Etihad to scale down to mid-sized, full-service carrier

Following the impact of COVID-19, Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int’l) has announced the departure of senior managers as part of its plans to downsize to a mid-size full-service airline. Chief Commercial Officer, Robin Kamark, along with three other senior executives, are leaving the Abu Dhabi state-backed carrier as part of a broad management restructuring, with their responsibilities taken over by other managers, the airline said in a statement. Etihad, which lost USD5.62 billion in the four years before 2020, has cut jobs and salaries as losses widened this year. The airline once hoped to develop Abu Dhabi Int’l into a major hub like neighbouring Dubai and Dubai Int’l. It said the organisational restructuring was the first step in a transformation that would allow it to deliver on its mandate of ensuring its long-term sustainability and to contribute to the growth and prominence of Abu Dhabi. “After our best-ever Q1 performance, none of us could have predicted the challenges that lay ahead in the remainder of this year. As a responsible business, we can no longer continue to incrementally adapt to a marketplace that we believe has changed for the foreseeable future. That is why we are taking definitive and decisive action to adjust our business and position ourselves proudly as a mid-sized carrier,” said Chief Executive Officer, Tony Douglas. “The first stage of this is an operational model change that will see us restructure our senior leadership team and our organisation to allow us to continue delivering on our mandate,” he said. The airline will continue to concentrate on its fleet of widebody aircraft, he added, with a leaner and scaleable organisational structure that supported organic growth as travel demand resumed. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Etihad has a fleet of 81 widebodies, including two A330-200s, one A330-300, four A350-1000s (all grounded), ten A380-800s (all grounded), six B777-200Fs, nineteen B777-300(ER)s, nine B787-10s, and thirty B787-9s, with eight B777-8s and seventeen B777-9s to be delivered. Douglas made no mention as to the fate of Etihad’s narrowbody fleet which numbers nineteen A320-200s and ten A321-200s with twenty-six A321-200Ns on order. Apart from Kamark, those leaving included Senior Vice President (Sales and Distribution), Duncan Bureau; Chief Transformation Officer Akram Alami; and Chief Risk & Compliance Officer Mutaz Saleh. Following Kamark’s departure, business units within the airline’s commercial division will be separated and transferred to Chief Operating Officer Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Financial Officer Adam Boukadida, and Terry Daly, who becomes Executive Director (Guest Experience, Brand and Marketing). In addition to his existing portfolio, Mohammad will assume responsibility for Network Planning, Sales, Revenue Management, Cargo and Logistics, Commercial Strategy Planning, and Alliances.