Etihad Airways has announced that its new Airbus A380 service between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport will begin early, on November 23, 2015.
The new service will include the new The Residence by Etihad, a three-room suite with a living room, a double bedroom, and a separate ensuite shower room. Residence guests enjoy a chauffeur-driven ride to the airport, Savoy-trained butler service in the air, and access to the Etihad Lifestyle Concierge team to help with restaurant reservations, entertainment bookings, special events, destination information and lifestyle services on the ground.
First Class on the A380 will also have nine First Apartments, which are private living spaces with a reclining lounge chair and an ottoman, which opens up to become a separate 80.5 inch long fully-flat bed. There will also be 70 Business Studios on the upper deck, all offering direct aisle access and a fully flat bed of up to 80.5 inches long.
Between the First Class and Business Class cabins sits The Lobby, a lounge with two comfortable leather sofas and a staffed bar serving a wide selection of hot snacks and refreshments.
For entertainment, the A380 also has the Panasonic eX3 entertainment system, full mobile and Wi-Fi service, and USB and power points at every seat.
Etihad said the airline moved up the start date of the new service in response to strong demand for travel during the Thanksgiving holiday, as well as to attend the 2015 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix taking place November 27-29, 2015. The new service was originally scheduled to begin on December 1, 2015, and will replace one of the existing Boeing 777 services.
The daily schedule between New York and Abu Dhabi, beginning November 23, 2015, is as follows (all times are local):
| Flight No. | Origin | Departs | Destination | Arrives | Aircraft |
| EY103 | AUH | 3:20 am | JFK | 9:10 am | A380 |
| EY102 | JFK | 2:30 pm | AUH | 12:15 pm (+1) | A380 |
| EY101 | AUH | 10:35 am | JFK | 4:25 pm | B777-300ER |
| EY100 | JFK | 10:00 pm | AUH | 7:45 pm (+1) | B777-300ER |
Etihad Airways’ A380 first entered into service between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow Airport on December 27, 2014, before commencing service between Abu Dhabi and Sydney on May 31, 2015.
Etihad Airways offers 45 weekly return flights from Abu Dhabi to six U.S. cities, including Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York- JFK, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.