Abu Dhabi's Etihad drops more flights as review continues

DUBAI - 11 April 2018: Etihad Airways will stop flying to Edinburgh, Scotland and Perth, Australia, from October 1, the latest routes dropped by the Gulf airline, as it continues to review its business strategy.

The major Middle East airline is pursuing a company-wide review and has cut several other routes already as it seeks to restore profitability.

Etihad is stopping flights to Edinburgh and Perth, Australia, as part “of several adjustments that we are making to our network in 2018 in order to improve system profitability”, said an Etihad spokesman in a statement on Wednesday.

State-owned Etihad launched the strategy review in 2016, the financial year when it suffered a $1.87 billion loss that it largely blamed on aircraft impairments and investments in troubled European airlines.

Few details about the review have been made public.

The Gulf airline continues to fly to London, Heathrow and Manchester in the United Kingdom, and Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne in Australia.

The airline, along with Emirates and Qatar Airways which make up the three major Middle East airlines, has relied on building a diverse, global network to carry millions of passengers a year.

Most of their passengers do not start or end their journey at their respective hubs in the Gulf.

Britain’s top defense buyer Tony Douglas joined Etihad as its new group chief executive this year, replacing long-serving CEO James Hogan, who departed in 2017.