Etihad Airlines has introduced a three-room suite with a bedroom, living room and bathroom, served by a personal butler trained at the Savoy Academy in London.
The airline's chief executive James Hogan described it as "the world's most luxurious living space in the air," and that it would be "better than a private jet". A one-way ticket from London to Abu Dhabi will cost $21,000 (€15,000) for up to two people.
The in-flight accommodation is part of the airline’s plan for the next generation of cabins. The most impressive innovations will be in the first-class cabins of the airline’s 10 new Airbus A380s, which will be divided between the Apartment – private suites that will be 74 per cent bigger than existing first class products – and the Residence, a three-room suite.
Other innovations include a business suite 20 per cent larger than the current business class seat, which will be fitted on all its planes including 71 new 787 Dreamliners. Economy class seats will also get a redesign, with a lumbar support feature and an 11-inch monitor with its own games console.
Chief commercial officer Peter Baumgartner said only the new 787 Dreamliner will eventually be on the Dublin route, though all the airline's fleet will be retrofitted "over three or four years" from next year.
At the launch Mr Hogan said Etihad had no plans “for now” to increase its 4.9 per cent share in Aer Lingus.
"We have a very good relationship with Aer Lingus," he said, and emphasised the importance of the code-sharing agreement between the two airlines, especially to secondary destinations in the US such as Boston that Etihad doesn't serve. He would not comment on how Eti voted at the Aer Lingus AGM on the resolution to approve its chief executive's €1.5 million pay deal, which includes an increase in the company's contribution to his pension.
