In preparation for the forthcoming summer travel season, Etihad Airlines has received the first of four Airbus A380 planes it aims to refurbish.
On March 9, 2023, the A6-APG-registered plane was seen taking off from Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport (LDE), which is located in France and about 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) south of Toulouse, France, the home of Airbus.
On March 10, 2023, at 2:51 AM local time (UTC +4), the Airbus A380 arrived at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the location of Etihad Airways.
After being transported from its former storage location at Spain’s Teruel Airport (TEV), the Super Jumbo stayed just over a month at LDE. Since arrival from AUH in April 2021, the A380 has being kept there. Data from planespotters.net indicates that the aircraft was kept at the UAE airport between March 2020 and April 2021.
As of December 31, 2023, the Airbus A380 had 20,361 flight hours (FH) and 2,206 flight cycles (FC), with an average stage length of nine hours and 14 minutes, according to data from ch-aviation.com. A unique Choose South Korea livery is also visible on the Super Jumbo.
For the upcoming busy summer travel season, Etihad Airlines will bring back a total of four Airbus A380s. All four will make the flight between AUH and London Heathrow (LHR). The airline’s most opulent cabin, the Residence—basically a private suite—is available in the quartet.
According to ch-aviation.com, the aircraft has the Residence apartments in addition to nine first, 70 business, and 325 economy class seats. According to flightradar24.com statistics, no other Etihad Airways Airbus A380s have been in use for the last 30 days.
