Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, celebrated the departure of its inaugural Airbus A380 flight at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the departure gate as part of the festivities late last year, attended on behalf of Etihad Airways by Richard Hill, chief operations officer, Chris Youlten, senior vice president network operations, Jeff Wilkinson, senior vice president technical, Calum Laming, vice president guest experience, and Aubrey Tiedt, vice president guest services.
The event, which took place before Flight EY11 took-off to London Heathrow, was also attended by Eng. Ahmad Al Haddabi, Abu Dhabi Airports chief operations officer.
Special gift packs were handed to guests on the inaugural flight, containing luggage tags, passport holders, commemorative A380 certificates and complimentary Wi-Fi vouchers.
In addition to being Etihad Airways’ first A380 service, the flight marked the debut of the airline’s new First Apartments, Business Studios and Economy Smart Seats, together with The Residence by Etihad™ – a three room suite with living room, bathroom and bedroom.
The inaugural flight in The Residence by Etihad™ – was booked by Miami-based businessman and aviation enthusiast, Mr Gino Bertuccio, who was the first person ever to experience the world’s only private multi-room cabin on a commercial passenger aircraft.
Throughout the flight he had a dedicated Savoy Academy-trained butler on call, which is part of the unique experience for guests who book The Residence.
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Before taking off, Mr Bertuccio said he didn’t know what to expect but knew it was going to be “a truly unique adventure”.
“My only wish is that the flight was longer.”
Gino Bertuccio, Etihad’s first A380 Resident
It was also the first flight to operate with Etihad Airways’ ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ livery.
