Flight Centre's $999 Dublin return on Etihad A380

Etihad has 10 A380 superjumbos with nearly 500 seats and include luxury apartmnets. Photo / Airbus

Fares to Dublin on Etihad are on sale for less than $1000 as part of ''earlybird'' European deals.

Flight Centre is advertising return flights to the Irish capital for $999 although passengers have to make a two-stop journey.

The deal means flying to Sydney aboard Virgin Australia and then through Etihad's Abu Dhabi base and on to Dublin.

Travel is on selected dates between September 1 and December 10 this year or January 14 to May 15 next year.

Etihad flies twice daily from Sydney using Airbus A380 double-decker planes and is one of the big three Middle Eastern carriers which have a reputation for high levels of service and near new aircraft.

Flight Centre said the deal on a premium carrier was one of the best it had seen.
Dublin is becoming a popular entry point to Europe because taxes are lower there than London. Earlier this year, Cathay Pacific began flying from Hong Kong to Dublin.

The earlybird sales season features some sharp promotional deals and is a way that airlines and travel agents get some certainty around loads for Europe next year.

Flight Centre says Etihad flies into 30 European destinations and it has on sale London return for $1459 and Amsterdam and Rome are $1259,

Etihad has been flying to Sydney, its first Australian destination, for more than 10 years.

While there's sub-$1000 bargains to be had in the economy section of Etihad's A380, those with more than 50 times that to splurge could enjoy The Residence – the world's first three-room suite on a commercial airliner. Return fares to Dublin from Sydney are selling for $57,000.

The Residence features a living room with a 32" LCD monitor, bedroom with a double bed, separate en-suite shower room and dedicated personal butler trained at the world-renowned Savoy Butler Academy in London. The cabin also comes with a private chef ready to custom-create menus to order.

The aircraft also have 70 business studios and 415 economy seats.

Etihad was established in 2003, has about 115 aircraft, including 10 superjumbos, and in 2017 carried 18.8 million passengers.

Flights from Abu Dhabi to Dublin would be on board A380s, A330s or Boeing 787 Dreamliners.