Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said Thursday it lost $1.28 billion in 2018, the third-straight year the Government-owned long-haul carrier has lost over a billion dollars.
Since 2016, Etihad has lost a total of $4.75 billion as its strategy of aggressively buying stakes in airlines from Europe to Australia to compete against Emirates and fellow rival Qatar Airways exposed the company to major losses.
In the time since, it has embarked on a cost-cutting initiative and recently announced it would restructure planned aircraft purchases from Airbus and Boeing.
“Our transformation is instilling a renewed sense of confidence in our customers, our partners and our people,” Etihad Aviation Group CEO Tony Douglas said in a statement announcing the results.
