Etihad is pleased with its performance in India, aiming to double capacity: CEO Antonoaldo Neves

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Etihad Airways Group CEO Antonoaldo Neves has the precarious job of balancing growth with profitability and margins as the Abu Dhabi-based airline seeks to save $150 million in costs a year while doubling its size. In a conversation with ET’s Forum Gandhi and Anirban Chowdhury, Neves talks about Etihad’s plans for India, which is among its top three markets globally. Edited excerpts:

You joined Etihad in 2022 as it narrowed losses and made management changes. With a half-year profit and shifting in its strategy, what were your main focus areas? What milestones did you achieve?
We see Etihad’s journey in three phases. The first 15 years focused on creating a global brand and expanding. Then, for five years, the airline was restructured and downsized to 60 planes. Now, we are ramping up again… We have 92 aircraft in our fleet. In 2022, we broke even. Now, in phase three, we’re planning the airline’s future and restructuring the network to be more profitable, shifting from ultra-long haul to mid-haul and prioritising point-to-point operations from Abu Dhabi. We also aim to double our capacity in India, utilising the available seats in bilateral agreements, and we’re pleased with our performance here.

You’re one of the few premium airline CEOs discussing costs. You have previously mentioned a target of $100-150 million in annual cost cuts. How do you balance growth with these cost reductions?

The mandate from shareholders is clear: we need to make money while delivering extraordinary customer experience. We’ve reduced