

Do you visit abu dhabi often?

[@thedesignairvideo]

Once or twice a year!

[@abdulrahmanalali51]

Hey Jonny

[@jimmurphy4703]

No I will not be taking Etihad again after a dismal performance on the last A380 flight! Emirates will be my preferred international carrier from now on .

[@mindwalk2007]

Firstly, I don't understand the need for rear facing seats. They have no place on an aircraft. Secondly, those wheeled cases should be in the baggage hold and not on the aircraft. If the flight ewas to hit some seriously heavy turbulence the they could come flying out of the overhead bins and cause srious injury. Thirdly, that was just a plate of cold roast beef. Carpaccio is RAW beef fillet that does not under go any form of cooking.

[@jimmurphy4703]

A nice report but an over use of superlatives made me smile 😂

[@charleshamilton9274]

I was groovin’ on this until a rear-facing seat was mentioned. No way, ever. 👎

[@thedesignairvideo]

I'm curious to know why they are a turn off, as the experience is identical, is it a matter of perception?

[@jimmurphy4703]

@@thedesignairvideo yes it is the perception of just being wrong on take off and landing , in between it’s ok

[@charlesduran8700]

Emirates still does it better

[@ljolley]

The guy in the background at 05:37 trying to take a selfie while sipping his champagne 🤣

[@Lightandangles]

😂

[@roxanneglans7251]

Really enjoying your vlogs, lovely and informative! But would love to know what prices you're paying for all the flights you take please

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks for the feedback, I will include prices going forward!

[@tjittekamminga5170]

lovely cabin(s) and catering!

[@OnThaMove]

There is no way in the world that you would ever get a proper carpaccio of anything from a US airline. What an amazing experience!

[@thedesignairvideo]

I agree there! It really was an amazing experience.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

US carriers are hard-nosed. Just look at the latest reports that AA is no longer serving real Champagne (although this may only be for domestic flights).

[@swgl2245]

Flying first class domestically next week in the U.S. It most likely will not be anywhere close to flying internationally on the Etihad.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@swgl2245 To be fair domestic air service is the poor relation of international service. Just look at what we Europeans get on our domestic flights !

[@Ianhoward1411]

Great video, but we need prices please, to tempt us all…

[@mohammadislam2652]

Good video TheDesignAir

[@BIGJATPSU]

Your review convinced me when I saw you watching Family Guy. 😅😅😅😅

[@thedesignairvideo]

It's my go to sometimes, and it's nice to see Etihad don't edit it!

[@swgl2245]

Amazing video! Thank you for showing the passenger side of the Etihad. It was amazing to watch the inaugural live stream of the Etihad A380 landing at Heathrow.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mogsyman]

I flew Business Heathrow to Manila return July 2023 on a Dreamliner there and back via AD and it was truly shocking. For a relatively new aircraft it was knackered, crew were OK, food not brilliant, nowhere near Emirates and an utter disappointment. Shame, the A380 was back on the Heathrow run to AD the following week, it looks a lot better.

[@jimmurphy4703]

Still a shadow of their offering around the “ Reimagined “ era ! 2012 it was superb ❤

[@johniii8147]

You mean when they were bleeding cash and had to do total reset?

[@jimmurphy4703]

@@johniii8147 I think you will find the bleeding was caused by terrible decisions on airline partnerships rather than trimming the hospitality aspect of the passengers fares .

[@jimmurphy4703]

@@johniii8147 I think you will find the bleeding was caused by terrible decisions on airline partnerships rather than trimming the hospitality aspect of the passengers fares .

[@opfarhanyt3900]

can we take the pillow and sheet with us ?

[@thedesignairvideo]

Sadly not! I wish!

[@ohitsROME]

Loved this trip report of your experience! Would love to try their business class product someday!

[@colinrenfrew48]

A pity that the review is so gushing, as it devalues any observations. I felt I was watching an advert for the airline. Fluff.

[@Guido99]

Very nice video. Thank you very much. Love it.

[@thedesignairvideo]

Thanks so much for the kind words!