Wow: Etihad Airbus A380 Will Fly To Toronto, Be Pulled From New York

Here’s something that I didn’t necessarily see coming. Etihad Airways has announced that it will start flying its Airbus A380s to a new destination for the first time. Perhaps even more interesting is which route is losing the A380…

Etihad A380 will fly from Abu Dhabi to Toronto

At the start of the pandemic, Etihad Airways grounded its Airbus A380 fleet, with plans to likely retire the aircraft permanently. Fortunately the airline had a change of heart, and as of the summer of 2023, the Abu Dhabi-based airline brought back the super jumbo.

Etihad had announced that its plan was to fly the A380 exclusively between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and London (LHR), with no firm plans to fly the jet to any other destination, as the airline intended to bring back just four A380s. That plan evolved, and as of April 2024, the A380 resumed flights to New York (JFK), then as of November 2024, the A380 returned to Paris (CDG), and then as of February 2025, the A380 flew to Singapore (SIN) for the first time. There’s now an additional update.

As of June 24, 2025, Etihad will start flying the Airbus A380 between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Toronto (YYZ). This will apply to the carrier’s once daily flight, which operates with the following schedule:

EY21 Abu Dhabi to Toronto departing 2:40AM arriving 9:00AM
EY22 Toronto to Abu Dhabi departing 1:40PM arriving 11:00AM (+1 day)

The 6,924-mile flight is blocked at 14hr20min westbound and 13hr20min eastbound. This Toronto flight is currently operated by an Airbus A350-1000, so this represents quite the capacity increase.

Etihad is puling the A380 from New York

Etihad has a fleet of just six Airbus A380s, so the logical question is where the airline is getting the A380 from that makes this service possible. Well, it would appear that the airline is pulling the A380 from the New York route as of the same date that the A380 Toronto service launches.

So the two routes are just seeing a direct plane swap — the New York frequency gets the A350-1000 that’s flying to Toronto, while the Toronto frequency gets the A380 that’s flying to New York.

On the surface, that decision might be surprising, though I imagine there are a few considerations here:

• The bilateral agreement between the UAE and Canada limits the total number of flights that can be operated to Canada, so clearly this is Etihad’s only option for increasing capacity to Toronto
• While Toronto has once daily Etihad flights, New York has twice daily flights, so Etihad still has more overall capacity to New York
• I suspect this decision isn’t specifically about premium demand, but rather about overall capacity
• Arguably Etihad is better able to compete in Toronto than in New York; Etihad and Emirates will both fly A380s once daily between Toronto and the UAE, while Emirates has three daily A380 flights to New York (plus a 777 flight to Newark)

What the Etihad A380 means for passengers

Etihad’s Airbus A380s are some pretty special jets, and they’ve offered quite a halo effect for the airline. Etihad’s A380s are configured with a total of 485 seats.

When the A380 flies to Toronto, you can expect that Etihad will introduce The Residence on this route, which is a private three room suite located at the front of the first class cabin. This is the most exclusive product available in commercial aviation.

Pre-pandemic, this experience cost tens of thousands of dollars. However, Etihad is now handling this differently than back then. The airline is now selling upgrades to this for first class passengers who are ticketed through Etihad. The cost to upgrade to The Residence is typically a few thousand dollars.

We’re also seeing the introduction of the Etihad First Class Apartments on the Toronto route, as there are nine of those on the plane. This is one of the most impressive first class hard products out there, as there’s just a single aisle in the center of the cabin, and one suite on each side. This is a much better first class product than you’ll find on Etihad’s 787s. Etihad also has a stellar soft product nowadays, making for a great experience.

There are then 70 business class seats, which are the Etihad Business Studios, the same product you’ll find on the 787. This is a solid business class product, but not as good as Etihad’s new A350 business class, or the carrier’s new 787-9 business class.

Lastly, there are 405 economy class seats, including 80 with extra legroom. This takes up the entire lower deck, as seats are in a 3-4-3 configuration.

Bottom line

As of June 24, 2025, Etihad will start flying the Airbus A380 between Abu Dhabi and Toronto. Given Etihad’s small A380 fleet, this comes at the expense of the super jumbo flying to New York.

Some might be surprised to see Etihad pull the A380 from New York and send it to Toronto, but it reflects the fact that the bilateral agreement between the UAE and Canada limits flights, while those same restrictions don’t apply in New York.

What do you make of Etihad launching A380 flights to Toronto?