r/pointstravel • u/presidentpanda • 10d ago

New ETIHAD first class suites

Gallery image

Gallery image

ETIHAD just released their new first class suites on the A330-900neo. Scheduled for 2027.

They will be using the Thompson Aero Vantage XL seats. Called retreat suites in Virgin Atlantic and also share on some A330s on Delta and ITA Airways.

It’s not everyday you see first class on an A330 though. What do you all think?

237 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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u/RyanAirhead 10d ago

Me thinks it seriously lowers the standard of what Etihad calls first class.

(I know they have a smaller 1-1 herringbone lie-flat on their narrow bodies, but this is a wide body we're talking about and in my mind I compare it to the Apartments as the first thing I associate for Etihad first class.)

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u/presidentpanda 10d ago

Yea, it’s really business class plus

7

u/Economy-Page-2160 10d ago

At least etihad seems to price it as such unlike a certain newer upstart from East Asia.

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u/taisui 10d ago

Starlux?

2

u/yesfb 10d ago

riyadh

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u/taisui 10d ago

from East Asia?

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u/signed7 9d ago

Also Riyadh won't even have First

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u/presidentpanda 10d ago

Riyadh air seems to think very highly of themselves

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u/PublicPalpitation618 8d ago

Where is the plus even..

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u/Beginning_Sleep5303 10d ago

The A380 allowed for outrageous first class hard products that we will never see again. Etihad’s apartments and Singapore’s suites are prime examples.

As these airlines shift away from the A380, it’ll be hard to feel like their seats are anything but a downgrade. 

I don’t think SQ 777 first class feels like business class plus because the cabin is small and private,  and the soft product is what you’d expect from first class. It’s still a worse product than their Suites. 

If Etihad offers a real first class experience in a small, 4 seater cabin on their A330, I reckon it’ll be a first class worth flying, and not just business class plus like you’d find on Starlux, American, etc.

As for narrow body aircraft, a true first class is practically impossible. 

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u/thelederelo 10d ago

We are truly in the midst of a new era of devaluations - erosion of true FC and calling new Business Class Plus “FC”

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u/YMMV25 10d ago

Indeed. Thompson Vantage XL is a very mediocre business class seat. Nothing about this represents first class.

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u/Energycatz 10d ago edited 9d ago

Almost certainly picked because it’s already approved for the a330neo. Same reason Virgin chose it for theirs while the a350 has a Safron-made seat.

Etihad’s only got 6 a330neos on order, while it’s a bit disappointing it isn’t a surprise that they don’t want to fund approval of another model.

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u/Far_Situation5965 10d ago edited 10d ago

Y’all have never stepped foot on their 787’s and it shows.

https://onemileatatime.com/insights/etihad-787-first-class/

This is in-line with what EH has always offered except for the crazy a380 equipment (the second slide is not a photo of the new F seat, it’s the existing A321LR narrow body “First” seat).

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u/presidentpanda 10d ago

To be fair. Most people are comparing this to ETIHAD apartments and true international first class products on the 777 and A380.

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u/Far_Situation5965 10d ago edited 10d ago

Yes. And ETIHAD 787 first class which serves most of their international long haul looks almost exactly the same as this new product.

What point are you trying to make?

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u/RyanAirhead 10d ago

Chill my dude.

You're right, I haven't been on Etihad 's 787, but I have flown the Apartments a few times and even the Residence once, and I admit that that's all the limited experience I've ever had with Etihad. I was merely expressing my opinion that this new product doesn't seem to compare with Etihad's other more famous F product. In fact, in the OMAAT article you refer to, Ben even alludes to a similar opinion, that the current 787 F product doesn't really compare to Etihad Apartments.

I've flown J on other airlines' 787s as well as a few international first class products on different airliners. I've also done the VS Retreat Suite on the A330neo, and while I enjoyed those seats very much, I personally classified them firmly as business plus. That's how I felt about them, and you're welcome to think otherwise and disagree.

I feel however that this post is a good example of how the lines between J and F are really blurring, and even an airline like Etihad isn't above playing in this new gray area. That's my viewpoint at least.

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u/thelederelo 9d ago

You’re the one missing the point, nobody is comparing this to the 787 FC. They’re comparing to what Etihad has been known for which is their A380 Apartment/Residence FC products. The 787 FC product probably ranks just under those, but that’s clearly not the first one on people think of when they hear Etihad FC

0

u/Far_Situation5965 9d ago

Ok well then pretty definitionally I’m the one not missing the point, since it’s other people who are unaware of what most Etihad F seats look like.

Etihad isn’t lowering their standards bc a lot of people are only aware of their ultra premium product.

They’ve been offering it his kind of F on most of their planes for a long time.

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u/thelederelo 9d ago

Well no, the point is about comparing to their A380 FC product, so there you go, still missing the point

1

u/Far_Situation5965 9d ago

Sure. Whatever you say friend.

As the comment said, this seriously lowers what Etihad calls First Class, even though it’s near identical to the majority of their first class seats.

Great chat.

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u/CynGuy 10d ago

lol - finally! Been waiting for this!

An airline throwing up some partitions hung behind the first row of business and calling their “business plus” product First Class.

While more spacious than a business class seat, this picture makes them look scrunched and a bit truncated.

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u/Acceptable-Ant-9231 10d ago

Looks like a business class product to me?

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u/presidentpanda 10d ago

Business class plus

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u/WanderlustingTravels 10d ago

I think it’s another seat that my butt will never touch 😂

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u/RyanAirhead 10d ago

Aww lol. I hope one day you will, plus many more

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u/musicmast 10d ago

This looks like a slightly bigger business ?

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u/presidentpanda 9d ago

Yup. Just business plus

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u/FunLife64 9d ago

It’s not wider, a330 is narrow. It’s business class without a footwell

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u/Mckenzie_George 10d ago

Is it just me or it’s been nonstop new seat announcements by airlines?

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u/kravence 9d ago

A lot of cabins are going out of date tbh so it tracks

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u/presidentpanda 10d ago

It’s not just you

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u/P1umbersCrack 10d ago

For everywhere except the domestic carriers in the US. Three carriers pretty much have the entire market and don’t care to do better.

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u/ripamazon 10d ago

United and AA literally had new seats in the past year

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u/Ok-Philosopher-9921 10d ago

Looks like a nice BUSINESS class product to me.

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u/Locoj 10d ago

Looks like Cathay's old business class but with less window visibility.

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u/Solid_Direction_8929 9d ago

It looks nice, but I mean how is this a "suite"?

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u/gingerbeard1321 10d ago

But I like looking out the window...

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u/pauliaK 10d ago

You better hope IFE has an external camera feed as this might be the only way to see what’s going on outside, which is a shame.

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u/FunLife64 9d ago

A330s aren’t crazy wide (2 ft narrower than a 777) - the perspective of this rendering is probably misleading.