Etihad Airways to Debut its New Business Class Seats in London

When Etihad Airways debuts its Airbus A350-1000 aircraft this winter, it will introduce new enclosed business class seats on the Heathrow-Abu Dhabi route.

Bookings for the A350 flights beginning on 30th October are now open, with return business fares starting at £1,810 from Heathrow, £1,962 from Manchester, and €2,652 from Dublin.

The new business cabin features 44 Business Studios with sliding doors, all of which face forward and have direct aisle access. Because Etihad does not offer a premium economy cabin, the aircraft has only two classes.

Etihad’s country manager for the United Kingdom and Ireland, Jeremy Pollock, stated: “We are very excited to introduce the Airbus A350 to our UK guests.

“We are looking forward to showing off our new cabins, award-winning seats and customer service, and to welcoming our first guests onboard in November.”

New passenger features include recycled plastic blankets and reusable tableware made from recycled high-quality plastic, which eliminates the use of single-use plastic, as well as stainless-steel cutlery as a further reduction.

The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered Airbus A350 uses 25% less fuel and emits 25% less CO2 than previous generation twin-aisle aircraft, and Etihad’s inclusion of the aircraft in its fleet is part of its ‘Sustainable50’ program, which aims to drive operational efficiencies and reduce aviation’s environmental impact.

The Sustainable50 programme, a collaboration between Etihad, Airbus, and Rolls-Royce, will also use Etihad’s A350s as “flying testbeds” for new initiatives, procedures, and technologies to reduce carbon emissions.

The airline is working with Boeing on developing greener flying regimes for the B787 Greenliner.