Etihad A380 - how things have changed in 6 years!

I can’t believe it’s been 6 years already!

Looking the panorama in the commercial aviation world it could well be 100 years ago…!

But the thing is that I got one of “#OTD(X years ago)” reminders on Instagram reminding me that exactly six years ago to date I was in cloudy Hamburg getting ready for Airbus and Etihad to make a big, big announcement.

Two major announcements, in fact!

On that day, Etihad 1) unveiled its very first Airbus A380 aircraft and 2) presented its new livery (the one that is currently on its planes)

At the time Etihad was expanding by purchasing equity stakes in ailing carriers right and left, with the idea of creating a sort of global airline group of its own.

And, although the A380 was already, by then, a slow seller, the closure of the assembly line was nowhere in sight.

So, it was a major celebration, with all the bells and whistles, the big bosses in attendance and an amazing music and light show. You can find the whole chronicle, including pictures and videos, here.

Guests were not allowed onboard the plane, though, so there were no pics of the famous Etihad “Residence” and “Apartments” super premium products (although Etihad’s press team had already distributed some pics and video a few months prior), but we could get to see the aircraft from up close.

The A380 is always an awesome sight. It will be missed!

And, as times move on, had the chance to write about Etihad from a very different angle just a few days ago, when it completed a series of tests with its Boeing 787 EcoDemonstrator.

Btw, another memory of that trip is that, the next day, I flew to Domodedovo airport, via Frankfurt, to join one of the planespotting sessions that the Russian airport organizes regularly, allowing spotters to take pictures from the apron. Check out the pics from that planespotting session at Domodedovo, here.