The next wave of Dreamliners will sport an upgraded version of the just-launched Business Studio suites.
Having pulled back the curtains on its all-new Airbus A350 business class, Etihad Airways is already planning a fresher take on the same seat in its forthcoming Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Eleven Dreamliners are slated for delivery from 2023, and an Etihad spokesperson confirmed to Executive Traveller they’ll be crowned by the new Elements suite from Collins Aerospace.
Collins supplied its Super Diamond seat to serve as Etihad’s A350 Business Studio suite, and Elements is considered the next generation of the popular Super Diamond platform, with even more work done on personal space and at-seat storage.
The Elements-based Dreamliner Business Studio suites will further burnish Etihad’s premium cabin as a flagship “business plus” proposition, in the words of Etihad Airways CEO Tony Douglas.
“With ‘business plus’ we want to retain the premium that sits within Etihad brand (and) the quality of the product represented by what we offer on board,” Douglas told Executive Traveller on the sidelines of Etihad’s inaugural A350-1000 flight to Paris, ahead of a rollout which by mid-year will become a future to New York and Chicago.
And while the A350-1000 settle into “extra-long haul route”, Douglas says, the Boeing 787s will remain the workhorse of Etihad’s international network.
“I think we’ve got the third-largest fleet of 787s in the world,” Douglas reflects.
“We’ve 39 of them currently, both the -9 and the -10, and they’re utilised about 16 hours a day – they’re incredible performers and they’re the backbone of the fleet.”
Source: Executive Traveller