Flying Etihad's A380 Inaugural! SUPERJUMBO Business Class + Full Aircraft Tour

Join us as we fly Etihad’s very first A380 flight after removing the superjumbo Airbus from storage. We’re on EY11 from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow in Upper Deck business class (seat 22K) - and we’re boarding early so that we can walk you through the entire aircraft, on both decks, and say a quick hello to the pilots too! Check out the beautiful economy class and find out which seats have the best engine view; take a peek at the ultra-luxurious Residence with its separate bedroom; tour the First Class Apartments and get our seat recommendations there too; and join us in business class where we’ll walk through the seat, the service, the food, the amenities, and show you all the inaugural flight goodies we got too. Watch a moody middle-of-the-night takeoff on this super-quiet beast of a plane, and a calm and lovely early morning arrival, with a fair bit of cloudsurfing, into London’s Heathrow Airport. Etihad has a very nice offering with its A380, and we’re looking forward to seeing more come back into the fold.
Flightradar24 playback for flight EY11 on July 25, 2023: www.flightradar24.com/data/fl...
Follow Flightradar24 on Instagram - / flightradar24
Follow Gabe on Instagram: / gabeleigh
Find us on Facebook - / flightradar24
Twitter - / flightradar24
LinkedIn - / 2740521
Jetphotos.com thumbnail image © Jeff M www.jetphotos.com/photo/11023625
SECTIONS:
00:22 Boarding the A380
01:27 Meeting the pilots
02:13 The Residence
02:37 First Class
02:53 Business Class
03:08 Economy Class
05:03 In Business seat 22K
06:31 The A380 magic
07:01 Inaugural goodies
08:20 Amenity kit contents
09:42 Takeoff
12:09 Drinks & meal service
12:59 The bed
14:10 Breakfast
14:29 Business class bar/lounge
15:04 Descent to London
16:21 Landing
-------------------------------------------
Useful flight tracking links:
✈️ Track live flights here - www.flightradar24.com
🎧 Listen to our podcast here - www.flightradar24.com/blog/av...
🛩️ Find out more about subscriptions here - www.flightradar24.com/premium
📕 Read our flight tracking glossary here - www.flightradar24.com/glossary
📧 Sign up to our Aviation newsletter - www.flightradar24.com/blog/on...
#Etihad #A380 #aviation

[@valeriashibaeva8913]

Never flew the a380 myself, but I know that my parents accidentaly flew it when the plane they were supposed to fly turned out to be overbooked. As they said, it was a great experience that they will never forget, because double-decker planes are quite rare and the experience was so much different from the usual flight. I really hope to be able to fly a380 one day or at least see it, because it truly facinates me, how something that big can fly in the sky.

[@michael_atkins]

The most memorable moment for me when flying on the a380 was when the flight deck allowed me to help with one of the steps with the shutdown which back then as a 12 year old was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me and fuelled me into wanting to become a pilot 5 years down the line. Now I am hoping to apply to the British Airways flight program to become a first officer

[@gadget2937]

Have seen many an A380 landing at LHR when plane spotting. The size of them is so impressive and you can see why they are the king of the skies

[@jaydoshi1035]

Fine

[@davidcole333]

6 hours is not long enough to get the full experience. But the aircraft looks amazing, I would fly it anytime. My only A380 experience has been Korean Air ICN to JFK...14 hours. Incredible food and service, the aircraft was so spacious and quiet. People would love to fly if every flight was like that one.

[@topfelya]

I'm glad to see Etihad A380 back to London Heathrow 🙂

[@philsflights]

Great vlog as always, Gabriel. I took my first A380 flight last December with Asiana in business class from ICN to BKK. Incredible experience. Etihad was my first ultra-long haul flight. That was on their A340-600 from YYZ to AUH back in 2008. They were wonderful then and look even better now. Keep up the great work ... it's appreciated and enjoyed.

[@johnlester5352]

Great show, you are my hero, taking the flights I can never take. Thank you so much for this.

