Etihad Airways is to focus on becoming a mid-sized carrier that concentrates on its widebody fleet as part of a major restructuring announced on Sunday, which includes a reshuffle of its management team.
“The restructuring sees the airline continuing its transformation into a mid-sized, full-service carrier concentrating on its fleet of widebody aircraft, with a leaner, flatter and scaleable organisational structure,” said Etihad in a statement.
Etihad’s chief commercial officer Robin Kamark, senior VP sales & distribution Duncan Bureau, chief transformation officer Akram Alami and chief risk & compliance officer Mutaz Saleh will leave the business as part of the management restructure.
“After our best-ever Q1 performance, none of us could have predicted the challenges that lay ahead in the remainder of this year,” said CEO Tony Douglas.
“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. “
He said: “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, ensuring long-term sustainability, and contributing to the growth and prominence of Abu Dhabi.”
Etihad lost $5.67 over the four years before 2020 but the airline was slowly narrowing its losses up until the Covid-19 pandemic, which has torn the industry apart. The group lost $758 million in the first half of its current financial year and was forced to cut thousands of jobs during the pandemic.
Following Mr Kamark’s departure, the business units within Etihad’s commercial arm will be separated and transferred under the leadership of Mohammad Al Bulooki, chief operating officer, Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer, and Terry Daly, who will assume the role of executive drector guest experience, brand & marketing.
Mr Al Bulooki will assume responsibility for network planning, sales, revenue management, cargo and logistics, commercial strategy planning and alliances.
Martin Drew will take on Mr Bureau’s portfolio alongside his current responsibilities as managing director for Cargo & Logistics.
Following the departure of Akram Alami, chief transformation officer, the procurement and supply chain department and transformation office will move under the leadership of Adam Boukadida.
Chief digital officer Frank Meyer, chief engineering officer Abdul Khaliq Saeed and chief investments officer Andrew Macfarlane continue in their respective positions.