Etihad had placed a massive order for the Airbus A350 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow in 2013, with 62 orders booked between the A350-900 and the A350-1000 variants. However, with the financial troubles at Etihad, the orders were cut down in 2019. Etihad retained only 20 of the A350-1000 variants, out of which 5 had already been delivered to them. The rest 15 remain on the books but haven’t moved forward, yet.

The Etihad A350-1000

Even with the 5 aircraft delivered to Etihad, they were not brought into Abu Dhabi but were put in storage at Bordeaux, until 2021, when the first of these showed up at the Dubai Airshow 2021 under a special livery celebrating the 50 years of the UAE.
The aircraft features Etihad’s newest cabin interior which is inspired by Abu Dhabi and is both more efficient and sustainable in design. Etihad’s signature lighting design is inspired by the shadows cast by Abu Dhabi’s palm trees. The cabin lighting emulates natural ambient light and is designed to enhance the guest experience, provide an optimum environment for sleeping and reduce the effects of jetlag. The Airbus A350 also offers the quietest cabin experience for a wide-body aircraft.

Another feature to help reduce light pollution, and therefore jetlag, is the new dark-mode interface on the E-BOX inflight entertainment system. Mobile and Wi-Fi connectivity is also available throughout the aircraft.

Etihad’s Business class for the A350-1000

The elevated Business class is home to 44 Business Studios with sliding doors that provide a high level of privacy to each suite. Every seat faces forward with direct aisle access. The Business class seat, with a width of over 20”, converts into a fully-flat bed of 79” in length, and features ample storage for convenience. 

Noise-cancelling headphones and an 18.5” TV screen provide a cinematic experience to enjoy Etihad’s extensive inflight entertainment offering. The Business seats cleverly feature a built-in wireless charging dock and Bluetooth headphone pairing.

Business-class guests can choose from a carefully curated à la carte menu, and guests on longer flights can enjoy Etihad’s signature ‘dine anytime’ service.

Economy class

Etihad’s spacious Economy cabin is configured with 327 smart seats in a 3-3-3 arrangement, of which 45 ‘Economy Space’ seats have been enhanced with an additional 4 inches of legroom. The seats feature Etihad’s signature supportive headrest, USB charging and Bluetooth headphone pairing, as well as a 13.3” inch screen to enjoy Etihad’s inflight entertainment system.

Guests receive blankets and pillows for additional comfort and amenity kits on longer flights, as well as enjoy complimentary dining and beverages served by Etihad’s award-winning cabin crew.

Etihad puts out the first routes for the A350-1000

Etihad’s shiny new A350-1000 (now two years old though), will start serving the following services to Mumbai effective April 1, 2022. There are certain 787-9 services that are not mentioned here.

EY204 AUH1450 – 1920 BOM 35K 56
EY206 AUH2205 – 0235+1BOM 35K D

EY205 BOM0435 – 0605 AUH 35K D
EY203 BOM2055 – 2225 AUH 35K 56

Similarly, on the Abu Dhabi – Delhi segments, the A350-1000 makes its appearance on April 30, 2022.

EY218 AUH2220 – 0315 DEL 35K D
EY211 DEL0445 – 0700 AUH 35K D

LiveFromALounge was the first to report the fact that Mumbai and Delhi will be the first markets to receive the new A350-1000 aircraft, after its debut flight to Paris. However, at the time, Etihad had intended to put these flights on Delhi and Mumbai routes only for the first 2-3 months and move these aircraft to do longer rotations, such as those to New York. Now, it seems there has been a re-think, and Etihad will instead keep Mumbai and Delhi with the A350 aircraft through February 2023, at least!

This seems possible with India opening up, which means Etihad will get solid traction with their A350 aircraft for connecting flights into the USA (Abu Dhabi has pre-clearance!) and Europe.

Bottomline

Etihad has introduced flights on their new A350-1000 aircraft between Abu Dhabi and Delhi/Mumbai in April 2022. This aircraft should be a treat for those who like new-generation aircraft, as well as the new Etihad Airways product. Etihad will deploy these aircraft on their major connections from Delhi and Mumbai all the way through February 2023, for now.

Are you scheduled to fly from Mumbai or Delhi on Etihad Airways?

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.