[@MH-gh]

ReallyReally Nice Trip Report & you always do come across as relaxed, calm and well spoken…great to see the A380 making a “comeback” with this & other airlines

[@mpbee78]

Great video as always Gabe. It is cool to see just how much emphasis airlines are putting into the A380 comeback! My most recent A380 flight was IAD-LHR pre-pandemic on BA. Somehow I recall even in economy getting some extra space on the upper deck along the window. My first time on the A380 was FRA-NRT on Lufthansa way back when and got the unexpected upgrade to premium economy. Great flights all around

[@jacquierolle7908]

I have never flown on an A380 but I'm glad you shared this vlog and I would love to visit Singapore to the UK. First time I'm coming across your video Gabe and I definitely subscribed. I would love to see more videos of your trips. This is surely on my bucket list to do!

[@jeffnesbitt1168]

Still have to fly on the A380. Love your content Gabriel…you have the best job!

[@stdtoaster]

Good to see the A380 fleet activated again at EY. It really is an amazing aircraft. Lucky you could catch the inaugral flight.

[@Prof_Prokrastination]

I love the A380 😍 I have flown from Frankfurt to Singapore with it and it was a truly sensational flight! Great to see it back in service at Etihad, Lufthansa and others 👍🏼

[@passportaffair]

I love the A380, flown it quite a few times and its always an amazing experience ❤️

[@janethurst9221]

Just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the A380! ❤ Not been on one yet but you can tell its a stunning aircraft just from the outside & thanks to Gabriel's vlog it obviously is on the inside too! You've left me extremely envious young man! 💚😆 And dreaming of the day when I'll take my seat onboard to check it out for myself too! 💭🤞😃

[@starfish370]

Fabulous video, well done, Gabriel and FR 24 👏👏👏❗️

[@Flightradar24DotCom]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@enelym1978]

Loved the review with some exclusive shots of the cabin! I love flying on the A380.... it sucks that most airlines will retire it. It's so quiet and comfy. I've only flown on LH, BA and SQ's A380 so far....

[@thierrydelattre3054]

Amazing vlog mate. Have flown A380 these last 10 years on different routes from DXB to major cities in Europe. Each flight, I was like a kid, I enjoyed it as it was a first time each flight. Amazingly silent, just a masterpiece. Hope all airlines will keep them flying for years. Your video is absolutely immersive, we can feel what you feel. 👍

[@Flightradar24DotCom]

Well said about the 380! And thanks so much for the kind words!

[@raymondimus2221]

Never flown on an A380, but always wanted to! Bucket list item for sure. What an amazing bird! Keep up the great content, Gabriel!

[@sfdulaimi]

Thanks for the nice & special video. I flew the Emirates A380 several times between LHR/LGW-DXB ! Economy seats were comfortable and the inflight services were very good. Ice entertainment system keeps you busy during the flight ✈️ & the 3 cameras on the aeroplane give nice views especially during landing and takeoff!

[@imranahmadkhan1746]

So glad they brought the A380's back. I flew this bird in 2019 abu dhabi to new york and it was awesome . Hopefully they start with that route too ... soon .

[@robertwoodwardwoodward247]

This was a great video as was the C check video. The interior of the Etihad A380 looked amazing and one can only dream of one day flying on such a great aircraft. Living in Calgary Canada we don't have too many options to fly on an A380 so i would probably fly to San Fransisco and catch a Lufhansa A380 to Frankfurt and do some plane spotting. Looking forward to seeing more of your video's as they come on to You Tube.

[@earthlyvibes23]

I love your app, made me fall in love with aviation.

[@bustea7819]

I absolutely adore the A380! Havent gotten to fly it yet due to financial limitations, but im definetly planning on Flying it on my next trip to Japan

[@ScottishT]

Great video Gabe.

[@Flightradar24DotCom]

Thank you!

[@TMccrury]

I've flown on AF A380's a few times between IAD-CDG and once on BA between LHR-JNB. I really enjoyed my flights on the A380. My dream flight on an A380 would be to the apartment on Etihad on the longest possible flight. I've always been privileged to sit on the upper deck on the A380's as well and really liked it. Great channel and love your style with the video's.

[@JelmersAviation]

What an awesome video!

[@graviation63]

As soon as I read they were officially returning, I booked my flight, which will be in the economy cabin in January next year. Certainly can't wait! 😊

[@mikrokupu]

My first A380 experience was on Singapore Airlines route SIN-NRT years ago. It was something new back then, I was so thrilled to be sitting on the upper deck in Economy that I wanted to share my excitement with the gentleman sitting next to me. He didn't say anything, the look he gave said it all, "Oh Lord one of those aviation geeks again..." 😁 After that I've flown A380 on SIN-ZRH and Qatar's bird on DOH-BKK. Love it!

