They put a bathroom in the sky. And a living room. And a bed. It is called The Residence. It is arguably the wildest thing commercial aviation has ever offered. I recently slept in one. I remember when getting a seat there was simple. You paid roughly $25,000 one-way. That was it. A separate cabin. Butler service. Done.
Now? Now it is a game of availability and upgrade fees. The A380s came back to life in 2023. Since then Etihad has been experimenting with how to monetize the extra square footage. Recently that experimentation took a sharp turn toward aggressive pricing. They jacked up the cost to upgrade from First Class to The Residence. Some routes see a 100 percent increase.
The upgrade cost does not care how many people you are.
Let us look at the math. Or lack thereof.
Between Abu Dhabi and Paris an upgrade now costs AED 11 720 (about $3 191). It used to be AED 5 840 ($1 590). You double the price for the same door sliding shut. London sees a 50 percent hike to AED 13 190 ($3 591) from the previous AED 8 780 ($2 391). Toronto? AED 20 170 ($5 491). Up from AED 11 710 ($3 191). A 72 percent jump.
It happens whether you are alone or traveling with a partner. That feels wrong. If you are two people upgrading you occupy one Residence. But you open up two First Class suites. The airline can sell those suites to someone else. The incremental cost of that second person in the bedroom is near zero. Yet they charge you the full price.
Would it not be smarter to upgrade just one person? Then you get the apartment suite and keep your friend’s First Class seat available for resale logic. It seems like a missed opportunity for both the traveler and the airline.
Do you need to fly there? No. Etihad’s First Class Apartments are fine. They have doors. They are quiet. They get you from point A to point B without hitting the ceiling fans. Most people do not require a three-room flat at 40 000 feet.
There are really two reasons you do it.
One is novelty. It is a cool trick. You tell people you showered while crossing the Atlantic. The second reason is money. Or lack of sensitivity to it. For those in the second camp this price change means nothing. Etihad likely knows this. They are testing the ceiling. Seeing how much the indifferent can absorb.
But for the novelty chaser the calculus changed. It used to be a splurge you could explain to yourself. It’s unique. I’ve never seen it. Now it feels like robbery. The ground experience is different sure. The onboard food varies slightly. But mostly you are paying for air rights in a private apartment. At these prices that space feels over-leveraged.
Still. It is cheaper than when The Residence was a standalone ticket class back in the day. I am glad I flew it at the old rate last year. I probably would not touch the new sticker shock.
Maybe demand drops. Maybe they slide back down. Airlines hate empty premium cabins more than travelers hate paying for them. Time will tell if this is a permanent shift or just a greedy Tuesday.
