Even as many international operators continue to struggle with dipping profitability, especially from the high-end first and business classes, Etihad Airways has unveiled super-luxurious products that the company's Chief Executive Officer James Hogan described ás similar to luxury private jets.

Explaining the decision to introduce super-luxury seats on Etihad Hogan, he said that there is a demand for better services in the sky.

Etihad sees an average load factor of 50 per cent on its first class seats, which increases to 100 per cent during peak periods, he said. This is in contrast to many European airlines, which see low traffic on first class, many of whom have even moved to two-class (business and economy) airplanes.

Etihad Airways, which is well known for its focus on luxury, announced a new class of seats called Residence, described as a three-room suite by Etihad. These will be introduced in the new wide-body aircraft — Airbus 380s.

Hogan said the Residence would be priced on par with the private jets. As an example, he said a Residence ticket from London to Abu Dhabi would cost in the range of $20,000.

While the airline has not introduced the Airbus 380s in India yet, Hogan said they are likely to bring A380s into India by next year.

Besides the Residence, the airline also announced Apartment — which, the company said, is the largest first class cabin. It is 74 per cent bigger than Etihad’s existing first class cabins. These, too, would be seen on the airline’s new A380s as well as the Boeing 787s.

Hogan said Etihad has also improved the features of the economy class seats, with better head rests, bigger entertainment screens and other facilities.

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