[@gluecksdrache2054]

Thank you for sharing this. And sorry for your seat neighbor which hadn't understood the wonders of aviation at all. 😜 Had a similar experience with a neighbor in a narrowbody just wanting him to show the great stadium of Real Madrid we flew over. (Before flightradar24 so there was no way to know if to sit right or left before...). So just pure luck.

[@shazania69]

I Flew Asiana’s A380 between Seoul an Sydney. It was such an amazing experience! I’m excited for next A380 flight from Houston to Dubai on Emirates in December!

[@18robsmith]

A few years back I treated myself to a Vancouver - London flight with BA premium economy as the final part of a round trip, on various B757, B767, dash-8, then the A380. What a flight, left Vancouver in the dark and watched the airport lights drift by, tilt and vanish..... and finally into Heathrow quite early in the morning (dawn). I was not disappointed by the A380, not just the low noise level, but the general ambience and feeling space upstairs.

[@GerhardusDelport]

A380, flew once with Emirates from Bangkok to Dubai. My Seat was first row in the front of lower deck. Will never forget it.

[@dreamtime6090]

a380 singapore to london, and back. We had a 5 hour delay and it was super cool to fly on!

[@JoelHaasnoot]

Hope to one day fly the A380 - love these videos

[@suwiggtube]

A380! I flew on an AirFrance A380 around 2019 from CDG to ATL. I was upgraded to their Premium Economy upper deck and it was a beautiful and wonderous aircraft! It is now my favorite.

[@aznandyroo]

My first and only A380 flight was on the last Singapore A380 between JFK and FRA earlier this year. It was amazing, I didn't even know when we pushed back!

[@kevinkelly8037]

I've never flown the A380 but after your review, it's now on my must-do list, thanks Kevin

[@beachdays2024]

I have never flown on the A380 but I want to. If I could I would love to fly that North Pole Route that you shared with us on a previous video. Congratulations to Etihad for the return of their A380’s. Thank you for sharing this inaugural flight with us. Safe travels.

[@juliangurupatham3743]

Can’t wait for my own a380 flight this Christmas from IAH - DXB - BLR and return. Thanks for a lovely review. 👍🏼

[@iancroot1388]

Fantastic video of a truly memorable flight for you. Never had the honour of flying the A380 yet but I think the two flights that would be on my bucket list would either be Etihad Airways LHR to Abu Dhabi for the F! Grand Prix or Qantas LHR to Brisbane for an Ashes Test. Anyway great stream & NOW SUBSCRIBED.

[@gustavjohansson8277]

The amazing A380, would love to try it out one day!

[@philipcollura2669]

Well presented, thank you. My air travel pretty much precludes ever flying on a A380 - but one can dream! Living just a few miles from JFK I regularly see them arriving and departing.

[@farrukhismail]

Smooth landing 👍🏼

[@MattNav]

Love the A380! Flown it on many different routes on different airlines: Qantas from LAX to MEL, BA from LHR to LAX, Qatar from DOH to MEL and SYD to DOH, Emirates from DXB to CAI and Air France was my first A380 back in 2015 from LAX to CDG. It's always been one of my favourites and I hope to fly it again on carriers like Etihad and others someday

[@peter-paulmbele1842]

Have flown on this beast A380 a couple of times. Between Kuala Lumpur & Dubai, and most recently on my Dubai to London leg of a trip from home, South Africa 🇿🇦! Always an amazing experience!

[@johnclauder615]

Great video as usual. I flew the A380 from Melbourne to Dubai just before Covid hit and enjoyed the flight very much.

[@bill1806]

A380. Great review !!!!! 😊

[@AidanM94x]

I'm flying on the a380 late August, I can't wait! My first time aboard the magnificent a380!

[@garyputtock4159]

I was tracking this A380 into Heathrow and hope to catch a glimpse as you descended over where I live into Heathrow but cloud cover was to thick. Heard you though! Love to fly A380 from London to Tokyo!

[@Sam-by4xd]

I'm very excited that I booked flights last week on the SQ A380 from SIN-NRT!

[@BRTripReport]

Etihad did a great job keeping these aircraft top notch for the re-inaugural A380 flights. Thanks for sharing!

