The Residence, Etihad’s A380 Three-Room Suite

There are a lot of amazing first class products in the world, though arguably nothing in commercial aviation is quite to the level of The Residence, which is Etihad’s private three-room suite, exclusively on the Airbus A380. In this post, I want to take a closer look at this. What exactly is The Residence like, how much does it cost, and what’s included with it?

What is The Residence on Etihad’s Airbus A380s?

The Airbus A380 is a joy to fly in general, though Etihad has especially nice premium cabins on these jets. First class is located at the front of the upper deck, and consists of nine seats, in a 1-1 configuration. That’s right, there’s just a single aisle, even though this is a wide body.

Etihad refers to its A380 first class as First Class Apartments, and these suites are incredibly spacious. Each suite features a separate chair and bed, so you have lots of flexibility with getting comfortable in this cabin.

What’s even more exclusive than First Class Apartments is The Residence, which is located at the front left of the first class cabin. The Residence is a private three-room suite that occupies 125 square feet. It includes a living room, a bedroom, and a private bathroom with a shower. There’s simply nothing else like this in commercial aviation, and it can only otherwise really be compared to what you’d find in private aviation (and even then, you’d need to have a pretty big private jet to get this level of comfort).

The Residence can be occupied by up to two guests, though truth be told, the bed will be a bit tight if both people want to sleep at once. Meanwhile if you’re traveling alone, this is basically a palace.

For what it’s worth, I reviewed The Residence several years back on a flight from Abu Dhabi to Sydney. It was the most amazing flight of my life.

Which Etihad routes feature The Residence?

You’ll exclusively find The Residence on Etihad’s Airbus A380s. For context, Etihad grounded its Airbus A380 fleet at the start of the pandemic, and everything was pointing toward those planes just being retired prematurely. Fortunately the airline had a change of heart, and Etihad brought back its super jumbos as of the summer of 2023.

The bad news is that only six of the original 10 A380s have been brought back into service, so the footprint isn’t as big as it was pre-pandemic. The planes currently fly regularly from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to London (LHR), New York (JFK), Paris (CDG), and Singapore (SIN).

How do you book The Residence on Etihad?

Over the years, Etihad has changed how it monetizes The Residence. Pre-pandemic, The Residence was a completely separate product from first class, and was typically priced at $25K+ one-way. The Residence included all kinds of special services, and there was no way to upgrade to The Residence.

The economics of The Residence were always pretty questionable, since it was empty a vast majority of the time. It almost seemed like Etihad had The Residence for the halo effect, as it got a ton of attention globally.

Since the A380 was brought back in 2023, Etihad has taken a different approach to The Residence. Nowadays the airline sells The Residence as an upgrade option for select first class passengers, and you can no longer book it directly. The pricing is much more reasonable than in the past, but the soft product also isn’t quite as differentiated.

How expensive is an upgrade to The Residence on Etihad?

Upgrades to The Residence are available to those confirmed in first class on the Etihad A380. You can either upgrade at the time of booking (during the seat selection process), or after the fact, through Etihad’s booking management function.

One major restriction to be aware of is that you need to be booking directly through Etihad in order to upgrade. It’s fine if you paid cash for your ticket or redeemed Etihad Guest miles, though a partner award ticket (booked through a program like American AAdvantage) wouldn’t qualify.

Etihad doesn’t publish the costs for upgrades to The Residence, but based on everything I’ve seen, the pricing is pretty consistent:

• Between Abu Dhabi and London, Paris, and Singapore, an upgrade from first class to The Residence costs AED 7,310, or ~$1,990
• Between Abu Dhabi and New York, an upgrade from first class to The Residence costs AED 14,660, or ~$3,900

It’s possible that the upgrade cost will differ based on the type of ticket that you book, though I find the above to be the standard prices for the upgrade, based on when I’ve searched.

Note that you can also upgrade tickets from first class to The Residence using Etihad Guest miles, though it’s not a very good deal. On the Abu Dhabi to London, Paris, and Singapore routes, expect to pay at least 285,000 miles, while on the Abu Dhabi to New York route, expect to pay at least 570,000 miles.

There have been some reports of passengers being called up by Etihad, and being offered discounted upgrades to The Residence if they agree to upgrade on the spot. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency to that, though.

Also note that the upgrade cost is the same whether you’re upgrading one or two passengers. You’d think the cost would be less if upgrading two passengers, since you’re making two first class seats available, rather than one. In terms of spaciousness, you might almost be better off just upgrading one person and keeping a second first class seat.

However, note that only people confirmed in The Residence can use it, so if you’re traveling as a couple and only upgrade one person, don’t expect that you’ll both be able to use The Residence. However, I imagine the crew has some discretion there.

What’s included with a ticket in The Residence on Etihad?

While The Residence is amazing physically, back in the day the soft product was differentiated equally, and could really be customized however you wanted, from the food, to the amenities. You even had a private butler.

Nowadays the soft product isn’t as special as it used to be. So, what perks do passengers in The Residence receive, which those in first class don’t receive?

• You receive an escort through the airport
• You receive a private room in the Etihad First Class Lounge
• You receive enhanced tableware and glassware onboard
• You receive premium bedding and a private shower

So you no longer receive a much more extensive food and drink menu, a private butler, or the ability to customize the experience to the same level. Still, expect the entire experience to be lovely.

Bottom line

The Etihad Airbus A380 has made a comeback, with six of the jets back in service. They’re flying from Abu Dhabi to London, New York, Paris, and Singapore.

While the Etihad A380 offers a great passenger experience across the board, the highlight is The Residence, which is the three-room suite at the front of the first class cabin. There’s nothing else like this in commercial aviation.

Nowadays The Residence can be booked as an upgrade option for those who are traveling on an Etihad-issued ticket, whether booked with cash or miles. Upgrades cost roughly $2,000-4,000 one-way, depending on the route, and the cost is the same whether one or two people are upgrading.

What do you make of The Residence on Etihad’s A380?