Despite the denials of its management, the Abu Dhabi airline continues to send worrying signals.
We have just learned that instead of launching the operation of the brand new Airbus A350-1000 that are currently delivered, Etihad has decided to park them in Bordeaux!
The only explanation provided by the airline is that “this is part of our transformation plan”. One might think that putting into service aircraft that have just been paid for, which are more economically efficient than some of the current fleet, would be a good idea in a plan aimed at restoring the competitiveness of the business, but obviously this is not how Abu Dhabi sees it.
For the record, Etihad cancelled its order for 42 A350s in March and this in a very tense economic context. Indeed Etihad announced a loss of 1.3 billion dollars in 2018. The airline had also reported a loss of $1.52 billion in 2017. Etihad is now in the midst of a five-year transformation program to return to profitability.
Numerous feedbacks from passengers indicate a clear deterioration of the quality of service in the last few months in all classes of travel and if a takeover by Emirates remains the most obvious and credible solution, Abu Dhabi does not want to hear about this option.
It is hard to imagine that keeping new aircraft grounded for several months is not a strategy to limit the damage. Until when?
With the 639 million dollar loss announced by Qatar Airways, it seems that the golden age of the Gulf airlines is coming to an end.
Photo : Etihad by Craig Russell via Shutterstock
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