Etihad appoints Abu Dhabi aviation veteran as new group CEO
Etihad Aviation Group has appointed Tony Douglas, formerly a UK defence ministry official and head of Abu Dhabi Airports, as its new chief executive, replacing James Hogan, who stepped down in July after an 11-year tenure. He will start his new position on January 1.
Mr Douglas, the former chief executive of the defence equipment and support department at the UK’s ministry of defence, replaces interim chief executive Ray Gammell, who will return to his position as group chief people and performance officer.
He formerly served as chief executive of Abu Dhabi Airports Company, a position he took up in 2013, and is also a former chief executive of Abu Dhabi Ports Company, who brought the Dh26 billion Khalifa Port project to fruition – delivering it on time and within budget in December 2012.
Earlier, Mr Douglas delivered London Heathrow’s £4.3bn (Dh21.22bn) Terminal 5 project. He also led the programme management team in the build-up to the London 2012 Olympics
“We are delighted to have Tony return to Abu Dhabi to lead Etihad,” said Mohamed Al Mazrouei, chairman of the board of Etihad Aviation Group.
“He has guided the transformation of large organisations in the UAE and the UK, and he understands the UAE and the region.
He is also deeply knowledgeable about commercial aviation and keenly familiar with Etihad’s challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing industry.”
Etihad is overhauling its business model and selling stakes it holds in minority companies that have led to losses at the airline, which is based in Abu Dhabi.
The group said in July it had sold its stake in Swiss-based carrier Darwin Airline, its first divestment since the airline began a review of its international investment strategy last year.
Etihad recorded a US$1.87bn loss in 2016 after a one-off impairment on aircraft and equity investments in partner airlines Alitalia and AirBerlin outweighed growth of passengers to a record.
The airline said an increase in competition in the airline business globally as well as slowdown in economic growth regionally also weighed on results in addition to losses related to fuel hedging.
Despite those challenges, however, passengers carried by the airline rose to 18.5 million last year and total revenues fell only marginally to $8.36bn last year from $9bn in 2015.