[@e99n93]

Yea the A380 is like one of my favourite and it makes fun to fly it again and again - keep up with the good videos i love it :) 😀

[@johnlester5352]

Ethihads 380 to London. Once again you have giving me something I can never experience. You are my Hero for doing this for all of us.

[@muhammadahmed5100]

A380 Love it I always try to see it when they land heathrow.

[@grahambuckle510]

I loved flying LHR to MEL(and back) on an A380. My favourite airplane

[@chrishosford5445]

Love the A380. Flew it a couple of times, once from Seoul to LAX, another time from LAX to Heathrow

[@tya1336]

Flew the A380 on Emirates from LHR-DXB! Loved it!!

[@samuelragert5326]

Flew the A380 one’s. The Thai A380 between Frankfurt and Bangkok. Amazing how quiet it is, it is such a amazing and beautiful aircraft!✈️

[@rankenfile]

Great tour of the A380! I've never been aboard one, but I'd really enjoy taking a long trip such as to Australia.

[@hamzaalhaidry3983]

I did fly A380 on few routes with EK and QR, looking forward to try Etihad A380 to London

[@deborahadams5438]

flew A380 Singapore to Melbourne in March this year. I love this bird.

[@tonydiggins3441]

I’ve been very lucky to have flown SIA A380 numerous times between LHR & SIN & SIN & SYD - always absolutely superb and it was great to see you looking forward to it so much … also, so glad all the doom and gloom about the 380 never returning post-covid was proved wrong! Thank you - great video … Tony Diggins

[@hugofore5424]

Glad that the A380 is back !

[@train1831]

Flew the A380 once from Frankfurt to Los Angeles. Beautiful Aircraft, hope to catch it someday again!

[@thornament367]

A380 is a masterpiece of a plane, I dream to fly it one day!

[@RoxyrollersBC]

I stumbled upon your video because I convinced my Aunt to fly them in Biz class from London to India. Lovely presentation and it does look like she will have a good time. She is on EY 11 as well coming back. As for me, I have flown the A380 twice on Emirates. Toronto to Dubai and London Heathrow to Dubai. I hope to watch more of your videos so I have gone ahead and liked/subscribed. Cheers!

[@etiennenobel5028]

Amazing!

[@marktorpeyphx]

Thanks for the experience, Gabriel. I would love to take the "A380" on a Round the World trip like the old Pan Am Flight 1. I miss those days.

[@jackp1631]

Way back before I was an avgeek I was very lucky to visit Toulouse (from the US). One of my semi-distant relatives was an A380 flight test engineer on the first flight and took my family on one of the test planes just while it was on the ground. Sadly I was too young to really remember it so I look forward to getting on an A380 again at some point (and actually getting in the air this time).

[@martinvareed8756]

After the 747 The A380 is the most impressive of the big birds. I have flown A 380 EK but not Etihad...would love to some day. this video of yours have definitely helped me walk near to my target :) thanks again...cheerios!!! thanks again brother!!

[@usofatube]

A380 MEL-SIN, Singapore Airlines. Always loved and preferred the A380. Used to reserve my seats in the upper deck, where they had a small economy section.

[@theengelsbak]

Flew on the Emirates a380 to Dubai from Copenhagen and I must say truly a unique experience compared to other flights and aircraft I’ve been on. You can’t miss out on these beauties. Recently discovered this channel and been watching ever since. Hope to win! All the best.

[@IgboTIFOSI]

Always an A380 fan but never flown. Glad to see them coming back online. At least now there is a slim chance I will get a ride on one. Hope it lives long.

[@alexbuchard6505]

My last A380 flight i had was from NYC-MXP on Emirates. The flight number was EK206. I love the A380 but don’t get to flight it often as it doesn’t fly to my home airport (Geneva) My experiences are always amazing onboard the A380 and can’t wait to fly it somewhere else around the world. The A380 is the best aircraft in my opinion.😊😊 Congrats again to Ethihad for allowing passengers to fly on this amazing masterpiece.🎉🎉

[@bearbullcruising6427]

Thanks for the video Gabriel. It looks like a real special aircraft the A380 I’ve seen it a few times on TikTok on airplane spotting videos from LAX and occasionally on airline videos live on KZbin my dream flight on an A380 would be from San Francisco to Singapore.

[@denistejedor4489]

So happy to see Etihad’s A380’s back in the sky. They look gorgeous in that livery. My first A380 was on Dec. ‘11, LH: FRA-MIA. I flown the A380 with BA and AF as well. Dream route: EY: AUH-SYD (if restarted) or SQ: SIN-LHR.

