Revealed: New Etihad A350 Business Class Seats With Doors

When airlines introduce a new inflight experience, they often start promoting it months before it actually launches. The new A350 is entering regularly scheduled passenger service as of today.

The interiors of the new business class and economy class experiences look great to me.

Etihad’s new Airbus A350-1000 interiors

A total of 372 seats, including 44 business class seats and 327 economy class seats, are on the A350-1000s. The airline brought one of its A350-1000s to the Airshow in November of 2021, but hasn't done anything to promote the cabins since.

There are a few general things to note about the A350.

• Etihad has selected Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats with doors in business class, similar to what you’ll find on British Airways’ A350s and Aeroflot’s 777s (not that the latter will be flying many places soon)
• Etihad’s A350s don’t have first class; with Etihad retiring its Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, that means the only planes in the fleet with first class will be five Boeing 787-9s, which makes me wonder if first class might eventually be discontinued
• Etihad’s A350s don’t have premium economy either; this is an interesting decision, as other airlines increasingly embrace premium economy
• In the long run, Etihad will use A350s for long haul routes, meaning the 787s and A350s will be the backbone of the carrier’s long haul fleet

New Etihad A350 business class suites with doors

The A350-1000 business class has 44 seats.

• Much like on the Boeing 787, business class seats will be marketed as Business Studios
• These are Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats with sliding doors, providing a high level of privacy to each suite
• Every seat faces forward with direct aisle access, in a 1-2-1 configuration
• The seat turns into a 79″ flat bed, and is over 20″ wide
• The seat features storage compartments
• Each seat has an 18.5″ TV screen, plus bluetooth headphone pairing, USB and AC power, a built-in wireless charging dock, and noise-canceling headphones

I love the color scheme, finishes, and custom features of this cabin. The door being added makes the reverse herringbone seats even better. I think this seat is the fourth best business class in the world.

The business class on the Boeing 787s is very comfortable, and it is also a great class to be in. I liked the old product even though the new seat is a bit better.

New Etihad A350 economy class seats

The basics of the new A350-1000 economy class are listed here.

• Seats are in a 3-3-3 configuration, which is standard for the A350
• There are 45 “Economy Space” seats, featuring an extra 4″ of legroom
• Seats feature 13.3″ personal televisions, USB charging, bluetooth headphones, and a supportive headrest

This looks pretty good for the economy class. The A350 is a lovely plane to fly, given the quiet and spacious cabin. Economy seats don't have AC power. I don't really understand that, especially with the types of chargers being used changing over time.

The story of Etihad’s Airbus A350

The airline has had some of these planes for over two years, even though it just put its A350s into service. Why is that happening?

Back in the day, Etihad Airways wanted to compete head-to-head with Emirates. The company's management decided to pursue a more sustainable strategy after failing to invest in global airlines.

If the airline didn't want to become huge, they would have ordered less planes. The airline still has 21 A350-1000s on order, even though it has significantly shrunk its future aircraft orders.

The airline put these planes into storage because there wasn't enough demand for them. The airline is finally putting the planes into service after a slow recovery in demand. The A350s burn 25% less fuel than previous generation aircraft and have great economics.

The A350 will be used with the 787 for key long haul routes in the long run. As of July, the plane is expected to fly to Chicago and New York.

Bottom line

The interiors of the new A350s have been officially unveiled by the airline. The airline is installing reverse herringbone seats on some of their planes. This is an excellent business class product, and it has a lot of features.

I am sad about how far the company has fallen. The carrier decided not to install a small first class cabin on the A350s. Don't get me wrong, that's probably the right move for the airline financially, but we never really fell in love with it for its business model, right?

What do you think about the A350 cabins?