Etihad Rolls Out New Livery for 787 and A380

Etihad Airlines (EY), one of Boeing’s best friends with a whopping 71 787’s on order, released images of their new 787-9 aircraft along with a new livery. The flagship airline of UAE plans to fly their newest version (they also have 10 787-10’s on order) to the following cities – Dusseldorf, Doha, Mumbai, Brisbane, and Moscow, and Washington, DC.

Etihad even has a name for their new livery… “Facets of Abu Dhabi.” Kudos to the carrier for a great design. While some question the recent livery changes by airlines like Frontier and Southwest, EY delivers a winner. The desert sand color along with the contemporary geometric motif will make it stand out while also blending in with their home environment.

The state-owned airline also announced delivery of 10 new Airbus A380’s.

The first aircraft will soon fly to London while next year look for flights to Sydney and New York. The greatest feature of Etihad’s A380 has to be their new first class cabin, a three-room suite (living-dining area/shower/double bed) dubbed The Residence. Having tried out a mock up of this myself, I can tell you this butler-included private cabin really is first class travel on steroids. Watch for competitor Emirates (EK) to play catch up here. Unfortunately Etihad didn’t say if any of their new first class suites will be available on the 787’s but I am not expecting it.