[@carolinecoward469]

I flew an a380 from LAX-LHR with my mother for her 75th birthday. We were on the upper deck. Beautiful machine!

[@luccas721]

My next A380 flight is with Singapore Airlines to Hong Kong in November and I couldn’t be more excited to finally fly on the superjumbo again! I will attempt to secure the forward zone economy seats for the unbeatable engine view as Singapore Airlines configures their A380s with premium economy and economy only on the main deck. The forward zone economy should provide magnificent engine views! Amazing blog as always.

[@mr_matcheu]

Never flew the A380 but it looks really fun, and Etihad makes it really nice !

[@CollinChappelle333]

A380 My first and only so far. LHR-SFO on BA! Paid +$500 specifically to take that leg home & sit on up top in a pair of seats in the 2/4/2 config. Even saw the Aurora for the first time! Magical!

[@ianplowman2808]

Flew BA A380 LHR to SFO return last year, superb arcraft

[@ptnordeen]

Great video Gabriel! Haven't been on the A380 as of yet. Was hoping to fly ORD to LHR in September in First Class but the Delta One experience through DTW was $2500 less. Oh well!

[@jeffyoung1699]

I have never been on a 380 hope too one day. Another great video

[@marionwalter3873]

I have yet to fly on a A380 and hope that they are around for a lot longer. What an amazing plane it is!

[@newblackdog7827]

I love ❤️ A380’s! I’ve flown with Etihad and Emirates

[@Oliver-nh3ph]

A380. I flew the Airbus A380 5 times in the last two years, from Hamburg to Mauritius via Dubai and back and from London to Miami. I enjoyed every single flight with the A380 and always was impressed by how this plane could actually take off. Also I spottet the Etihad A380 flying back from London to Abu Dhabi in terminal 5 LHR because i was flzing back from my vacation.

[@malekmustafa9227]

Such a lovely video about the comeback of the Etihad A380! I haven’t been onboard the A380 yet, but my goal is to get onboard a A380 from Europe to Asia.

[@edvardzackrisson1386]

Flew it once back in 2015 between Sydney and Singapore. Didn't realize it was an a380 until we arrived and I saw the stairs going up, had to take a look at the upper deck of course.

[@deividas3721]

A380, looking to fly it one day!

[@martynbragg2286]

A380 such an amazing piece of engineering and so nice to hear Etihad are bring them back into service. Another amazing youTube video by Gabriel for Flight Radar24 a fantastic insight of the quality of service and surroundings from a truly quality airline hope one day to have the opportunity to fly on the A380, possible choice from Heathrow to a USA destination.

[@diamonddeb2621]

A380, wow what a stunning aircraft,I’ve not flown for about 27 years due to being so nervous with flying.But love ❤watching aviation weird I know . Maybe one day when I pluck up enough courage to get back on a plane.

[@ralvani]

A380 WoW it would be a dream to fly this one day maybe from London to Tehran!!! Wouldn’t that be something

[@phpfreakie]

I've never had the pleasure of flying the A380. Would like to someday but don't think it will happen (very soon). I don't take that many flights, let alone long haul flights. Howevery when I get the chance, even when it would cost me a bit more or take me on a little detour I would definately take the opportunity! Regardless, another great video Gabe! I remember a lot of video's ago you announced that you would be giving every kit away but after that didn't hear any more of it, glad to hear you're bringing the giveaway back! 😀

[@swgl2245]

Saw the flight coming into Heathrow on a live stream show, that was awesome when the pilots stuck the flags out the cockpit windows

[@beyond_lewis5601]

Going to be taking my first flight on the a380 back from Chicago to London at the end of August

[@davidraber-radakovits1572]

Any route on A380 would be great!

[@TheRuby47]

Best airplane ever. So calm not shake, rattle and roll in the air

[@adityapandey6969]

I am so looking forward to my First A380 Flight, from Dubai to London! The dream aircraft in my checklist!

[@timd6743]

Never flown on the A380, hopefully will do so soon but as an avgeek what an absolutely stunning and incredible machine!

[@andreasb913]

I flew on an A380 a few years ago on the route Frankfurt-Singapore. It was amazing flying on this beautiful aircraft. I hope that all passengers flying on the A380 one day admire this masterpiece of engineering! 😊