For those hoping that the A380 will make it back to longer routes ... I had the opportunity to chat with a good contact at Etihad and there are no plans whatsoever to operate the aircraft in longer routes. For the foreseeable future, it will be LHR only. Perhaps they could consider other mid-haul routes, but no hope for JFK or SYD/MEL.

Finally, got my own residence journey done as well! Well, I probably expecting too much, I would say, it is certainly an amazing experience, but also has spaces to improve if compared to the other F.
As some other folks mentioned, the chauffeur certainly dropped me at the business gate, so they certainly did not take a look of the guest prior to the departure, I have to walk through by myself to find where to check in. However, since I checked in at the counter by myself, that is where they started to know you are a guest of the Residence, escorting you through all the procedures and treating you well.
They did offer me the choices of Boarding First or Last, though, this is where things get strange, they were not able to make it, instead, I was probably boarded as the last F guest, there were certainly some economy guests boarding, but there were a lot of people that have already boarded. But the escort service is amazing as you literally walk all through the gates with no one stops you in the middle except necessary doc checks. You do get that premium experiences. I would say if you cannot make it, just simply do not offer it at all, it is enough good. I still think EK F has generally the best design to allow more privacies in boarding or board through the lounge; for EY, you have to go through the crowd.
For the inflight part, everything goes amazing, I also chose the lamb that was cooked tasty, the afternoon tea set is certainly eye-catching. The bed is the most comfortable one I have stayed in the air. The shower, though still 5 min (the FA said I can have more time) but good enough for me, is much better than the EK one. The only thing surprises me is when I asked for the first champagne on the list, and they did not have it????? Anyway for alcohol, I'm not expecting they would be better than EK.
The arrival is seamless, I left first with again a nice gentlemen escorting, I spent even less than 10 min from getting off the plane and get out of the airport.
Overall, I think there were a lot of details needs some improvement, I kind of not expecting any improvement would happen as the target of the product has already changed. Certainly a once in a lifetime experience that I urge everyone to have at least once, the best and the only exp you can get!

Yeah, I did get a full refund for the residence price, but the F ticket portion has some associated fees.

I have a F award ticket through Etihad Guest. I don't have the option to upgrade online, and the call centre said it isn't allowed on redemption tickets (even if issued by EY). Is that right? Or HUACA?
They also told me redemption tickets even in First Class aren't eligible for chauffeur service either, my understanding was all First Class tickets got chauffeur.

According to the Fare Choices page here, Business and First Guest Seats do not qualify for Chauffeur...

That is probably not correct, you are not eligible for chauffeur, only paid ticket does. Also F to Residence upgrade is also only available for paid ticket.

If there are 2 pax on a booking, is it just a one fee of the $2500~ or is it charged per person?

Looks like they had a change of heart, A380 returning to JFK in April 2024: https://onemileatatime.com/news/etihad-a380-new-york/

There's an additional charge, which really makes no sense considering they're also freeing up an F seat to sell.

On that note, can you buy 1 F seat+residence upgrade and a 1 F seat without paying the Residence fee and just have the 2nd F pax sit with you in the residence?

Was wondering the same. Anyone that's flown in the residence with someone else, is it indeed still spacious enough or is preferable to do it alone (or have another F apartment as extra space for the other pax)

Man Etihad IT is really bad. I booked a ticket AUH-JFK in F for the summer so I can take advantage of the discount Residence upgrade cost before Dec 12th. However in manage my booking it shows the discounted price at first, then on the payment page only shows the full cost. Called twice and they weren't able to get it to charge them the discount price either. Sent in screenshots, let's hope they can figure it out.

Did you book this via points? Looking to do so but still can't find clarity on if you can upgrade to residence via points booking.

Cash only I'm afraid, at least according to OMAAT:
"The most significant restriction here is that you do need a cash Etihad first class ticket in order to be able to upgrade, which will limit a lot of potential interest."

https://onemileatatime.com/news/etih...esidence-a380/

Unless you're using a points (cash equivalent ala Chase UR Travel Site), per OMAAT:
"You could always use points to pay the base airfare (like with Amex or Chase points, which can be redeemed toward the cost of a ticket), and then just pay the upgrade cost out of pocket."

So I'm taking it that I have zero chance of being upgraded from paid J to the Residence on an upcoming A380 flight? :( ;)

Jeez Etihad really is a mess
How do they advertise a limited time discounted upgrade fee to the Residence for JFK, but neither their IT on the website or the call center is able to get the upgrade to price correctly.
I booked my ticket over 1 month ago and have contacted EY a number of times about this, sending screenshots of the errors I’m getting, the actual offer itself, etc. Each time I’m told they sent the info to the relevant dept and to contact again in 5 business days for an update. But each time I contact again, the agents have no idea what I’m talking about.
It’s not worth the full upgrade cost to me. Only the discounted rate makes sense. I’m about to cancel my ticket for a refund and just stick to EK.