Aviationtag x Etihad: Turning A6-APA into a Collectible Airbus A380 Tag
When Etihad accepted A6-APA on December 16, 2014, the jet became both the airline’s first Airbus A380 and the 150th A380
delivered by Airbus—a neat double milestone that set the tone for Etihad’s superjumbo era. Nine days later, A6-APA inaugurated EY11 Abu Dhabi–London, placing the flagship on a stage where demand and spectacle aligned. Just weeks earlier, in Hamburg on September 25, 2014, APA had already stepped into the spotlight as the live canvas for the brand-new “Facets of Abu Dhabi” livery, a geometric, desert-toned identity that announced a confident new design chapter for Etihad.
Two chapters, now a third
Earlier Etihad Collaborations
Before this Aviationtag × Etihad A380 edition, we partnered on an A319 (A6-EID) and a Boeing 777-200LR (A6-LRB)— a natural ramp from narrowbody and
long-range twinjet to superjumbo.
This third chapter extends that story into an
Aviationtag crafted from genuine upcycled aircraft material—an aviation tag that connects Etihad’s flagship history with collectible design in a limited
edition aviation tag format.
Milestones & unveilings
A6-APA: the fuller story
Factory-built as MSN 166, A6-APA first flew on June 16, 2014 under the test registration F-WWSS with Engine Alliance GP7270 power. After handover in December, Etihad choreographed a debut that blended engineering prowess with hospitality theatre: the commercial launch to Heathrow on December 27, 2014, and the interiors that would become aviation talking points—The Residence and the First Class Apartments.
On that inaugural A380 service, Gino Bertuccio, a Miami-based businessman and noted aviation enthusiast known for collecting inaugural flights and airline memorabilia, booked The Residence, complete with a Savoy-trained butler—an anecdote that captured the spirit of the A380 as experience as much as airplane.
Through 2015 the Airbus A380 expanded to signature long-haul markets such as Sydney and New York-JFK, establishing A6-APA and her sisters as Etihad’s hard-product ambassadors. The pandemic pause arrived in 2020; A6-APA was withdrawn from service and ferried to Tarbes–Lourdes (LDE) on November 5, 2020 for long-term storage. In 2025, after supporting the fleet as a donor, the aircraft completed its end-of-life processing in Tarbes, enabling certified material recovery—and crucially for us—traceable fuselage panel sections for upcycling into an aircraft tag you can hold.
Aviationtag x Etihad A380 Edition
THE MAKING OF VIDEO
Production reality confirmed
Etihad’s A380, in context
Today, Etihad deploys the A380 selectively on high-profile routes—most visibly Abu
Dhabi–London, with additional services to key hubs such as Paris, Toronto, and Singapore when market conditions warrant.
With A380 production having ended in 2021, future capacity rests on smart reactivations and careful maintenance economics rather than new builds. That pragmatism is precisely why a retired flagship like A6-APA can continue to contribute to the fleet—and to enthusiasts—long after its final flight.
Aluminum first, Glare second
From skin to keepsake
After end-of-life processing at TARMAC Aerosave, Tarbes, we selected sections from A6-APA expressly for upcycling into an Aviationtag. The first release features smooth aluminum drawn from the crown (upper fuselage) and the area beneath the tail, preserving original paint and patina where feasible—translating widebody heritage into a plane tag with documented provenance.
In a subsequent micro-run, we’ll introduce GLARE pieces: the A380’s signature glass-fiber-reinforced aluminum laminate used on the upper fuselage shells and on the D-nose leading edges of the vertical and horizontal tail. These GLARE tags will be noticeably thicker, and from the edge you’ll see the stacked layers; we’ll also
curate additional color variants reflecting different painted histories of each fuselage panel. For the material science behind GLARE, read our GLARE deep-dive.
A6-APA weaves a rare continuity: the jet that launched Etihad’s Airbus A380 era and introduced a landmark livery, the cabin that reframed premium long-haul as theatre, and now the certified metal that lives on as an Aviationtag—an Aviationtag shaped from upcycled aircraft material into a limited edition aviation tag. It is the same airframe, passing through time in new forms:
First as flagship, then as resource, finally as a tangible aircraft tag and plane tag that lets collectors carry a small, honest slice of superjumbo history.
Did you fly Etihad’s A380—perhaps EY11/12 to London, or later Airbus A380 routes? Tell us your favorite A380 moment in the comments!
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