Etihad announces new organisational structure as it strives for profitability

Etihad Aviation Group has announced a new organisational structure for Etihad Airways as it looks to return the airline to profitability.
Under the new structure, the group will be reorganised into seven business divisions – operations, commercial, maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO), human resources, finance, support services and transformation.
The group will be led by a new executive leadership team reporting to group chief executive (Group CEO), Tony Douglas, who also assumes responsibility for Etihad Airways.
Peter Baumgartner will now serve as the senior strategic advisor to Tony Douglas as part of the executive leadership team, having led Etihad Airways as chief executive since 2016 when James Hogan moved on.
Other changes in the leadership team include the promotion of Mohammad Al Bulooki to chief operating officer, appointment of Robin Kamark as chief commercial officer, and Ibrahim Nassir as chief human resources & organisational development officer.
Bloomberg reports that the airline will also make more job cuts, that jet orders are under review and marginal routes could also be cut, although others would be opened.
Another key takeaway from Douglas’ Bloomberg interview is that the airline is open to a closer relationship with Emirates. The airline has also retreated from its “equity alliance” strategy that saw it take stakes in several airlines.
The airline saw total revenues increase by 3.4% last year to $6.1bn, while core airline loss reached $1.52bn, compared with $1.95bn in 2016.
“Etihad’s transformation programme has delivered measurable results to date, with the core airline division recently reporting a 22% improvement in core operating performance for 2017, driven by improved revenues of $ 6.1bn and a 7.3% reduction in unit costs,” the carrier group said.
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